Thailand is to tighten the leash on foreign visitors amid security concerns and the illegal stay of tourists running businesses.
While drawing nearly 40 million tourists in 2018, Thailand has remained one of Asia's top holiday destinations into the 2020s.
But the nation has announced that it now plans to tighten rules for visa exemptions for visitors, including shorter stays and fewer eligible countries , following a Government-approved review.
The review means that the 60-day visa exemption for 93 countries will be scrapped, said Mungkorn Pratoomkaew, Director-General of the foreign ministry's consular affairs department.
It will now revert to a 30-day visa exemption, while the number of eligible countries will be reduced, he said.
Thai authorities have been suggesting for several months that the 60-day stay will be killed off.
It was initially introduced to spur post-Covid tourism recovery but that action brought several unintended consequences, including the increasing numbers of foreigners looking to stay on in the country, either to establish businesses or, worse, indulge in criminal activity.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the government found the policy needed to be revised "to be more suitable for the current situation, both in terms of the economy and national security".
Nationals who have enjoyed the 60-day exemption include those from Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Spain and the US.
Many of those countries' citizens will have to apply for a visa for stays longer than 30 days, the Thai foreign ministry said. However, some will have exemption periods shorter or longer than this based on reciprocal agreements with individual countries.
Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul said more than 90% of foreign visitors to Thailand stay for 30 days or less, while only 10% use the full 60 days. Officials said this shows the extended period mainly benefits visitors who may not be entering Thailand for tourism purposes.
While the timeline for scrapping the 60-day visa remains vague, the measures will come into effect 15 days after an announcement in the country's official gazette.
The Bangkok Post reported that foreigners in Thailand or arriving before the new measures take effect will still be allowed to remain under their existing visa conditions until their permitted stays expire.
Surasak said: "We will not focus only on tourist numbers. The emphasis must be on quality tourists, not simply on making entry easy and achieving high volume. The prime minister has instructed that visa issuance be considered carefully to strengthen safety and improve the tourism system as a whole."
The news comes as the Tourism Ministry revealed that arrivals dropped 3.31% from a year earlier in the January 1-May 17 period to 12.9 million. Predictions suggest that 32 million foreign visitors are expected this year, down from about 33 million in 2025.
It has been revealed that an overhaul of the visa scheme is in the works, with the revised conditions to be overseen by the Visa Policy Committee, led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its remit will be to consider which countries will benefit from eased measures in the future by taking into consideration security and economic impacts.
Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkaeow said authorities would examine the overall visa framework, not just tourist visas, to determine whether the large number of visa categories remains necessary and whether some could be merged.
Phuangketkaew said: "Sixty days is probably too long for a tourist visa. We are not targeting any specific country. We are looking at behaviour that causes problems for Thailand. A tourist's stay should not exceed 30 days."
Countries with high records of visa violations may face shorter exemptions of 15 days. Travellers from those countries who want to stay longer would need to apply for a visa, which includes background checks and financial verification.
Following Phanchareonvorakul's appointment under the Anutin 2 government, the tourism minister moved quickly to restructure the industry around a quality tourism model, introducing several measures.
These include the visa-free list from 93 countries and territories down to 57, aligning access with the quality tourism push and introducing a Thailand Tourism Fee of 300 baht per foreign visitor to fund infrastructure improvements, safety standards, and an accident insurance scheme.
The Bangkok Post reported an unofficial list from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of applicable tourist entry eligibility by country after the abolition of 60-day visa exemptions.
54 countries and territories granted 30-day visa exemption:
Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Australia, Bhutan, Brunei, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Canada, United States, South Africa.
Andy Probert is an independent journalist who writes about global travel news, airlines, airports, and business. His work has appeared globally on the BBC, and in many national newspapers and magazines.
