Guide
Entering Thailand in 2026: What Actually Applies Now
Visa-free stay, TDAC card, return ticket and proof of funds: the checklist for entering Thailand with all rules in force since September 2026.
- Category: Entry
- 7 min read
- Updated:19 October 202619/10/2026
Contents of this article5 sections
Thailand changed its entry rules in September 2026. If you are still planning with the old information, you may get an unpleasant surprise at the airport. This is what applies now.
In short
- Since 15 September 2026, Germans, Austrians and Swiss may stay up to 30 days as tourists without a visa.
- The digital arrival card TDAC is mandatory. You fill it in no earlier than 3 days before arrival, and it costs nothing.
- Your passport must still be valid for at least 6 months on the day of arrival.
- You should have a ticket for your return or onward journey ready.
- At immigration, officers may ask to see 20,000 baht per person (40,000 baht per family) in cash.
- If you want to stay longer, you can extend once by up to 30 days at the immigration office.
How long can you stay visa-free?
Since 15 September 2026, Thailand grants holidaymakers a maximum of 30 days on visa-free entry. This is a reduction. If you still have a longer visa-free period in mind from earlier trips, you need to recalculate.
The same applies to Germany, Austria and Switzerland: visa exemption for up to 30 days, for tourist purposes only.
By land or sea you may enter visa-free only twice per calendar year. This definitely applies to land crossings. If you arrive by ship, play it safe and expect the same limit.
How often you may enter visa-free through an international airport is at the discretion of the Thai immigration authorities. If you come very often, for example with more than 180 days of holiday in total per year, expect questions and, in the worst case, refusal of entry.
And in the end, the stamp is what counts. The officer decides how long you may stay when you enter. Check the stamp in your passport before you walk away from the counter.
If 30 days are not enough for you, the visa calculator works out whether a tourist visa, the DTV or a retirement visa suits the length of your trip.
The details on passport and proof of funds below apply to Germans. For Austria and Switzerland the same 30-day rule applies, but you should also check the other details with your own foreign ministry.
The TDAC card: mandatory before departure
The Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) replaced the old paper arrival card (TM.6) on 1 May 2025. Everyone who is not Thai must fill it in, whether they arrive by plane, overland or by ship. There are only two exceptions: transit passengers who do not go through passport control, and travellers with a border pass.
This is how it works:
- Open the official websiteWebsite of the Thai Immigration Bureau: tdac.immigration.go.th
- Earliest 3 days beforeAny earlier and the system will not accept the card.
- Everything in EnglishNames exactly as in your passport.
- Save your confirmationOn your phone and ideally printed out.
By the way, the TDAC is not a visa. It only replaces the arrival card.
You can now also submit the TDAC in the Thai Immigration Bureau’s official THIM app. The website continues to work. How this works in the app is explained in the guide THIM app for Thailand.
What may be asked of you at the counter
Entry is usually quick, at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok as much as in Phuket. The officer may, however, ask for proof.
Passport: It must still be valid for at least 6 months on the day of arrival. If its validity is shorter, entry is refused and you must fly back immediately. A German temporary passport (vorläufiger Reisepass) or German child passport (Kinderreisepass) is accepted.
Return or onward journey: If you arrive visa-free, you must be able to show that you are leaving again, with a flight, bus or train ticket. Without this proof you need a visa.
A flight, bus or train ticket is enough as proof of onward or return travel. If you need a return ticket, you can compare the outbound flight and the return flight between Frankfurt and Bangkok by date and price at Trip.com.
Money: When entering without a visa or with a tourist visa, you must be able to show at least 20,000 baht (roughly 550 euros), or 40,000 baht (roughly 1,100 euros) as a family. Euros or US dollars are also accepted, but it must be cash. Officers only check this at random, mainly with people who come often or stay long. The amount applies to holders of a tourist or Non-Immigrant visa and also to visa-free entry. Other amounts are sometimes quoted online, but what counts is the information from the authorities.
Accommodation: Normally it is enough to state where you are staying. If the officer has doubts, he will ask in more detail and want to see proof.
In the country: You must always carry identification. A copy of your passport is enough, but only together with a copy of the page with the visa or entry stamp.
One more note: if you arrive on a scheduled flight, you should also leave on a scheduled flight, and likewise with charter flights. If you mix the two, you may run into trouble on the return flight.
Staying longer: extension and visas
If 30 days are not enough for you, there are two options. If you want to stay the whole winter, you will find all the visas for 3 to 6 months in the guide Wintering in Thailand for over-50s. How to insure yourself against medical costs before you travel is explained in the guide Travel health insurance for Thailand, and which rules and penalties apply to holidaymakers in the guide What is banned in Thailand.
1. Extension in Thailand: You can extend a visa-free stay once by up to 30 days, for tourist purposes only. You submit the application before your period of stay expires, at your local immigration office. The immigration office in Bangkok requires the following:
- the application form TM.7 with a passport photo no older than 6 months
- a copy of your passport (you bring the passport itself, of course)
- further documents depending on the case, as the office requires
The fee stands at 1,900 baht. A signed declaration on the penalties for overstaying is also required. The figure comes from a 2019 handbook; the Immigration Bureau’s current page lists it only for other purposes of stay and not expressly for tourists. It is best to have the amount confirmed at the office.
Apply for the extension directly at the immigration office and not through travel agencies or hotels.
2. Visa before the trip: With a tourist visa that you apply for in advance at a Thai mission, you can generally stay up to 60 days. Applications are generally made online as an e-visa through the website of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
And the entry fee? A fee for foreign tourists has been under discussion for a long time. 450 baht is currently being discussed. The proposal still has to be put to a public hearing and submitted to the cabinet, so nothing has been introduced yet. As soon as that changes, I will update this article.
For a visa before the trip, you can have the application prepared online.
Checklist to print
Tick off what is done, or print the list and take it with you.
