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Specifically, the Thai cabinet has officially approved a comprehensive review of entry regulations for foreigners, effectively ending the 60-day visa-free program that was previously widely applied to citizens of 93 countries and territories.
According to an announcement from Mr. Mungkorn Pratoomkaew, Director-General of the Consular Department of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, these stricter border regulations will officially take effect 15 days after the document is publicly published in the Royal Thai Government Gazette.
As part of the group affected by the new visa structure, Vietnamese tourists will no longer be eligible for the previous two-month visa-free stay policy, but will revert to the 30-day visa-free period. Given this sudden change, authorities advise Vietnamese citizens planning to visit Thailand in the coming weeks to closely monitor announcements and guidelines from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, and the Immigration Bureau of Thailand to avoid any incidents at border crossings.
For tourists who entered the country under visa exemption schemes before the new regulations came into effect, immigration authorities will still allow them to stay legally until the expiration date stamped on their passports.
Thailand cancels 60-day visa-free policy.
Explaining the reasons for canceling the 60-day visa waiver policy, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow affirmed that it was a crucial link in a comprehensive campaign to crack down on the rising trend of transnational crime.
A representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the new policy is not aimed at any specific country or territory, but its core objective is to prevent illegal individuals and organizations from deliberately exploiting the lenient visa-free policy to commit crimes, seek refuge, or conduct clandestine economic activities within Thailand.
Besides security aspects, the country's approach to tourism development has also undergone a significant shift. Minister of Tourism and Sports Surasak Phancharoenworakul affirmed that the Thai government wants to focus on attracting high-quality, high-spending tourists instead of continuing to pursue quantity in an extreme manner.
Actual statistics show that the average length of stay for foreign visitors here is only around 9 days. Therefore, maintaining a visa limit of up to 60 days is unnecessary for purely tourism purposes.
The change in visa exemption policy is part of a campaign to crack down on transnational crime.
Thailand's 60-day visa-free policy, which was widely implemented in 2024 as a stopgap measure to strongly stimulate tourism and support its struggling economy recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, has now reached a peak of nearly 40 million international visitors in 2019. However, the country's tourism landscape is currently facing several bleak indicators.
Tourism data recorded from January 1st to May 17th this year shows that the total number of international visitors to Thailand reached only 12.9 million, a decrease of 3.31% compared to the same period last year. Given the volatile market conditions and the tightening of new visa regulations, Thailand has had to lower its forecast for the total number of international visitors for the whole year to around 32 million, a decrease of one million compared to last year's figure.
This decline accurately reflects the reality that long-haul tourists from Europe are now tending to stay for less than a month per trip, while tourists from neighboring markets in Southeast Asia typically only stay in Thailand for 5 to 12 days. The termination of the long-stay visa exemption policy is expected to help the island nation reassess its travel data system, moving towards a more sustainable and secure growth model.
