Thailand Reduces Visa-Free Stay for 93 Countries: What Changes for Tourists

Thailand is preparing one of the most noticeable decisions for the tourism market this spring: the country is abandoning the 60-day visa-free regime that applied to 93 countries and territories and is returning to shorter stay periods. For travelers, this is not just a technical change. It affects the planning of long vacations, wintering, combined trips through Southeast Asia, and budget routes where Thailand often served as a base point for several weeks or even months.

The decision is particularly important for those who are used to relying on flexible entry rules. According to official information from the Thai government, on May 19, 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the revision of visa-free entry schemes and Visa on Arrival. The key news is that the 60-day visa-free scheme for all 93 countries will be canceled, and new criteria will take effect only after the publication of the corresponding announcements in the Royal Gazette, after which they will be active 15 days later. In other words, the change has already been politically approved, but for tourists, it is important to monitor the date of official publication.

What Exactly Thailand Changed

The official announcement from the Government Public Relations Department of Thailand contains several decisions at once. First, the government is canceling the 60-day visa-free entry for 93 countries and territories. Second, a separate 30-day scheme for tourist trips is being revised: the number of countries covered by it is being reduced from 57 to 54. Third, a new 15-day visa-free entry scheme for tourist purposes is being introduced for three countries. Separately, the government revised the Visa on Arrival program, reducing the list of participating countries from 31 to four.

From a practical standpoint, this means that the former simple model of "arrived without a visa and stayed for 60 days" will no longer be the base scenario for most travelers from the list of 93 countries. The Nation clarifies that after the cancellation of the 60-day regime, most states will return to previous rules, under which the typical stay period will be around 30 days. Ukraine is included in the list of countries to which the 60-day rule applied, so the news directly concerns Ukrainian tourists.

When the New Rules Will Take Effect

This question is currently the main one for the market. At the time of preparing this material, Thailand has already approved the policy change, but it still has to go through a formal stage. The government explicitly stated that the details and criteria will be set out in announcements from the Ministry of Interior, which will be published in the Royal Gazette. Only after this will the 15-day countdown to entry into force begin.

For tourists, this means one simple thing: you should rely not on rumors in social networks or old blogs about trips to Thailand, but on official announcements and rules that will be in effect on the date of your departure. If a trip is planned for the near future, it is worth checking the conditions once more immediately before boarding the flight. This is especially relevant for those who have already bought tickets and expected to stay in the country for more than 30 days without a separate visa.

Why the Authorities are Returning to a Shorter Stay Period

Thailand does not hide the reasons. In the government announcement, the main motives mentioned are national security issues, economic and tourism interests, the principle of reciprocity, the elimination of overlapping multiple visa-free regimes for the same countries, and the availability of a more convenient electronic visa system. In other words, it is not just about tourism as such, but an attempt to bring order to the structure of entry rules.

Even before the Cabinet's decision, on May 13, 2026, Reuters reported, citing the Thai Foreign Minister, that the reduction of the stay period is seen as a way to reduce abuse of the tourist regime and illegal activities of some foreigners. This provides important context: the state is trying to filter out situations where longer visa-free stays are used not for short trips, but as a semi-permanent model of residence.

For the tourism sector, such an argument is ambiguous. On one hand, the authorities want to better control flows and reduce gray schemes of work or long-term residence. On the other hand, the 60-day period was a strong marketing asset for Thailand for digital nomads, winterers, slow travelers, and those who combined vacation with short-term remote work. Now the country is effectively betting that quality tourism will not suffer, and longer trips will go through other visa routes.

What This Means for Ukrainian Tourists

For Ukrainians, the main conclusion is simple: if the new rules take effect before the date of your entry, you should no longer rely on 60 days without a separate visa. When planning a trip to Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, or Samui, you will have to check the duration of the route against the updated rules and, if necessary, look for another visa format in advance.

This applies not only to classic beach vacations. Many travelers build their route through Thailand as a longer Asian hub: they arrive at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, then fly to the islands or to the north of the country, and then return to Bangkok before an international flight. For such scenarios, the time reserve was sometimes the key advantage of the 60-day regime. Now flexibility may decrease.

If your route passes through popular resort air gateways, it is also worth checking the current arrival logistics and connections. The air-travel.com.ua website already has useful pages about Phuket Airport (HKT), Chiang Mai Airport (CNX) and the online departure and arrival board in Bangkok. This will help those who plan a complex route and want to avoid connection errors against the backdrop of changing entry rules.

Will This Hit Thailand's Tourism

In the short term, the news will definitely affect market sentiment. Thailand has long competed not only with its beaches, but also with the ease of entry. That is why the reduction of the visa-free period looks like a noticeable signal, especially for European and distant markets, where travelers often book vacations for several weeks or combine the country with neighboring destinations.

At the same time, it is not worth exaggerating the blow to mass tourism. According to data cited by Reuters on May 13, from January 1 to May 10, 2026, Thailand received 12.4 million foreign tourists, which is 3.43% less than a year earlier. Tourism remains a critically important industry for the economy, and that is why Bangkok is trying to find a balance between convenience for tourists and stricter control over how the right of visa-free entry is used.

From the government's perspective, the logic is clear: most classic tourists do not stay in the country for the full 60 days, and therefore returning to a shorter standard should not radically reduce the flow. But from the tourism business perspective, the situation is more complex. Longer stays bring more spending on accommodation, transport, food, internal flights, and excursions. If part of such trips are redirected to other destinations with softer rules, the effect on local resorts and long-term rentals could be noticeable.

What Not to Forget, Even if a Visa is Not Required

Another important point: visa-free entry does not mean the absence of formalities. From May 1, 2025, all foreign tourists entering Thailand by air, land, or sea must fill out the Thailand Digital Arrival Card, or TDAC, within three days before arrival. This is an official electronic system that replaced the paper TM.6 form.

Therefore, even while maintaining the right to visa-free entry, a traveler must consider two blocks of rules: first, how many days they can stay in the country without a separate visa; second, what pre-entry formalities must be completed before the trip. For inexperienced tourists, this combination often becomes a source of confusion. After the announced reform, the risk of such confusion will only increase, as old advice from forums and video blogs quickly becomes outdated.

What Tourists Should Do Now

The best strategy for the coming weeks is to check the rules not once at the time of buying a flight ticket, but several times: during booking, a few days before departure, and immediately before checking in for the flight. If a trip to Thailand lasts more than 30 days or is close to this limit, it is safer to immediately think of a backup scenario with a visa or a change of route.

Special attention should be paid to those who plan to combine Thailand with neighboring countries. In such schemes, even a small reduction in the allowed stay period can break the entire logic of the route, and especially if a long return to Bangkok is planned before an international flight. It is also important to check the airline's requirements: carriers often rely on official rules of the destination country and may ask for proof of the right to enter or a further route.

Main Conclusion

Thailand is not closing to tourists, but is changing the philosophy of access: from a maximally wide and long visa-free stay to a more controlled model in which short tourist trips remain the priority, and longer stays must transition to other legal regimes. For the tourism market, this is one of the most important news of the week, because it affects not a specific resort or one airline, but the very basic condition of travel — the right of entry.

For Ukrainian travelers, the practical conclusion is even simpler: if you are going to Thailand in 2026, you can no longer automatically count on 60 days of visa-free stay. You need to wait for the publication of the new rules in the Royal Gazette, monitor the date of entry into force, and check the current conditions specifically for your trip. In a season when countries increasingly review visa and border rules, such attentiveness has already become not a formality, but a necessary part of travel preparation.