1. TDAC: the mandatory digital arrival card
What you have to submit
- Passport details (number, expiry, nationality)
- Travel dates and flight/transport information
- Accommodation address in Thailand for first night
- Onward travel information if applicable
- Health declaration (basic — disease symptoms within 14 days)
Where to do it
Important: The TDAC is single-use. Every time you cross the border into Thailand — whether by plane, land, or sea — you need a fresh TDAC. If you do a Cambodia border bounce, you submit a new TDAC for the return entry. Long-stay residents leaving and re-entering still submit each time.
What happens if you don't have one
Airlines increasingly check TDAC before boarding — you can be refused check-in without a valid QR code. At Thai immigration, officers may direct you to a kiosk to complete it on the spot (expect a 10–20 minute delay). Do not rely on last-minute completion — submit within 72 hours before departure. See our TDAC step-by-step guide.
2. Seventeen non-immigrant codes became seven
Effective 31 August 2025, Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs consolidated 17 historical non-immigrant visa codes into 7 main categories. This was largely an administrative cleanup — old codes that had been deprecated for years were finally retired — but it has practical implications for anyone applying via Thai embassies abroad.
The 7 categories
| Code | Purpose |
|---|---|
| B | Business / employment (was: B, IB) |
| O | Other (retirement, marriage, dependents, volunteer) |
| ED | Education / study |
| M | Media / journalism |
| R | Religious |
| RS | Research and Scientist |
| F | Official duties (diplomatic adjacent) |
If you applied for a Non-Immigrant visa before 31 August 2025 under an old code (like Non-O-A specifically issued as a sub-code), your existing visa is still valid until expiry — the consolidation applies to new applications only. The DTV, LTR, SMART, and Privilege visas are separate from this consolidation and were not affected.
3. The 60→30 day visa-exempt rollback proposal
Visa-exempt entry for citizens of 93 countries was extended from 30 to 60 days in late 2024 as a tourism-recovery measure. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has now signaled that the experiment is ending — a Cabinet proposal is heading to formal ratification to halve visa-exempt back to 30 days.
As of 26 April 2026, the change has not been enacted. The current 60-day visa-exempt remains in force. But every official statement we've seen indicates the rollback is happening — most likely sometime in mid-2026.
What this means for travelers
- Trip already planned for May–June 2026: 60 days still applies. Use them.
- Trip planned for late 2026: Plan for 30 days. The "+30 day extension" at any immigration office (฿1,900) is expected to remain, giving you a total 60-day stay if needed.
- Long-stay applicants: No impact. Your retirement, marriage, DTV, etc. are governed by separate rules.
- Frequent border bouncers: The 30-day cap combined with the November 2025 land-border 2/year cap makes ad-hoc visa-runs nearly impossible. The DTV at ฿10,000 for 5 years × 180 days/entry is now the rational alternative.
4. Stricter enforcement on back-to-back entries
Even before any official rollback of visa-exempt, immigration officers at major airports and land borders have been applying more discretion against visitors with patterns of consecutive visa-exempt entries. Documented at Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, and especially Mae Sai/Mae Sot land crossings:
- Refusal of visa-exempt entries for travelers with 3+ visa-exempts in the prior 12 months
- Requests for proof of onward travel beyond the typical "we'll see what we feel like" bar
- Proof-of-funds checks (typically ฿20,000 cash equivalent for solo travelers)
- Detailed questioning about source of income, accommodation, and intent
If you're approaching the third visa-exempt entry in 12 months and want to stay long-term, switch to a proper long-stay visa before the next entry, not after a border refusal.
5. Proof of funds: the ฿20,000 question
Proof-of-funds requirements have always been on the books — Thai immigration regulations have specified ฿20,000 per person or ฿40,000 per family for visa-exempt entry — but enforcement was sporadic for years. In 2026, enforcement at airports and land borders is more consistent.
What counts as proof
- Cash equivalent (฿20,000 in any currency at landing day's rate)
- Recent bank statement showing balance
- Credit card with available limit (proven by recent statement)
- Combination of cash and card
The threshold is rarely the issue — most travelers easily exceed it. The issue is officers asking for it. Have your phone ready to show a bank-app screenshot if asked.
6. The DTV continues — and is now the obvious answer for many
The Destination Thailand Visa launched in mid-2024 and has continued unchanged through 2026. Five years validity, 180 days per entry, ฿10,000 fee, remote-work explicitly permitted, and the soft-power category (Muay Thai, Thai cooking, Thai language, traditional Thai medicine) is broader than most people realize.
For anyone who would have done back-to-back visa-exempt or tourist visa rotations, the DTV is now the rational replacement. Read our full DTV page for the application path and what qualifies.
7. What didn't change (worth noting)
- LTR Visa: 10-year residency program continues, tax exemption under Royal Decree 743 intact
- Privilege Visa: 4 tiers (Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Reserve) all available; Bronze deadline still 30 September 2026
- Retirement (Non-O, O-A, O-X): Financial requirements unchanged; ฿800,000 deposit or ฿65,000/month for Non-O
- Marriage Non-O: ฿400,000 deposit or ฿40,000/month income; documentation rigor unchanged
- SMART Visa: Only S-track since the February 2025 reform; T, I, E, O tracks merged into LTR or discontinued
What to do this week
- If you have a trip planned, submit the TDAC the day before you fly. tdac.immigration.go.th
- If you've been doing visa-exempt rotations, plan your switch to a proper long-stay visa before the rollback. Use our visa finder quiz to identify your best fit.
- If your last visa-exempt entry was within 12 months and you're returning, expect more questions at immigration. Bring proof of funds and onward travel.
- If you're applying for any non-immigrant visa from a Thai embassy abroad, confirm the new code structure — older codes are no longer issued.
Sources: Royal Thai Embassy and Ministry of Foreign Affairs official announcements (August 2025), Ministry of Tourism and Sports public statements (April 2026), Thai Immigration Bureau TDAC portal documentation, and field reporting from Pattaya/Jomtien Immigration Office practice. We update this post when the visa-exempt rollback is officially enacted.
Year-end recap: 2026 annual review · All blog posts
Related guides
- DTV Visa — 5 years, 180 days/entry, ฿10,000
- Visa runs vs extensions — 2026 land-border cap and what to do
- Visa Finder Quiz — Find your best match in 5 questions
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