How to Apply for a Thai Tourist Visa

Foreigners wishing to travel to Thailand should apply to a local Thai embassy or consulate for tourist visas. Unless the country has signed a visa exemption agreement with Thailand, one must go to the embassy or consulate in Thailand to apply for a visa before entering the country, or obtain a visa on arrival.

Visa Exemption

At present, Thailand grants visa-free treatment to residents of 57 countries and territories.
All citizens of western countries are eligible for visa-free entry, but the eastern part of the European Union (Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Malta and Cyprus) requires a visa, but they can get one on arrival.

List of passport nationalities which are eligible to enter Thailand without visa:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macao, Malaysia, Monaco, Mongolia, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam

Among them, people from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, South Korea and Peru can visit Thailand for up to 90 days with a visa-free entry. Passport holders of Cambodia and Myanmar can only stay for up to 14 days without a visa. Other counties are allowed to travel to Thailand without a visa for 30 days.

Documents required to apply for a Thai Visa Exemption:
1.    Make sure your original passport valid for at least 6 months
2.    Thailand Arrival/Departure Card completely filled out
3.    Round-trip air ticket or train ticket

Visa on Arrival

Nationals of 21 countries and territories can obtain a visa on arrival at a cost of 2,000 baht and stay for 15 days. Thailand currently has opened 32 ports of entry and exit to apply for visa on arrival. From November 21, 2018, Thailand officially launched electronic landing visas to tourists from 21 countries and regions, which will greatly shorten the time for visitors to sign the visa at the Thai airport.

There are Andorra, Bhutan, Bulgaria, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. 

Documents required to apply for a Thai Visa on Arrival:
1.    Please ensure your passport valid for at least 6 months with blank visa pages
2.    Thailand Arrival/Departure Card filled out on airplane
3.    Application form for visa on arrival completely filled out
4.    One recent 4x6cm. photograph of the applicant
5.    Round-trip air ticket or e-ticket (paid in full)
6.    Hotel Confirmation Voucher
7.    Proof of financial means (20,000 baht per person/40,000 baht per family)

Tourist Visa (Visa Stamp)

Citizens of countries that have not signed a bilateral visa waiver agreement with Thailand or are not eligible for visa on arrival, they are required to obtain a tourist visa in advance at the Royal Thai Embassy or a Royal Thai Consulate-General at their own country. One can apply for a single-entry tourist visa (30 days) or multiple entry tourist visa (60 days).

Thai Embassy and Consulates: http://www.thaiembassy.org/main/
Tel: (662) 643-5000

Documents required to apply for a Thai tourist Visa:
1.    Passport or travel document with validity not less than 6 months
2.    Visa application form completely filled out
3.    One recent (4 x 6 cm.) photograph of the applicant
4.    Air ticket or eTicket paid in full
5.    Financial means (20,000 Baht per person and 40,000 Baht per family)
6.    Consular officers reserve the rights to request for additional documents as deemed necessary