Indian passport holders do not need a visa for a Thailand holiday of up to 30 days. As of September 2026, anyone arriving on or after 15 September 2026 enters visa-free for tourism and can stay up to 30 days, down from the 60 days allowed before. What you must do is fill in the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card in the three days before you land, and carry a return ticket, a hotel booking and a passport with six months left. This guide is based on the Tourism Authority of Thailand's announcement of 1 September 2026 and the Royal Thai Embassy in New Delhi, and covers the documents, the fees for longer stays and the mistakes that cause trouble at immigration.
The rule from 15 September 2026: 30 days visa-free
Thailand calls it a visa exemption. Indian ordinary passport holders get up to 30 days per entry, stamped on arrival, with no visa to apply for in advance. It is for tourism only: no work and no business activity. The rules were published in Thailand's Royal Gazette on 31 August 2026 and replace the 60-day exemption Indians had since July 2024, which does not apply to arrivals from 15 September 2026. If you entered Thailand, or travel, before 15 September 2026, you keep the stay you were granted at entry.
The rule has changed more than once since 2024, and older articles, and even some official pages, still talk about 60 days. We recheck it before your travel date on every Thailand package.
Before you fly: the Thailand Digital Arrival Card
- Open tdac.immigration.go.th, the official site. The card is free; sites that charge for it are not official.
- Submit it within three days (72 hours) before your arrival, not earlier.
- Enter your passport details, your travel details and the address of your hotel in Thailand.
- The confirmation and a QR code arrive by email right after you submit. Save it on your phone or print it.
- Do one for every traveller, children and infants included. If you leave Thailand and come back, you need a new card for the new entry.
Thailand's THIM immigration app is optional and does not replace the arrival card. Travellers changing planes airside, without entering Thailand, do not need one.
Documents to carry
- A passport valid for at least six months from the date of arrival, with at least one blank page.
- A confirmed return or onward ticket leaving Thailand within 30 days.
- Your hotel booking or address in Thailand. On a package, the confirmation lists the hotels.
- The arrival card QR code, on your phone or printed.
- Proof of funds, if the officer asks. The Tourism Authority of Thailand lists 10,000 baht per person or 20,000 baht per family for visa-exempt visitors, while the Royal Thai Embassy in London says 20,000 baht per person. To be safe, carry about 20,000 baht per adult (about ₹58,000) in cash, cards or another currency. Children under 12 are not counted.
Fees and processing time, September 2026
| Route | Stay | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Visa exemption | Up to 30 days | Free |
| Digital Arrival Card | Each entry | Free |
| Extension in Thailand | Up to 30 more days | Charged; reported as 1,900 baht |
| Tourist visa, single entry | Up to 60 days | ₹3,000 |
| Tourist visa, multiple entry | Up to 60 days per entry | ₹13,500 |
The exemption is stamped at the airport. The arrival card is confirmed by email straight away. The tourist visa fees are the Royal Thai Embassy New Delhi's: the single-entry visa is valid for three months and the multiple-entry visa for six. The embassy publishes no fixed processing time for the e-visa, so apply at least two to three weeks before you fly. For the extension, 1,900 baht (about ₹5,500) is the widely reported fee; confirm it at the immigration office.
Staying longer than 30 days
There are two ways. The reliable one is a tourist e-visa, applied for online at thaievisa.go.th before you travel. The other is to ask a Thai immigration office for an extension of up to 30 days once you are in the country, for a fee; it is at the officer's discretion, so do not build a trip around it. Official notices also limit how many visa-exempt entries you can make in a calendar year, and they disagree on whether that means two land-border entries or two entries of any kind. It does not affect a single holiday, but repeat visitors should check before a second trip.
At immigration and at the airport
At Bangkok or Phuket airport the officer checks your passport and can ask to see the return ticket and hotel booking, and sometimes proof of funds, so keep them on your phone with the arrival card QR code. The last day you may stay is written on the entry stamp: check it before you leave the counter. On the way home, from 16 October 2026, bags checked in at Thai airports may be opened for inspection without you present if screening flags something, so use a TSA-compatible lock and keep valuables and documents in your hand baggage.
Common mistakes
- Paying a website for the arrival card. The official one is free.
- Filling in the card a week ahead. It is accepted only within three days before arrival.
- Planning a 45 or 60-day stay on old advice without an e-visa.
- A one-way ticket, or a return flight more than 30 days after arrival.
- A passport with less than six months left, or no blank page.
- Landing with little money and no card when the officer asks about funds.
- Packing a vape. Vapes and e-cigarettes are illegal to carry or use in Thailand, with fines typically of 5,000 to 30,000 baht and possible detention.
- Treating visa-free entry as permission to work or do business. It is for tourism only.
Questions we are asked most
Do Indians need a visa for Thailand?
Not for a holiday of up to 30 days. As of September 2026, Indian passport holders arriving on or after 15 September 2026 enter visa-free for tourism, after filling in the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card within three days before landing.
Is the Thailand Digital Arrival Card free?
Yes. Submit it at tdac.immigration.go.th within three days before you land and keep the QR code. Sites that charge a fee are not official. Every traveller, children and infants included, needs their own, and a new one is needed for each entry.
Can Indians still stay 60 days in Thailand without a visa?
No. The 60-day exemption does not apply to arrivals from 15 September 2026, when the 30-day rule takes over. For a longer stay, get a tourist e-visa at thaievisa.go.th before you fly (₹3,000 single entry, up to 60 days), or ask immigration in Thailand for an extension of up to 30 days.
With the entry sorted, the rest of the planning is in the Thailand trip cost guide, the best time to visit Thailand and the 5-day Thailand itinerary. Flight times and trips from your city are on the Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai pages, and every trip is on the Thailand tour packages page.
