Immigration & Relocation Advisory – Dej-Udom & Associates Ltd. Pre-Implementation Advisory – Last updated 22 May 2026
On 19 May 2026, Thailand's Cabinet approved a substantial overhaul of the country's visa exemption and Visa on Arrival regime. According to the official position stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the current 60-day visa exemption applicable to all 93 affected countries and territories will be revoked; the 30-day tourism visa exemption list will be reduced from 57 to 54 jurisdictions; a new 15-day tourism visa exemption list will be introduced for three jurisdictions; and the Visa on Arrival list will be reduced from 31 jurisdictions to four. The government also intends to adopt a "one country/territory, one scheme" principle to eliminate overlapping entry privileges.
At this stage, however, the change has been approved in principle and is not yet operational. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that the legal details will be issued through three Ministry of Interior announcements, and that the new regime will take effect 15 days after publication in the Royal Gazette. For the time being, the precise country lists, the final effective date, and any transitional or grandfathering provisions remain unpublished. This distinction is critical: while the Cabinet decision is both real and material, the country-level implementation rules are not yet available.
The Current Framework
To appreciate the likely impact of these changes, it is important to recall how the current framework was established. In May 2024, the Thai government approved a visa facilitation package designed to support tourism and economic activity. Government public relations materials confirmed that the 60-day "P.60" framework covered 93 jurisdictions in total, comprising the previous 57-country "P.30" baseline together with 36 newly added countries and territories. The current 60-day list took effect on 15 July 2024. Official 2024 Ministry of Foreign Affairs guidance also makes clear that the present P.60 model extends beyond ordinary leisure travel: it supports tourism, business engagements, and certain urgent or ad-hoc work categories, and may be extended for a further 30 days at the discretion of the immigration officer.
Why This Matters for Corporate Travel and Mobility
The Cabinet decision of 19 May 2026 is significant not only for leisure travellers, but also for corporate travel and mobility. The newly announced replacement categories have so far been described by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as tourism schemes. Should the Ministry of Interior announcements preserve this narrower tourism wording, certain travellers who currently enter Thailand without a visa for short meetings, commercial visits, installations, troubleshooting, inspections, or other brief assignments may be required to rely on an e-Visa or a different visa class instead. In other words, the business impact may prove more significant than the tourism-focused headlines suggest.
The Nationality Question
The nationality position is more complex than it may first appear. The Cabinet has approved the revocation of the P.60 scheme for all 93 current jurisdictions, and the entire group is therefore affected. However, the outcomes will not necessarily be uniform. Thailand's Department of Consular Affairs also publishes a separate list of ordinary-passport bilateral visa exemption agreements. These agreements currently permit stays of 14 days for Cambodia and Myanmar; 30 days for China, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Laos, Macao, Mongolia, Russia, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam; and 90 days for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Korea (ROK), and Peru. Accordingly, certain nationalities currently within the P.60 scheme may continue to benefit from a separate treaty-based visa-exempt route even after the unilateral 60-day scheme is withdrawn. For this reason, it would not yet be accurate to state that every current P.60 nationality will simply "revert to 30 days."
The Question of Overlapping Privileges
A further complication concerns overlap. The current official Visa on Arrival (VOA) list reflects that certain jurisdictions presently hold overlapping VOA and visa exemption benefits. The government's new "one country/territory, one scheme" principle appears designed to eliminate such duplication. While this is a sensible measure from an administrative perspective, until the final lists are published, travellers and employers remain unable to determine with certainty which specific route – the 30-day exemption, the 15-day exemption, VOA, a bilateral waiver, or a full visa application – will apply to each passport.
Transitional Arrangements
As regards transition, no formal grandfathering rules have yet been released. The most pertinent unanswered questions are practical in nature: should a traveller enter Thailand under the current P.60 framework before the new regime becomes effective, will that individual retain the original permitted period of stay? Should an extension or in-country conversion application be filed while P.60 remains in force, will it continue to be processed under the current rules? Will any administrative grace period apply to tickets already booked? None of these questions can presently be answered on the basis of the official texts available.
The Compliance Baseline
What is clear is the prevailing compliance baseline. Thailand's e-Visa system is already operational across all Thai embassies and consulates worldwide, and the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) remains mandatory for all non-Thai nationals entering the Kingdom. The overstay rules also remain unchanged: official Thai diplomatic guidance provides that overstaying is unlawful and is subject to a fine of THB 500 per day, up to a maximum of THB 20,000, and may further result in a re-entry ban ranging from one to ten years, depending on the circumstances and the duration of the overstay.
Recommended Action for Businesses
For businesses, we recommend an immediate but measured response:
- Identify all travellers expected to enter Thailand over the coming weeks.
- Distinguish pure tourism cases from business, technical, and project-support travel.
- Flag travellers from jurisdictions that currently rely on the P.60 scheme, VOA, or overlapping privileges.
- For travellers whose journeys cannot be deferred, prepare a fallback e-Visa or alternative visa strategy, so that filings may commence as soon as the final country lists are published.
Our Continued Monitoring
We are monitoring the Royal Gazette and the forthcoming Ministry of Interior announcements closely. This advisory should be regarded as a pre-implementation guidance note and not as a final country-by-country rulebook. Once the official implementing notices are published, we will issue an updated advisory promptly, setting out the exact effective date, the confirmed affected nationalities, the applicable transitional rules, and any sector-specific guidance for business visitors, technicians, students, and long-stay travellers.
This advisory is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance specific to your circumstances, please contact the Immigration & Relocation Department at Dej-Udom & Associates Ltd.