Nation Thailand reported that Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has directed relevant agencies to establish a working group to re-evaluate the entire current visa system. This review includes many types of visas such as investment visas, long-term visas, study visas and visas for remote workers.
One of the notable proposals is to reduce the visa exemption period from 60 days to 30 days. This proposal is expected to be submitted to the Thai Cabinet for consideration in the near future.
Currently, citizens from 93 countries and territories are allowed to enter Thailand on visa-free basis with a maximum stay of 60 days.
Thai authorities said that the average length of stay of international visitors in this country is just over 9 days. Among them, Norwegian tourists have the longest length of stay, about 21 days. Therefore, authorities believe that the 30-day visa exemption period is still enough to meet the needs of most tourists.
For long-term stays for internship, treatment or work purposes, authorities believe that tourists can register for appropriate visas instead of using visa-free policies.
The visa tightening move takes place in the context of Thailand facing many issues related to foreigners doing illegal business or using native people's names to circumvent legal regulations.
However, the plan to shorten the visa exemption period and the proposal to charge entry fees for international visitors are facing reactions from the country's tourism industry. Many opinions worry that tightening policies may reduce Thailand's competitiveness compared to destinations in the region such as Vietnam and Malaysia.
In the first quarter of 2026, Malaysia welcomed about 10.6 million international visitors, an increase of 5% compared to the same period last year, thereby becoming the most attractive country in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, Thailand recorded about 9.3 million visitors, down 2.3% compared to the same period last year.
