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A Ministry of Interior notice was formally published in the Royal Gazette on August 31, announcing that from September 15, 2026, the unilateral 60-day visa exemption previously granted to 93 countries and territories will be revoked, replaced by a narrower arrangement covering fewer nationalities with shorter stays. Under the new rules, citizens of 21 countries and territories will need to apply for a visa before entering Thailand, while citizens of roughly 60 others will still receive visa-free entry, though the permitted stay shortens from 60 days to 30.

Notably, entry arrangements for Chinese citizens fall outside this adjustment. Under the bilateral mutual visa-exemption agreement signed by Thailand and China, formally in effect since March 1, 2024, Chinese citizens holding ordinary passports traveling for tourism or family visits can still enter visa-free for up to 30 days per visit, with a cumulative cap of 90 days within any 180-day period. Because that arrangement rests on a separate bilateral agreement rather than the unilateral policy being revoked, the change has no bearing on Chinese tourists or family visitors. Beyond China, citizens of Hong Kong, Macao, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mongolia, Russia, Timor-Leste and Vietnam likewise continue to receive 30-day visa-free stays under their own respective bilateral agreements with Thailand.

Thai authorities have framed the change as a "normalization" of the temporary "60-day expanded exemption" policy introduced in 2024, which was originally a short-term measure meant to boost tourism recovery after the pandemic. With inbound tourism now largely back to pre-pandemic levels, relevant Thai agencies say it is necessary to recalibrate the balance between security management and travel convenience, gradually shifting back toward a more narrowly scoped, bilaterally-based exemption system.

Analysts say the change is effectively a non-event for Chinese travelers, since the Thailand-China bilateral exemption has run smoothly on its own, and in recent years mutual visa exemption has been seen as an important institutional pillar supporting travel, tourism and business exchange between the two countries. As the new rules formally take effect on September 15, Thailand's tourism and immigration authorities are expected to step up verification of arriving travelers' nationality and exemption eligibility, to ensure a smooth transition and avoid confusion in enforcement.

Thailand's "60-day expanded exemption" policy, launched in 2024 and initially covering 93 countries and territories, was a temporary, broadened measure meant to speed inbound tourism recovery after the pandemic, and one of the most expansive shifts in Thai tourist-visa policy in recent years. The new rules taking effect September 15 mark a key turning point in that temporary policy's wind-down: citizens of 21 countries and territories will lose visa-free entry and must now apply for visas, while roughly 60 others retain exemption but with stays uniformly trimmed to 30 days. Analysts say the change essentially pulls the pandemic-era special arrangement back toward a more normalized exemption system anchored in bilateral agreements with clearer scope — and since China, Laos and Vietnam hold separate bilateral agreements with Thailand, their visa-free status was never tied to the policy being revoked, leaving them effectively untouched by this round of changes.