Frequent border hoppers lose the most. Malaysians, Singaporeans, Indonesians and Bruneians are the only ones waved through without a count.
Thailand will start counting how often visa-exempt travellers walk across its land borders. From September 15 most nationalities can use the exemption at a land checkpoint twice a calendar year, and no more.
The rule arrives with the new visa framework published in the Royal Gazette on August 31. That framework replaces the 60-day exemption and cuts the standard stay to 30 days.
Air arrivals are not affected by the counting. The limit applies at land checkpoints, which is exactly where the monthly border run has always happened.
Four nationalities are exempt from the cap. Malaysians, Bruneians, Indonesians and Singaporeans may keep crossing by land without a limit. The interior minister can add others later.
The same twice-a-year ceiling covers the new 15-day exemption given to Seychelles and Mauritius.
For anyone living in Thailand on repeated visa-exempt entries the arithmetic is now simple and unforgiving. Two land crossings will cover roughly two months of the year.
Those who need to stay longer will have to apply for a visa that fits what they are actually doing here. The tourist visa, the DTV, the retirement visa and the Non-Immigrant B all remain open.
The exemption being replaced has been in effect since July 15, 2024. It put no limit on how often a traveller could walk across a land border. That is the part ending on September 15.
Related news
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- Thailand’s new visa rules: 15 days for two countries, VOA for three
- What changes for travellers to Thailand on September 15
- Thailand announces 30-day visa-free stay for 60 countries
- The visa run era is over: 2026 is the year Thailand stopped looking the other way
Sources
The story Thailand caps visa-exempt land border entries at two a year as seen on Thaiger News.
