Last updated: 1 October 2026. Entry rules for Thailand change often. Always confirm the details with the Thai embassy in your country or the Thai Immigration Bureau before you book.
Thailand dropped all of its COVID-19 entry rules in 2022. There are no tests, no vaccination certificates, no quarantine and no Thailand Pass. What has changed since then is the paperwork: a shorter visa-free stay from 15 September 2026, a compulsory online arrival card, and a proposed tourist fee that has not started yet. This guide covers what travellers, and especially medical travellers, need to know today.
Quick checklist
- A passport valid for at least six months from your arrival date
- A visa, or a nationality that qualifies for visa-free entry (now 30 days, tourism only)
- The Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC), completed online within 3 days before arrival
- Proof of onward or return travel, in case the immigration officer asks for it
- A yellow fever vaccination certificate, but only if you have travelled from or through a country with yellow fever
- Travel or health insurance: not required for visa-free entry, but strongly recommended
Visa-free entry: now 30 days, tourism only
From 15 September 2026, Thailand replaced its 60-day visa exemption with a shorter one. The change was published in the Royal Gazette on 31 August 2026. The main points are:
- Visa-free stays are now a maximum of 30 days per entry, down from 60 days.
- The list of eligible countries and territories has been cut from 93 to about 60. Check that your nationality is still on it before you travel.
- Visa-free entry is now for tourism only. Short business trips and urgent work are no longer covered, so business travellers should apply for the correct non-immigrant visa in advance.
- Visa-free entries over land borders are limited to two per calendar year for most nationalities.
- The stay can usually be extended once by up to 30 days at a local immigration office, for a fee of about 1,900 baht. Apply before your current permission to stay runs out.
Immigration officers may ask to see an onward ticket or proof that you can support yourself during your stay, so keep these to hand.
The Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC)
Since 1 May 2025, every foreign national entering Thailand must complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card online. It replaced the old paper TM6 form.
- Complete it within 3 days (72 hours) before you arrive.
- It applies to all foreign visitors, including children, whether you arrive by air, land or sea.
- It is free on the official government website, tdac.immigration.go.th. Several lookalike websites charge a fee for the same form, so check the address carefully.
- Keep the confirmation on your phone or print it in case it is requested.
Travelling to Thailand for medical treatment
A 30-day visa-free stay is enough for many planned procedures, such as dental work, health checks and minor surgery. Longer treatment, or treatment with a long recovery period, needs a visa.
- Tourist visa for medical treatment: for treatment of less than 60 days.
- Non-Immigrant O visa for medical treatment: for treatment of more than 60 days.
- Both normally require a letter from the Thai hospital confirming your appointment or treatment plan, plus proof that you can pay for it. Embassies may ask for further documents.
- Most large private hospitals in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya and Chiang Mai have international patient departments that can provide the hospital letter and help with visa extensions.
Plan your dates with your hospital before you choose a visa. Treatment schedules often run longer than expected, and an extension is easier to arrange before your stay expires than after. Our guide to the top hospitals in Thailand is a good place to start.
Health requirements on arrival
There are no COVID-19 requirements of any kind. The only health document Thailand asks for at the border is an International Certificate of Vaccination for yellow fever, and only from travellers who have come from or passed through a country listed as a yellow fever infected area. Most of these countries are in Africa and South America. Travellers who need the certificate and cannot show it may be refused entry.
No other vaccinations are required to enter Thailand, but several are recommended depending on your plans. See our guide to travel vaccinations for Thailand and speak to a travel clinic at least six weeks before you leave.
Insurance
Health or travel insurance is not a condition of visa-free entry. It is still strongly advised. Private hospitals in Thailand expect payment or an insurance guarantee before treatment, and a serious emergency can cost hundreds of thousands of baht. Some long-stay visas, such as the Non-Immigrant O-A retirement visa, do require health insurance.
Check what your current policy covers abroad before you travel: does my health insurance cover me for international travel? Our Thailand insurance FAQ covers the most common questions.
The tourist entry fee: proposed, not yet charged
Thailand has discussed a tourist entry fee for several years. In August 2026 the National Tourism Policy Committee approved, in principle, a flat fee of 450 baht per foreign visitor arriving by air, land or sea. Part of the money is intended to fund accident and medical cover for visitors.
As of 1 October 2026, nothing is being collected. The fee would start 180 days after it is published in the Royal Gazette, and that has not happened yet. The collection method and the list of exemptions have also not been confirmed. We will update this page when a start date is announced.
If you get sick in Thailand
- Tourist Police: call 1155 (English spoken)
- Medical emergency and ambulance: call 1669
- See emergency numbers in Thailand and where to go when you are sick in Thailand.
Where to check the official rules
- Thai e-Visa (official visa applications): thaievisa.go.th
- Thailand Digital Arrival Card: tdac.immigration.go.th
- Thai Immigration Bureau: immigration.go.th
- The Thai embassy or consulate in your home country
This page replaces our earlier COVID-19 travel updates from 2021 and 2022, such as Test and Go and Thailand Pass, which no longer apply. Healthcare in Thailand is an information site, not a legal or immigration adviser. Please confirm visa details with the official sources above.