Thailand Extends 45-Day Visa-Free Stay Until 2024
Thailand’s 45-day visa exemption for Western travelers will be extended until year-end 2024 to sustain tourism recovery post-Covid.
It’s no longer a secret: the Kingdom of Thailand is poised to announce an extension of its long-standing 45-day tourist-visa waiver for a broad range of Western nationalities.
The 45-day visa exemption in Thailand allows eligible passport holders to stay up to 45 days without securing a visa in advance. First introduced in 2021 to reignite a tourism sector crippled by Covid-19, the programme was set to expire on 31 March 2023.
On 31 January, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) formally urged the cabinet to prolong the exemption by nine months, pushing the cut-off to 31 December 2023. Official confirmation is expected by the end of March.
Eligibility basics include a passport valid at least six months beyond entry and proofs of confirmed onward travel plus adequate funds. Travellers already in-country may also extend their stay for an additional 30 days by filing at a Thai immigration office within the original 45-day window and paying a 1,900-baht fee.
