Thailand will reduce the period of visa-free stay of tourists to 30 days

The Thai authorities intend to strengthen immigration control and reduce the period of visa-free stay of foreign tourists from 60 to 30 days. This was announced on May 12 by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom Sihasak Phuangketkeu.

"We believe that 60 days is too long, and that some people who are not real tourists use this exception for illegal purposes. We want to tighten control," Thai PBS quoted the vice premier as saying.

He noted that the country's authorities had been analyzing the current visa policy for several months and came to the conclusion that the current 60-day visa-free regime with the possibility of extending it for another 30 days was excessive. In addition, Thai authorities will strengthen checks on incoming foreigners to ensure that the purpose of the trip meets the conditions of the visas issued.

Earlier, the Thai Foreign Minister had already stated that the reduction in the duration of visa-free stay is related to the fight against online fraud.

Since July 15, 2024, Thailand has introduced a 60-day visa-free regime for citizens of 93 countries and territories, including Russia. At the same time, Russians had previously been able to stay in the kingdom without a visa for 60 days, despite the fact that the intergovernmental agreement of 2005 provided for a 30-day stay.

Apartment of the World: Russians began to actively buy up real estate in Thailand

The average budget for buying foreign real estate is $250-500 thousand.

For the first time, the discussion about reducing visa-free stay in Thailand from 60 to 30 days for tourists from 93 countries became known on February 12. Then this was stated by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism Natthria Thawiwong. According to her, this change should not affect tourism, as tourists in Thailand do not stay for more than 21 days on average.