Thailand gives UAE and GCC travellers a final chance to secure 60-day visa-free stays
New arrangements will shorten initial stays but preserve visa-free access
DUBAI – Thailand has confirmed that travellers from the UAE and other GCC countries can still take advantage of the country’s existing 60-day visa-free stay if they enter before September 15, 2026.
The clarification gives UAE, Saudi Arabian, Qatari, Kuwaiti, Omani and Bahraini travellers a final window to enter under the current arrangement before Thailand introduces a shorter 30-day visa-exemption period.
The change was formally confirmed after Thailand published four Ministry of Interior regulations in the Royal Gazette on August 31. The regulations will take effect 15 days after publication, making September 15 the official date for the new rules. Travellers admitted before the change will retain the period of stay granted to them by Thai immigration authorities, meaning the new 30-day limit will not retrospectively cut short an existing 60-day stay.
For GCC travellers planning longer holidays in Thailand, the timing of arrival is therefore particularly important. Those who enter by September 14 and are granted the existing 60-day exemption will keep that authorised period even after the new framework comes into force.
60-day window
Thailand’s current visa-exemption arrangement allows eligible nationals to enter without obtaining a visa in advance and receive an initial stay of up to 60 days. The UAE and all five other GCC countries are among the nationalities covered by the current and revised arrangements.
The existing scheme was introduced in 2024 and expanded visa-free access to nationals of 93 countries and territories. It allowed eligible visitors to enter Thailand for tourism and certain short-term work or business activities.
Thailand is now replacing that arrangement with a more restricted framework. From September 15, the general visa-free period for the affected nationalities will be reduced to 30 days, although the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain will remain eligible for visa-free tourist entry.
The key distinction for travellers is that the change applies to new arrivals after the effective date. People who have already entered Thailand under the existing 60-day scheme will not have their authorised stay automatically reduced when the new rules begin.
A traveller from the UAE who enters Thailand on September 14 and receives a 60-day stay will therefore retain that period rather than being moved to the new 30-day limit on September 15.
The same principle applies to eligible nationals from the wider GCC.
UAE and GCC included
The UAE is among 60 countries and territories that will continue to receive visa-free tourist access under Thailand’s new system.
The other GCC members included are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The final 30-day list also includes major international markets such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, as well as India, Japan, South Korea’s regional counterparts and numerous European and Asian countries. The final list contains 60 countries and territories, despite earlier Thai government communications referring to 59.
For UAE and GCC nationals, this means visa-free access to Thailand is not being withdrawn. Instead, the initial period available to new visitors will be reduced from two months to one month from September 15.
The new regulation specifically defines the 30-day exemption around tourism. It does not carry over the references to certain short-term work and business activities that appeared in the outgoing 60-day framework.
That distinction could matter for travellers whose plans extend beyond a conventional holiday, as the purpose and conditions attached to the new exemption are narrower than those of the scheme being replaced.
Longer stays possible
The introduction of a 30-day initial stay does not necessarily prevent eligible visitors from spending longer in Thailand.
Under the wider framework approved by Thailand’s Cabinet, travellers eligible for the new 30-day exemption will be able to request a one-time extension of up to another 30 days, subject to approval by Thai immigration authorities.
This provides a potential route to a longer stay for UAE and GCC visitors who enter after September 15. The additional period, however, is not automatic. Travellers must apply for the extension and meet the requirements set by Thai immigration authorities.
The extension provision comes from the broader reform approved by the Thai Cabinet and is separate from the regulation that establishes the list of 60 countries eligible for the 30-day exemption.
As a result, travellers planning longer stays will need to distinguish between the initial visa-free entitlement and any additional period subsequently approved by immigration.
New entry rules
Thailand’s reforms also introduce changes affecting visitors who use land-border crossings.
Under the new 30-day visa-exemption arrangement, visa-exempt travellers will generally be allowed to enter Thailand through a land border checkpoint no more than twice in a calendar year.
The restriction applies specifically to land-border entries. It does not establish a general two-entry-per-year limit for travellers arriving in Thailand by air.
Four nationalities are specifically exempt from the land-border limitation: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Thailand’s Interior Minister may also exempt additional nationalities from the restriction in the future.
For UAE and GCC travellers flying into Thailand, the land-border provision does not impose a two-entry annual limit on their international air arrivals.
The distinction is relevant to visitors who combine Thailand with neighbouring countries and use land crossings as part of their itinerary. The new rule is aimed specifically at repeated visa-exempt land-border entries rather than ordinary air travel into Thailand.
Other categories
Thailand’s revised system will also introduce a separate 15-day visa exemption for nationals of Mauritius and Seychelles.
The two countries will sit outside the main 60-country group receiving 30-day visa-free tourist stays.
The Maldives, which had initially been considered for the shorter category, was ultimately included in the 30-day exemption list.
Visa on Arrival eligibility will also be substantially reduced. From September 15, only nationals of Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia will qualify under the revised VoA arrangement.
India had appeared in earlier versions of the reform as a Visa on Arrival nationality but was ultimately moved into the 30-day visa-exemption category. Indian passport holders will therefore continue to be able to enter Thailand without obtaining a visa in advance for tourism, but their initial visa-free stay will be limited to 30 days under the new system.
The change represents a significant reduction from the existing Visa on Arrival system, which currently covers nationals of 31 countries and territories.
Bilateral exemptions
The end of Thailand’s general 60-day exemption will not affect every existing visa-free arrangement.
Thailand maintains separate bilateral visa-exemption agreements with a number of countries, and these arrangements will continue independently of the regulations replacing the 60-day scheme.
Cambodia and Myanmar have arrangements providing stays of up to 14 days, with Myanmar’s exemption limited to arrivals through international airports.
China, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Laos, Macao, Mongolia, Russia, Timor-Leste and Vietnam have bilateral arrangements allowing stays of up to 30 days.
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, South Korea and Peru have arrangements allowing stays of up to 90 days.
These bilateral agreements are not repealed by the four regulations published in the Royal Gazette on August 31.
Thailand’s revised approach is intended to establish a clearer framework in which nationalities are assigned a particular entry entitlement, while bilateral agreements continue to operate where applicable.
Visa applications
Some nationalities currently covered by Thailand’s 60-day exemption will no longer appear on the new 30-day list, the 15-day exemption list or the Visa on Arrival list.
Travellers from those countries will generally need to obtain a Thai visa unless another exemption or bilateral arrangement applies to them.
Thailand has operated an e-Visa system worldwide since January 2025, allowing eligible applicants to submit visa applications online through the relevant Thai diplomatic mission.
The change therefore creates a more nationality-specific system from September 15, with travellers needing to check the entitlement associated with their passport before travelling.