Updated October 30, 2026.
Thailand’s revised Visa on Arrival list applies to passports from Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia from 15 September 2026. The route allows an eligible traveller to apply at a designated Thai immigration checkpoint for a short tourism visit. It is different from entering under visa exemption and from obtaining an e-Visa before departure.
If you previously relied on a list of 31 eligible countries and territories, check again before booking. Some passports now use an exemption arrangement, while others need an appropriate visa in advance. The fact that you obtained Visa on Arrival on a previous trip does not establish the route is still available today.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand’s revised-arrangements announcement confirms the three-country list. The practical conditions below also draw on current official embassy guidance, with differences identified where they affect planning.
The current route in practical terms
| Item | Current preparation point |
|---|---|
| Eligible passports | Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia under the revised list |
| Purpose | Tourism under the Visa on Arrival route |
| Initial period | Up to 15 days under current embassy guidance |
| Official fee | 2,000 baht, described by embassy guidance as cash in Thai baht and non-refundable |
| Financial evidence | Embassy guidance identifies 10,000 baht per person or 20,000 baht per family |
| Extension | Generally unavailable, apart from exceptional cases such as illness preventing departure |
| Arrival card | A separate TDAC submission where required; it does not issue the visa |
Do not treat the table as a substitute for the complete instructions for your passport and checkpoint. It gives you the main issues to resolve before the trip rather than after landing.
Check the passport you will actually present
Eligibility follows the relevant passport or travel document, not a country where you live or an airport where your flight begins. Someone resident in an eligible country does not automatically qualify while travelling on another country’s passport.
Check the exact document category. Ordinary passports and other travel documents can have different arrangements. If you hold an unusual or emergency document, obtain specific guidance before relying on a general nationality list.
If your passport was eligible under the old list but is absent now, investigate both the current exemption arrangements and advance-visa route. Do not jump directly from “not eligible for Visa on Arrival” to “no visa required”.
The Royal Thai Embassy in Moscow’s revision notice provides concrete examples: it confirms continuing Visa on Arrival for Belarus and explains that ordinary Uzbek and Armenian passport holders must obtain an appropriate visa before travel under the revised measures. Those examples show why the current passport-specific arrangement matters.
Distinguish exemption from an arrival application
A visa-exempt traveller does not obtain Visa on Arrival merely because Immigration processes their entry at the airport. Visa on Arrival involves an application for the visa at the checkpoint under the relevant scheme.
The revised exemption framework includes a 30-day group, a 15-day group and separate bilateral arrangements. Your passport may belong to one of those instead. Our visa-exemption update explains that framework.
This distinction affects the fee, document preparation and possible stay length. A traveller should not pay a Visa on Arrival charge solely because a third-party website uses that phrase for all arrivals. Establish the actual route first.
For a mixed-passport family, make a separate entry plan for each person. The eligible spouse’s route does not automatically cover the other spouse. Children also need their own appropriate travel documents and entry basis.
Prepare passport, form and photograph
The Royal Thai Embassy in Vienna’s Visa on Arrival guidance lists a passport valid for at least six months with at least two blank pages, a completed application form and a recent 4 by 6 centimetre photograph.
Check the passport before purchasing a fixed itinerary. If it needs renewal, account for the time required and ensure later booking and arrival records use the new document consistently. A copy of a passport does not replace the required original travel document.
Use a photograph meeting the stated format. Do not assume that a casual phone image or a passport photo in a different size will be accepted without adjustment. Carry the required photograph and complete the current form accurately.
Keep the identity details consistent across the form, ticket and arrival card. Differences caused by a name change need genuine supporting records where required; they should not be hidden by editing an official document.
Arrange departure evidence within the permitted period
Vienna’s guidance calls for a confirmed return ticket or evidence of departure within 15 days. This fits the stated maximum stay. Plan a genuine itinerary that leaves within the permission you intend to request.
Another official embassy page reviewed uses 30-day wording for onward tickets while describing a 15-day Visa on Arrival. That discrepancy should not be used as permission to plan a 30-day stay. A traveller relying on Visa on Arrival should obtain current instructions for the intended checkpoint and keep the departure within the granted period.
For a hypothetical twelve-day holiday, a confirmed departure within that itinerary is consistent with the short-stay plan. A 24-day itinerary is not covered by a 15-day admission simply because the traveller intends to ask for an extension later.
If you want a longer visit, investigate an appropriate advance visa rather than building the booking around an extension that is generally unavailable for this route.
Understand the fee and funds separately
The Royal Thai Embassy in Doha’s current guidance states the 2,000-baht fee is payable in Thai baht cash and is non-refundable. It also lists living-expense evidence of 10,000 baht per person or 20,000 baht per family.
The living-expense figure is different from the application charge. It should not be described as an extra amount paid to buy the visa. Private assistance charges, if any, are separate again.
A hypothetical solo traveller should budget for the 2,000-baht official charge, the financial evidence required for the route and ordinary holiday expenses. Do not arrive with only the exact visa fee and assume it answers the question about resources for the visit.
Check the current accepted form of financial evidence before travel. A screenshot of an inaccessible account should not be assumed equivalent to whatever the authority requires. Use the official guidance for the checkpoint and avoid a last-minute search for cash or documents after arrival.
Choose a designated checkpoint and allow processing time
Visa on Arrival is available through designated immigration checkpoints, not necessarily every route into Thailand. Establish that your planned arrival point handles the service for your passport.
For a land journey, check the neighbouring country’s entry requirements as well. A bus ticket to the border does not establish that you can enter either side under the proposed arrangements. Our land-border exemption guide concerns a different route and should not be used as a Visa on Arrival checklist.
Allow time for the arrival application before scheduling a close onward connection. An advertised processing estimate is not a guarantee of queue length or an individual decision. Keep the application records and fee accessible rather than buried in checked luggage.
If travelling with others, agree where to meet after processing. Different passports can lead to different immigration procedures even when the group arrived on the same flight.
Complete TDAC as a separate task
Use Immigration’s free TDAC website within the current submission window. The form records passport, trip, accommodation and relevant health information. It does not take the place of the Visa on Arrival application.
Save the confirmation and keep it with the other travel records. A private website’s TDAC charge is not the official Visa on Arrival fee, and paying one does not pay the other.
Our TDAC preparation guide explains review and update steps. Make sure the Thai arrival date agrees with the final itinerary, particularly after overnight flights or schedule changes.
Read the admission and leave on time
After processing, inspect the recorded permitted-stay deadline. Use that date for your departure plan. Do not calculate an entitlement from a travel website and ignore the actual record.
Visa on Arrival is generally unsuitable for a plan that depends on extending a short holiday into a long stay. Official embassy guidance describes extension only for special situations such as illness preventing travel. An ordinary change of preference is not the same circumstance.
If illness or another serious issue prevents departure, contact the appropriate authority promptly with genuine supporting evidence. Do not wait until after permission expires and assume a medical appointment automatically protects the stay.
A separate visa application for a future visit also does not extend the current admission. Keep the current deadline distinct from future travel plans.
Consider an advance visa when the trip needs one
Use the official Thai e-Visa website if your passport requires an advance visa or your purpose and intended duration need a different category. Allow time for the responsible mission’s process and wait for the issued decision before relying on it for travel.
Visa Support Thailand can discuss the appropriate route for a longer stay, study, work, retirement or joining family. Contact us with the passport nationality, purpose, arrival date and intended length. The useful starting point is the actual trip, not whether an old article says a visa can be obtained after landing.
Official sources reviewed: 30 October 2026. The revised three-country list is in force; check the responsible official guidance for checkpoint and document conditions before departure.