Visa, digital arrival card, passport, money: what you need to know before leaving for Thailand, with the rules in force in 2026. The formalities have changed several times in recent years, and a lot of the articles online are out of date.
Do you need a visa for Thailand?
No, not for a short tourist stay. Since September 15, 2026, travelers from Belgium, France, Switzerland, Canada and Luxembourg (among some sixty nationalities) have been eligible for a 30-day visa exemption. It replaces the 60-day visa-free scheme that had applied since July 2024.
- This stay can be extended once, by up to 30 days, at an immigration office, before your permission to stay expires. Expect to pay around 1,900 THB; approval is at the officer’s discretion.
- Land border entries under the visa exemption are in principle limited to two per calendar year.
- For a longer stay (retirement, work, study), you need a visa applied for in advance on the Thai government’s official e-Visa portal.
Watch out: don’t rely on a forum or an old article. Before booking, check the current rules on the website of the Royal Thai Embassy in your country or on the official e-Visa portal.
What the immigration officer may ask you for
- a passport valid for at least six months after your date of entry;
- a return or onward ticket before the end of your authorized stay;
- the address of your accommodation;
- more rarely, proof of sufficient funds.
The digital arrival card (TDAC)
Since May 2025, the paper form you used to fill in on the plane is gone. Every foreign visitor must complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online, within the three days before arrival. It’s free.
- Go to the only official website, run by Thai immigration: tdac.immigration.go.th.
- Enter your passport details, your flight and your address in Thailand, and answer the short health questionnaire.
- You’ll receive a confirmation email with a QR code. Keep it on your phone, and take a screenshot just in case.
Watch out: many websites imitate the official form and charge €20, €50 or €90 for this service. The TDAC is free: if you’re asked to pay, you’re not on the right site.
A tourist tax? Not yet
You may read that you have to pay a “tourist tax” on arrival. As of September 2026, no such tax is being collected yet. In August 2026 the government approved, in principle, an entry fee of 450 THB per foreign visitor, but it will only apply about six months after its official publication. If you’re traveling in 2027, check before you go.
What you absolutely must not pack
Trap number one for European travelers: the e-cigarette. In Thailand, vapes, e-liquids (with or without nicotine) and heated tobacco are completely banned: import, sale and possession alike. Penalties range from confiscation and a heavy fine all the way to prison. Leave them at home, even if you see them being sold on the street.
Duty-free, each traveler may bring in only 200 cigarettes and 1 liter of alcohol. Customs checks are frequent.
Money: smart habits
- Every withdrawal with a foreign card costs about 220 THB in fees charged by the Thai bank: make fewer, larger withdrawals.
- When the ATM offers to charge you “in euros” at a guaranteed rate, decline and choose baht: that conversion is almost always a bad deal.
- Exchange offices in town give better rates than the airport. The SuperRich branches have a good reputation; there’s one in the basement of Suvarnabhumi Airport, near the train station.
Health and insurance
No vaccinations are mandatory for travelers coming from Europe; make sure your routine vaccinations are up to date and ask your doctor for advice. Travel insurance is a must: Bangkok’s private hospitals are excellent but expensive, and a hospital stay can cost several thousand euros.
The pre-departure checklist
- Passport valid for at least six more months after arrival
- Return or onward ticket
- TDAC completed within the three days before arrival, on the official site
- Travel insurance covering medical costs and repatriation
- No e-cigarette in your luggage
- Copies of your passport and insurance emailed to yourself
To go further
The formalities are only the beginning. Mr Schaka’s guidebook, Bangkok – The Practical Guide, takes you from the airport to the back alleys of Chinatown: transport, neighborhoods, addresses, food, etiquette and safety, updated for 2026–2027. The English edition is out now as a PDF ebook: buy it here →
