Thailand visa-free entry and tourist e-Visa for Indian passport holders

The 30-day exemption applies to Indian ordinary passport holders arriving for tourism or short business engagements such as meetings, conferences and trade fairs. The passport must be valid for at least six months, and officers can ask for a confirmed return or onward ticket within 30 days, an address in Thailand and proof of funds of THB 10,000 per person or THB 20,000 per family. There is no limit on the number of exempt entries in a year, but immigration officers in Bangkok and Phuket question travellers who string together back-to-back visa-free visits and can refuse entry.

A tourist visa is the right route for trips longer than 30 days, for family visits under 60 days, for medical treatment (the MT category) and for learning activities such as diving, Muay Thai or Thai cooking courses. Thailand issues all visas through the Thai e-Visa portal since 1 January 2025: there are no stickers and no VFS counters; the application is assigned to the New Delhi embassy or the consulate in Mumbai, Kolkata or Chennai according to your state of residence.

A visa-free visitor cannot change status to a long-stay visa inside Thailand except by paying for an extension or a change of visa type at the Immigration Bureau, which is discretionary. Students, employees and dependants should apply from India on the Non-immigrant ED, B or O routes described on the other Thailand pages.

Fees are set in rupees by the Royal Thai Embassy for applicants in India (revised on 27 April 2026) and are non-refundable. Vistolane completes the TDAC and the e-Visa form, checks the photo and bookings against the embassy's common-mistakes list and charges the government fee at the official rate.

1. 1

   Check which route you need

   Up to 30 days of tourism or meetings: exemption plus TDAC. Longer stays, courses or medical visits: tourist e-Visa.

2. 2

   Create a thaievisa.go.th account

   Choose the embassy or consulate for your state, upload the passport bio page, a photo taken within six months, your flight and hotel bookings and bank statements.

3. 3

   Pay the fee online

   INR 3,000 single or INR 13,500 multiple; the payment is final, so check the form before paying.

4. 4

   Decision by e-mail

   About 10 working days; the e-Visa PDF is e-mailed and must be printed or shown on your phone at check-in.

5. 5

   Submit the TDAC and fly

   Within 72 hours of arrival, every traveller submits the Digital Arrival Card; the officer stamps 30 or 60 days at the border.

Lodge tourist visas at least two weeks before travel in the November to February peak, when the New Delhi embassy's queue is longest, and never more than three months ahead, because the single-entry visa's three-month validity starts on issue.

Immigration officers at Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and Phuket check the TDAC confirmation, the return ticket and, selectively, cash or cards. The stamp shows the date you must leave; count it carefully, because overstaying costs THB 500 a day and more than 90 days of overstay brings a one-year ban. The 30-day exemption can be extended once at any immigration office for THB 1,900 with form TM.7, a photo and a copy of the passport and stamp.

Visitors may not work, including remote work for an Indian employer beyond incidental e-mails; the Destination Thailand Visa route exists for that. Land-border entries under the exemption are limited to two per calendar year. Frequent visitors with a clean record are good candidates for the six-month multiple-entry tourist visa or the five-year DTV.

• Royal Thai Embassy New Delhi: revision of the visa exemption (30 days from 15 Sep 2026) ↗
• Royal Thai Embassy New Delhi: visa types and fees for India ↗
• Immigration Bureau: Thailand Digital Arrival Card ↗
• Thai e-Visa: tourist visa (TR) ↗
• Immigration Bureau: extension of stay ↗