Thailand’s visa exemption: 60 days today, 30 tomorrow — where do things really stand?

What has been decided

Since July 2024, travellers from most Western countries — including France — have entered Thailand without a visa for 60 days. That “visa exemption” is what the Thai government has decided to shorten: the Cabinet approved in May, then confirmed in mid-July 2026, a new framework that brings the stay down to 30 days for most currently exempted nationalities.

The exact list of countries and the special cases will be set by the official texts when they are published — treat any figures circulating before then with caution.

Why it isn’t applied yet

In Thailand, a measure like this only becomes real after publication in the Royal Gazette, followed by a 15-day delay. That publication has not happened yet. In practice:

• until something is published, the exemption remains 60 days — confirmed by the authorities themselves;
• once publication happens, there will still be 15 days before it applies;
• immigration officers apply the rule in force on the day you enter, not the day you bought your ticket.

Who is affected — and who isn’t

This change only concerns visa-free entry. If you enter with a visa — DTV, Non-Immigrant, student visa, retirement visa… — it is the duration of your visa that applies, and it does not change with this reform.

The most affected will be those who live on visa-free back-and-forth trips: the three-month winter stay “in two halves”, the family visiting for two months, the traveller who used to extend on the spot. For them, the right question is not “when does it change” but “which visa fits me if I want to stay more than 30 days” — and there is one for almost every situation.

The takeaway

No panic, but no improvising either: the reduction will come, with no known date so far. If your life here relies on the visa exemption, now is the right time to look at the alternatives — calmly, while the 60 days still apply.