Thailand arrival cards, extensions and re-entry
TDAC, entry documents, permitted-stay dates, reporting and re-entry permits.
Thailand arrival requirements continue after you choose a visa or exemption. Keep the visa, arrival card, entry stamp, extension decision and reporting obligations separate. This guide explains the practical sequence, with official links for the application or report itself. Your nationality, permission type and travel history can change the evidence requested.
Information checked 21 October 2026. Rules and border operations may change. This page is a dated research snapshot; confirm the linked authority’s current requirements for your passport, purpose and travel date. Hero photograph: Wat Arun temple beside the Chao Phraya River at sunset in Bangkok. This is destination context, not a photograph of a visa office or border checkpoint.
TDAC: free, separate from a visa
Use the official Immigration Bureau site for the Thailand Digital Arrival Card. Submit within the three-day window before arrival, including the arrival date, following the date options on the official form. Prepare passport details, travel information, your Thai accommodation and the requested health declaration. TDAC is not a visa and does not grant admission. Use the official FAQ for exemptions such as eligible transit or border-pass circumstances.
Passport and supporting entry evidence
Check the passport validity and blank-page requirements that apply to your passport and visa. UK guidance requires at least six months of remaining validity and one blank page for British visitors. Carry the visa or exemption evidence, accommodation address, onward or return travel and financial evidence appropriate to the route. A visa application receipt is not an issued visa.
On arrival: check the stamp before leaving
Read the permitted-until date and entry category in the passport or immigration record. A five-year visa does not mean an uninterrupted five-year stay. If the date or category seems inconsistent with the permission you hold, ask Immigration promptly. Keep a copy of the admission record and create reminders before any expiry; changing flights does not automatically change immigration permission.
Extensions of stay
Apply through the competent Immigration office before the current stay expires, using its category-specific checklist. Common documents include the passport and admission record, application and photograph, address evidence and the documents supporting the extension purpose. The published standard application fee is THB1,900, but approval, duration and eligibility depend on the route. A pending plan to leave or re-enter is not an extension.
Re-entry permits preserve an existing stay
If your existing permission requires a re-entry permit, obtain it before departure. The published fees are THB1,000 for a single re-entry and THB3,800 for multiple re-entries within the remaining permission. It preserves the existing permitted-stay end date; it does not add days. Some programmes provide their own re-entry privileges, so check your actual visa and extension instead of applying the same rule to everyone.
90-day reporting and accommodation notification
A 90-day address report is not a visa extension. Check the reporting method and deadline with Immigration; some programmes such as LTR have different reporting arrangements. Accommodation notification is another process, normally handled by the responsible property or host, and does not replace the traveller’s other obligations. Ask your accommodation and Immigration what evidence you need for later applications.
Overstay and Thailand arrival requirements for the next trip
Avoid planning around an overstay fine. Official UK advice states THB500 per day up to THB20,000 and warns of detention, deportation and re-entry bans. If travel disruption threatens your permitted stay, contact Immigration before expiry. For the next arrival, recheck your visa validity, TDAC, onward travel and border status rather than assuming the previous admission will simply be repeated.
Put the documents and route together
Choose the permission for your real purpose, then check your arrival steps and any border crossing separately. Keep enough time for an extension decision or a confirmed departure before your permitted stay expires.
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