12 Jul, 2024
BANGKOK — Ms. Traisulee Traisoranakul, Secretary to the Minister of Interior and spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, announced on July 12, 2024 that the ministry has issued four announcements to update visa measures, aligning them with the global competition to attract foreigners to generate revenue and stimulate the country’s economy.
These four announcements are in line with the Srettha Thavisin government’s policy to boost the tourism economy by taking measures to attract foreign tourists, including making it easier to travel.
The four announcements from the Ministry of Interior are as follows:
1. An announcement setting out the list of countries and territories whose passport or travel document holders enter the Kingdom temporarily for tourism, professional or short-term business purposes and are exempt from the visa requirement, allowing them to stay in the Kingdom for up to 60 days in a special case. The list now includes 93 countries/territories, previously there were 57 countries/territories.
2. An announcement increasing the list of countries eligible for Visa on Arrival (VOA) at immigration checkpoints from the previous 19 to 31 countries/territories.
3. An announcement allowing foreigners to stay in the Kingdom for tourism purposes and remote work as a special case. The main content introduces a new visa category, the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), for those who wish to stay in Thailand to work and travel (workcation) at the same time.
This includes highly skilled individuals, freelancers, remote workers or those who wish to stay to learn Thai boxing and martial arts, cooking classes, sports training, medical treatments, training courses, seminars and art and music exhibitions. With a DTV visa, you can stay in Thailand for up to 180 days at a time and the visa is valid for 5 years.
4. An announcement that allows foreigners to stay in the Kingdom for study and work purposes as a special case. The main content updates the rights for foreign students who come to the country on a non-immigrant visa, code ED, for study or higher education in order to attract skilled and potential workers for the country’s labor market. It extends the stay in Thailand for 1 year after graduation to seek employment, travel or pursue other activities in Thailand.
Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has reviewed and signed all four announcements, which have been submitted to the Prime Minister for signature. They will then be published in the Royal Gazette, with all announcements coming into effect simultaneously from July 15, 2024.
