Visas & immigration
Visa-exempt tourism: how long you may stay
For ordinary Japanese passports, check the change effective 15 September 2026 and the rules before travel.
Start with these three things
- For tourism on an ordinary Japanese passport, visa-exempt stays are up to 30 days from 15 September 2026.
- The notice limits entry under this exemption through land borders to twice per calendar year.
Planning tips (not official rules)
- Check the rules for your travel date rather than finalising plans using an earlier allowance.
Steps
"Tip" marks a planning suggestion, not an official rule.
- Tip Confirm your passport nationality and type, and that your purpose is tourism. Check separately for companions with different circumstances.
- Check whether your travel date is on or after the change takes effect. Thailand’s Department of Consular Affairs also announced implementation on 15 September 2026.
- Tip If your planned stay exceeds the limit, ask the application office about a visa before committing to flights or a long accommodation contract.
- Tip On arrival, check the stay expiry actually granted and record it in your calendar.
What to prepare
Planning tips (not official rules)
- For an enquiry, organise your passport, arrival and departure plans, purpose, accommodation and land-entry history for the year. This is not a universal list of documents that must be presented.
Where to ask
Before travel: a Thai embassy or consulate; after entry: your local Immigration office
The change is announced on the official pages of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Thailand’s Department of Consular Affairs.
Current office hours have not been verified. Check with the office before visiting.
Things to watch for
Planning tips (not official rules)
- When reading a friend’s experience or a blog, distinguish their nationality, entry date, purpose and visa from your own.
The previous 60 days and this trip’s allowance
The Tourism Authority of Thailand announced a change from a maximum of 60 days to 30 days from 15 September 2026. This article covers Japanese nationals using ordinary passports for tourism. Do not apply it unchanged to other nationalities, passport types or activities.
Planning tips (not official rules)
Read the effective date in the official text, not just a search result. Date any guidance you save and check the same official page again shortly before departure.
Check land-entry frequency separately
The same notice says that visa-exempt entry through land-border checkpoints is limited to twice in a January-to-December calendar year. Do not plan repeated land-border trips solely around the maximum stay length.
Planning tips (not official rules)
If you have many past entries, list the dates, mode of entry and visas used when asking for advice. Avoid plans that assume a border trip will guarantee the entry you want.
If your plans become a longer stay
"Tip" marks a planning suggestion, not an official rule.
Tip If a holiday turns into house-hunting or a longer stay, reassess your purpose and departure plans. With time left before expiry, ask your local office whether an extension or category change is available to you.
Extension conditions, additional days and required documents for ordinary Japanese passports after the 2026 change remain unverified. Ask Immigration if you plan to extend your stay.
TDAC is a separate arrival-information submission. The official instructions require a new submission for each entry, so prepare it alongside your visa checks.
Rules can change. Confirm with a Thai embassy or consulate, or the relevant Thai Immigration office.
Sources & dates checked
- OfficialTourism Authority of Thailand タイのビザ免除による滞在可能日数の変更について（2026年9月15日より）
- OfficialSummary: The revision of Thailand's visa exemption and VoA schemes, 2026 (for ordinary passport)
- OfficialImmigration Bureau of Thailand Official Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) – No Fees Required：日本語ガイド
- OfficialImmigration Bureau of Thailand Official Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) – No Fees Required：よくある質問と最新情報