Jamaine Punzalan

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<p>The backpackers on Khao San Road, a Bangkok thoroughfare famous for its wild nightlife, are waking up this week with an extra headache: the Thai government is set to <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/5/19/thailand-cuts-visa-free-stays-citing-crime-by-foreigners-1816">shorten the length of visa-free stays.</a></p><p>Near the capital&#x27;s Tha Tian pier, where tourists catch ferries to the landmark Wat Arun, Irishman Alex Brady said the forthcoming one-month limit would have affected his plans a lot -- because he and his friends &quot;initially came here with no plan at all&quot;.</p><p>Brady and his travel companions were visiting for about five weeks, and the flexibility of the current 60-day visa-free scheme allowed them to see more of Thailand at their leisure, the 24-year-old said.</p><p>The new limits -- announced Tuesday for tourists from more than 90 countries in a bid to curb crime -- would &quot;really restrict you in what you can see&quot;, said Brady.</p><p>After Bangkok, he and his group planned to get a bus and ferry to the diving hotspot of Koh Tao for about a week before travelling north to the mountains of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.</p><p>&quot;If you&#x27;re paying for an expensive flight ticket out here, you want to spend a good amount of time out here,&quot; said Brady, a digital engineer.</p><p><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/01/21/journey-back-to-normal-tourists-arrive-in-thailand">Tourism </a>accounts for more than 10 percent of Thailand&#x27;s GDP, but foreign arrivals are yet to return to their pre-pandemic highs.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/food-travel/2026/1/12/thailand-teases-tourism-campaign-video-with-blackpink-s-lisa-1301">Thailand teases tourism campaign video with Blackpink&#x27;s Lisa </a></div><p>The 60-day visa-free stay was introduced two years ago to encourage more visitors and for them to stay longer.</p><p>But a recent series of high-profile arrests of foreigners, including cases linked to drug offences, sex in public and foreigners operating businesses such as hotels and schools without proper permits, has sparked public backlash.</p><p>Now officials say they will limit how long visitors can stay on a country-by-country basis to try to prevent foreigners committing crimes.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>EXTENDED STAYS </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Exactly how the new policy&#x27;s reduced timing will prevent visa overstayers, public indecency and illegal businesses has not been disclosed, nor when the fresh rules will go into effect.</p><p>Tourists will still be able to renew 30-day visas once for an additional 30 days -- at the discretion of an immigration officer -- before needing to leave the country, officials said.</p><p>Visitors can make one &quot;visa run&quot; a year and stay for up to another 60 days, but would then need to leave again and could only return on a different visa status, such as a work, education or retirement visa.</p><p>Another traveler, Elin Ovrebo, director of a US university study abroad program, said she has brought students to Thailand for 28-day trips almost every year for more than a decade -- and she likes to stay a week longer herself.</p><p>While the policy change may mean she would not do that in the future, &quot;it won&#x27;t stop me from coming&quot;, she said.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-ul_f-u4yEg?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>VISA RUNS</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Sitting on a stool outside a Bangkok shopping mall, Anna Heindrich waited for a minibus for a lightning round trip to Laos to re-enter Thailand on a new stay.</p><p>At 80, the German does not fit the typical customer profile for services provided by the Bangkok Buddy agency, which charges 5,500 baht ($170) per client -- mostly younger backpackers.</p><p>But Heindrich has been in Thailand for three months and wants to stay two weeks longer.</p><p>&quot;I spoke with the agency and it sounded easy on paper. Not necessarily very comfortable, but easy,&quot; she told AFP before setting off on a nearly 16-hour round trip.</p><p>Bangkok Buddy manager Tanya Chansuwan said the new visa rules could help her business, but may also complicate travel plans for tourists.</p><p>&quot;It will be tougher for the clients, and some might choose to go somewhere else,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;Vietnam, because it&#x27;s cheaper.&quot;</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/702cu0cbZGQ?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

Tourists in Thailand plan for coming cuts to visa-free stays

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Tourists in Thailand plan for coming cuts to visa-free stays

Agence France-Presse

Published May 21, 2026 03:47 PM PHT

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