Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports restored a visa-free scheme for Indian tourists, allowing visitors from India to stay for up to 30 days after officials reported a decline in arrivals following recent visa changes.
In May, the Cabinet ended the temporary 60-day visa exemption that had applied to citizens of 93 countries and territories. The government said the measure had been abused by some foreign nationals to work illegally, operate businesses without permission and commit other offences.
Officials said tourism data showed that most genuine visitors stayed in Thailand for 30 days or less, making the previous 60-day exemption unnecessary for the majority of travellers.
Following the policy change, Thailand reinstated the standard 30-day visa exemption for citizens of 57 countries. At the same time, authorities began reviewing entry conditions for countries outside that list, with some expected to receive shorter visa-on-arrival or visa exemption periods.
Surasak Phancharoenworakul | Photo via Facebook/ กระทรวงการท่องเที่ยวและกีฬา
As a result, Indian nationals reverted to the visa-on-arrival (VoA) scheme, which allows a stay of up to 15 days. The VoA costs 2,000 baht, while an electronic visa application costs 1,000 baht.
Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul said today that the revised entry requirements have contributed to a decline of nearly 20% in Indian visitor numbers.
He added that the policy change had also created confusion among some Indian travellers, affecting their decisions to visit Thailand.
To address the issue, the ministry introduced a visa-free entry scheme allowing Indian nationals to stay in Thailand for up to 30 days.
Photo by Creativa Images via Canva
Surasak said Indian tourists remain an important target market for Thailand’s tourism industry. He added that the government could review or amend the policy in the future if authorities find that visitors misuse the longer period of stay.
The minister also said a 15-day visa exemption was also approved for visitors from the Republic of Seychelles and the Republic of Mauritius.
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