British passport holders arriving in Thailand will soon be limited to 30 days without a visa, half the 60 day Thailand visa exemption that has applied since July 2024, after the Thai government confirmed it is scrapping the post-pandemic scheme.
For UK business travellers the shift is more than a shorter stamp in the passport. The replacement rules describe the exemption purely in terms of tourism, and the language in the 2024 notification that touched on short term work activities and business engagements has not been carried over. Anyone who has treated the exemption as cover for meetings, conferences or supplier visits should check their position before booking the next trip.
The four Interior Ministry regulations were approved by the Thai Cabinet on 19 May 2026 and published in the Royal Gazette on 31 August 2026. They divide nationalities into tiers. Sixty countries and territories, among them the UK, the United States, Canada, Australia and most EU member states, are granted a 30 day tourist exemption. Mauritius and the Seychelles fall to 15 days, while travellers from Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia will now need a visa on arrival.
How the Thailand visa exemption will work from now on
The mechanics at the border do not change. Eligible visitors still arrive without applying in advance, and everyone must still complete the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card within 72 hours of travel. The UK government’s Thailand entry requirements page and the official TDAC portal remain the reference points for both. What has been cut is the period of stay. Those admitted before the new rules take effect keep whatever they were granted on arrival, even where that runs beyond the cutoff date.
Staying longer is still possible, but it costs time and money. As was the case before 2024, visitors can apply for a single 30 day extension at a Thai immigration office by submitting a TM.7 form, usually for around 1,900 baht. That lifts the ceiling on a visa free visit to 60 days, compared with 90 under the outgoing scheme, and only if the traveller attends in person to complete it.
Thai officials have justified the reversal by pointing to abuse of the longer window, citing unauthorised remote working, informal businesses trading without work permits, and cases where the extra time facilitated illegal activity.
What changes for business trips
The most significant point for corporate travellers is the loss of the business wording. Its removal makes the tourism-only framing explicit, and companies sending staff to Bangkok, Chiang Mai or the eastern industrial zones for site visits or client work should raise the change with their legal or mobility advisers rather than assume nothing has moved.
Itineraries built around long regional loops also need a second look. A five or six week trip that once sat inside a single entry now requires either the paid extension or a proper visa, and because the extension cannot be done online, a half day at an immigration office has to be planned into the schedule. Readers who followed our report on new digital entry requirements for Brits travelling to Thailand will recognise the pattern of rules shifting with little notice.
Overland routes are affected too. The regulation reintroduces limits on how frequently travellers can cross into Thailand by land under the exemption, which matters for anyone combining Thailand with Malaysia, Laos or Cambodia on one trip. Those planning that kind of circuit should read the new visa rules for Laos alongside the Thai changes.
Remote working carries more risk
Given the reasons Bangkok has given for the rollback, employees who tack a fortnight of laptop work onto the end of a business trip are more exposed than they were a month ago. Remote working is precisely the behaviour the authorities say they are targeting. Travel managers would be wise to tighten policy on bleisure extensions in Thailand, and to remind staff that the insurance questions raised in our piece on Brits flying to Thailand via Dubai do not go away because a trip is informal.
Before departure, travellers should confirm the current position with the Royal Thai Embassy in London, particularly where the purpose of the visit is anything other than a holiday.
