Thailand entry planning for US tourists
Separate Thailand's short-tourism exemption from the arrival card. Check your passport, stay and official instructions before travelling.
US ordinary-passport tourists can qualify for a short-visit visa exemption, but the arrival card is a separate task. The Royal Thai Consulate in Chicago's dated announcement says ordinary US passport holders can enter visa-free for up to thirty days for short tourist visits from 15 September 2026, replacing the previous sixty-day allowance. Do not apply that US-specific statement to another passport or purpose.
The embassy's current instructions are the place to check your visa position. The Thai Immigration TDAC manual expressly says the Digital Arrival Card is not a visa. Completing it does not create an exemption.
Before travelling, check the applicable stay, passport requirements, onward evidence and arrival-form window. Keep confirmation files available offline. Longer visits, work and other purposes need their own assessment.
Other passports may have different rules. Use the TripColour checker, read its coverage and open the official detail rather than assuming this US example applies to you.
Official pages checked 9 November 2026. Understand visa-free versus arrival cards. Independent information; admission and the stay actually granted remain decisions for the authorities.
Check your passport for Thailand
Rules differ by nationality. Choose your passport in the checker; an unverified route is never shown as visa-free.
Check visa requirements