Thailand visa for Latvians 2026: 30 days visa-free

What changed for Latvians on 15 September 2026

Until 14 September 2026, Latvians travelling to Thailand without a visa could stay for 60 days on arrival. A Ministry of Interior regulation, published in the Royal Gazette on 31 August 2026 and effective from 15 September 2026, halved that allowance to 30 days for Latvian passport holders arriving visa-free. If your passport was stamped in before 15 September, the 60 days already written into your passport still stands; the shorter period only applies to entries from that date onward. For a typical Latvian holiday or business trip, this means planning around a month rather than two, and checking your entry stamp on arrival so you know exactly when you must leave or arrange an extension.

Before you fly

• Make sure your Latvian passport has at least six months of validity left on the day you land in Thailand, plus at least one completely blank page for the entry stamp.
• Carry proof of onward or return travel, since immigration officers can ask Latvians to show they will leave Thailand within the 30 days granted on the visa-free stamp.
• Keep accessible funds of around 20,000 THB per person, or 40,000 THB per family, since spot checks on arrival can ask Latvian travellers to show they can support themselves.
• File the Digital Arrival Card online within 72 hours before landing; it applies to every Latvian passport holder regardless of how long they plan to stay, and the QR code is checked at immigration.

Staying longer than 30 days

If 30 days is not enough, Latvians have a few legitimate routes to more time. Before your visa-free stamp expires, an immigration office can grant one extension of up to 30 days for 1,900 THB. Alternatively, apply for an e-Visa before travelling; it allows a 60-day single stay, also extendable once by 30 days for 1,900 THB. Latvians working remotely or studying a longer course can look into the Destination Thailand Visa, valid five years with entries of up to 180 days, though it needs proof of 500,000 THB in funds and must be arranged before leaving Latvia. Hopping across a land border to reset the clock is not a dependable plan, since visa-free land entries are capped at two per calendar year.

At the airport

At Suvarnabhumi, Latvians are not among the nationalities allowed to use the automatic arrival gates, so you will queue at the Foreign Passport counters instead. An immigration officer checks your Latvian passport and stamps you in for your permitted stay. Before you reach the counter, have the QR code from your Digital Arrival Card ready on your phone or printed out, since it is scanned alongside your passport as part of entry processing.

Facts checked on 30 September 2026. Sources: Royal Gazette notifications of 31 August 2026, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs bilateral list, the Immigration Bureau. Rules change; your embassy has the final word.