Thailand visa for Saudis 2026: 30 days visa-free

What changed for Saudis on 15 September 2026

Until 14 September 2026, Saudi passport holders arriving in Thailand without a visa were stamped in for 60 days. A Ministry of Interior regulation dated 31 August 2026 and in force from 15 September 2026 cut that visa-free allowance to 30 days for Saudis. If you were stamped in before 15 September, the 60 days already in your passport still stand and are not shortened retroactively. For anyone arriving from 15 September onward, the practical effect is a shorter runway: plan your itinerary around a single month rather than two, and if your trip runs longer, look at an extension or one of the visa routes below rather than assuming the old allowance still applies.

Before you fly

• Check that your Saudi passport has at least six months of validity remaining from your arrival date, plus one blank page for the entry stamp, since Thai immigration checks both before you clear the counter.
• Carry proof of onward or return travel and be ready to show that you hold at least 20,000 baht per person, or 40,000 baht for a family, in case immigration officers ask for evidence of funds.
• File your Digital Arrival Card in the 72 hours before you land, since every Saudi entering Thailand must submit it regardless of visa status, and have the QR code ready to show on your phone.
• If you plan to enter Thailand overland rather than by air, remember Saudis are limited to two visa-free land crossings per calendar year, so map out your route in advance if you cross more than once.

Staying longer than 30 days

If 30 days on the visa-free stamp is not enough, you have a few legitimate options. You can apply at an immigration office inside Thailand for a single extension of up to 30 days, paid at 1,900 baht, before your stamp runs out. If you know in advance that you need more time, apply for an e-Visa online before you fly; it gives Saudis 60 days on a single entry and can itself be extended once by 30 days at an immigration office for the same fee. Remote workers or long-course students can look into the Destination Thailand Visa, which allows stays of up to 180 days per entry over five years. Leaving Thailand briefly and re-entering purely to reset the clock is not a substitute for these routes.

At the airport

At Suvarnabhumi, Saudis are not among the nationalities routed through the automated e-gates, so you go through the Foreign Passport counters staffed by immigration officers. There, your passport is checked alongside the QR code generated when you filed your Digital Arrival Card, which the officer scans before stamping you in. Keep the code accessible on your phone or printed, since it is asked for at the counter rather than at a separate checkpoint, and having it ready helps the process move faster.

Useful for Saudis

• Thai embassy responsible for Saudi Arabia: Riyadh (riyadh.thaiembassy.org).
• Direct routes: Riyadh (RUH) → Bangkok; Jeddah (JED) → Bangkok.

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.