Thailand visa for Vietnamese citizens: 30 days by treaty

What changed for Vietnamese citizens on 15 September 2026

For Vietnamese citizens, 15 September 2026 was not a turning point. The 30-day visa-free stay you have relied on rests on a bilateral visa-exemption agreement between Thailand and Vietnam for ordinary passports, a separate arrangement from the wider regulation that came into force on that date and reshaped visa-on-arrival rules for a small group of other nationalities. Because Vietnam sits outside that reform, nothing about your entry conditions, your 30-day allowance, or your paperwork shifted. If you already knew the rules for a Thailand trip as a Vietnamese passport holder, you can plan this one the same way: same 30 days, same bilateral basis, same expectations at the border. The date is only worth noting because it changed things for other nationalities, not for you.

Before you fly

• Check that your Vietnamese passport has at least six months of validity remaining on the day you land in Thailand, plus one blank page free for the immigration stamp.
• Carry proof of onward travel and enough funds to satisfy a spot check, since officers can ask Vietnamese citizens to show 20,000 THB per person or 40,000 THB for a family.
• File your Digital Arrival Card in the 72 hours before you land, whichever entry route you use, since Vietnamese citizens are not exempt from this requirement and the QR code is checked on arrival.
• If you are crossing by land, remember that visa-free entries for Vietnamese citizens are limited to two per calendar year, so plan multi-entry trips through Thailand's land borders with that limit in mind.

Staying longer than 30 days

If 30 days is not enough, Vietnamese citizens have several routes that keep the stay lawful. You can apply for a single extension of up to 30 days at an immigration office inside Thailand for 1,900 THB, provided you apply before your stamp expires. For a longer single visit, the e-Visa from thaievisa.go.th grants 60 days on one entry, extendable once by 30 days for the same fee. Remote workers or long-course students can look into the Destination Thailand Visa, valid five years with stays of up to 180 days per entry, though it asks for proof of 500,000 THB in funds. Repeated exits and re-entries to reset the clock are not a substitute for any of these, since land crossings on visa-exempt terms are capped at two a year.

At the airport

At Suvarnabhumi and other major airports, Vietnamese citizens do not use the automated gates reserved for a shortlist of nationalities; instead, head to the Foreign Passport counters staffed by immigration officers. Have your passport and the QR code from your Digital Arrival Card ready, since officers scan it alongside your passport to confirm your details before stamping you in. Keep the confirmation accessible on your phone or printed, as queues move faster when the code is easy to find and scan on the first attempt.

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.