Thailand Visa for Indians: 30 Days Visa-Free, Plus the TDAC (2026)

Everyone in a group carries their own set. The Embassy is explicit about this: if you travel together, each member should carry these documents individually, not one folder for the whole family.

Many flights from India to Bangkok leave late at night and land early the next morning. Thailand is also 1 hour 30 minutes ahead of India. Both push your arrival onto the next calendar day, and the TDAC wants the date you land in Thailand, not the date you leave.

The form also writes dates as day/month/year. Use the date picker instead of typing, and check the date it shows before you submit.

The TDAC asks for your family name and given names in English, and they must match your passport letter for letter. The safest reference is the machine-readable lines at the bottom of the photo page: the airline and the immigration scanner read those, not the printed name above.

Two cases catch Indian travellers:

• Only one name in the passport. Some Indian passports have the whole name in one field and the other field empty. Copy the name the way the machine-readable line shows it and don't invent a surname. This is the case where a second pair of eyes helps most.
• Father's, mother's or spouse's name. These appear on the last page of the passport. The TDAC doesn't ask for them, so leave them out of the name fields.

The field-by-field TDAC guide shows how to read the machine-readable line.

The day you land is day one. Land on 10 January and your 30th day is 8 February. Book the return flight on or before that day.

The stamp decides. The permitted-until date that the officer records when you enter is what counts. Photograph it on day one.

Going over costs money and more. Overstay is fined 500 baht per day, up to 20,000 baht, and it stays on your record. If your plans change, an eligible visa-exempt visitor can ask an immigration office in Thailand for an extension of up to 30 days for 1,900 baht, before the stamp runs out. It isn't automatic, so don't plan a trip around it.

Thai immigration can ask visa-exempt visitors to show funds. The Embassy of India advises carrying at least THB 20,000 per passenger in cash, so a family of four should plan for 80,000 baht between them. Most travellers are never asked, but if you are, cash is the answer that always works. A banking app or a card limit may not be accepted.

Plan the currency before you leave. Under RBI rules, a resident of India can take at most ₹25,000 in Indian notes out of the country, so the 20,000 baht should come as baht or US dollars bought from an authorised money changer or your bank. Read more about proof of funds in Thailand.

The Embassy of India in Bangkok keeps warning about Indians recruited through social media and agents for well-paid jobs in Thailand. On arrival they're taken across a land border to scam centres in neighbouring countries and forced to work.

Two rules protect you. Visa-free entry doesn't allow any job in Thailand, and a real employer arranges the right visa before you travel. If an offer asks you to fly in as a tourist and sort out the paperwork later, treat that as a warning sign and check the company before you go.

Thai visas for Indian residents are applied for online at the official e-Visa portal, thaievisa.go.th. If your trip is already longer than 30 days when you book, get the visa before you fly rather than counting on an extension. The Destination Thailand Visa guide covers the long-stay option.

If you enter Thailand by road from Malaysia, Laos or Cambodia, you need a TDAC there too. Under the September 2026 rules, visa-exempt entries through land borders are limited to two per calendar year for most nationalities, Indians included. Flying in doesn't count toward that limit.