Thailand Tourist Visa Guide: Single and Multiple Entry

A Thai tourist visa is for genuine tourism. It is the sensible route when visa exemption or Visa on Arrival does not cover your passport or planned trip, or when a visa gives you a cleaner plan than relying on a short-entry scheme.

Rules checked: 3 September 2026. Thailand's ordinary-passport exemption and Visa on Arrival arrangements change on 15 September 2026. Check our short-entry guide before paying for a tourist visa you may not need.

Tourist visa basics

Thailand's Department of Consular Affairs publishes two conventional tourist visa options:

Route	Visa validity	Entries	Published stay per entry
Single-entry tourist visa	3 months	One	Up to 60 days
Multiple-entry tourist visa	6 months	Multiple while valid	Up to 60 days on each qualifying entry

Visa validity is the window in which you can use the visa to seek entry. The permitted-until date granted by Immigration controls how long you may remain after that entry. Those dates are not interchangeable.

The central fee schedule currently states 1,000 baht for single entry and 5,000 baht for multiple entry, but an overseas embassy or consulate charges in its local currency. Check the amount shown in your application before paying.

Do you need one?

Consider a tourist visa when:

your passport is not covered by the applicable exemption or VOA scheme
the permitted short-entry period does not fit the genuine trip
an airline, itinerary or border plan is easier to support with a visa obtained in advance
you plan several genuine visits during the validity of a multiple-entry visa

Use exemption when it already covers a simple short holiday. A more complicated visa is not automatically better.

A multiple-entry tourist visa is not six uninterrupted months in Thailand. Each admission produces its own permission to stay, and Immigration decides entry each time.

How to apply

Most applicants start at Thailand eVisa. The system asks where you are physically located and routes the application to the Thai embassy or consulate responsible for that location.

The normal sequence is:

Confirm the correct visa purpose and handling mission.
Complete the eVisa application while outside Thailand.
Upload the personal, financial, travel and accommodation evidence requested for your case.
Pay the mission's non-refundable fee.
Respond if the mission asks for another document or an interview.
Carry the issued eVisa confirmation when travelling.

Application does not guarantee approval, and an issued visa does not guarantee admission at the border.

Documents

The exact checklist depends on nationality, residence, current location and mission. Common themes include:

passport biodata and a recent photograph
proof that you are legally present where you apply
genuine travel and accommodation plans
onward or return travel
financial evidence
evidence supporting multiple planned entries when applying for METV

Do not use that list as a substitute for the eVisa checklist. Missions can ask for more, and a document accepted in London is not automatically the list used in Vientiane.

Entering Thailand

Complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card within the official submission window. At the checkpoint, check the permitted-until date before walking away.

We have found that a mistaken assumption about a stamp causes far more trouble than the original visa application. If the date looks wrong, ask at the checkpoint while the entry is still fresh.

Keep evidence of the trip accessible. Immigration does not ask every traveller for the same documents, but that does not make the published requirements optional.

Extensions

An extension is a new application to Immigration, normally made using the process for your current permission and reason for staying. It is not an unused part of the visa waiting to be activated.

Read our Thailand visa extension guide and check the local office before relying on extra time. Apply early enough to fix missing paperwork without overstaying.

Leaving and returning

Leaving Thailand ends the permission attached to that stay. If you hold a still-valid multiple-entry tourist visa, you may be able to seek a new entry under it. A single-entry visa is normally used by the first entry.

A re-entry permit preserves certain current permissions; it does not turn a single-entry tourist visa into an METV. For an ordinary tourist trip, it may be simpler to plan the entries correctly from the start.

Tourist visas and work

A tourist visa is not a Thai work route. For Thai employment or business, read the Non-B guide and work permit guide.

Foreign remote work may bring the DTV into the comparison. Choose based on the activity you will actually perform, not on which application looks shortest.

Common mistakes

Applying before checking exemption and VOA for the correct arrival date.
Counting from visa issue instead of checking both validity and permitted stay.
Treating METV as permission to remain continuously for six months.
Assuming an extension will be automatic.
Using invented bookings or financial documents.
Planning repeated border trips as though they create a right to live in Thailand.
Forgetting the TDAC because the visa was approved.

Official sources

Recheck the mission-specific application immediately before submitting.