Thailand visa on arrival
A 15-day stamp issued at the airport for ฿2,000, for a short list of nationalities that has just got much shorter. If you are not on the list, the airline will not board you.
The list shrank in September 2026
Visa on arrival used to cover 31 countries. The cabinet revision that took effect on 15 September 2026 cut it to roughly four. If you read a 2024 or 2025 guide listing a dozen eligible nationalities, it is out of date and following it will get you turned away at check-in.
The practical consequence is that most people who used to rely on visa on arrival now need an e-visa applied for in advance. If you are unsure which applies to you, check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs list for your nationality before booking anything — and check it again a week before you fly, because this list has moved twice in two years.
What you need at the counter
The application form, completed at a desk in the arrivals hall before you reach immigration. A passport-size photograph — 4×6 cm, taken within the last six months — which is the item most people forget and which the airport will sell you at an unkind price. The ฿2,000 fee in cash, in baht. A confirmed onward ticket within 15 days. An address in Thailand. And a passport with six months of validity and a blank page.
Some ports accept card payment and some do not; assume cash. Some ask for proof of funds at ฿10,000 per person, and while it is rarely counted, having a bank app is enough.
The queue is the real cost
Visa on arrival has its own counter, separate from the main immigration hall, and at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang it can take anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours depending on how many regional flights land at once. The ฿200 "express" service some airports sell is not official and we would not count on it.
If your flight lands between 23:00 and 02:00, expect the counter to be thinly staffed. This is the strongest practical argument for getting an e-visa instead: the e-visa queue is the normal one.
You cannot extend it twice, and 15 days is short
A visa-on-arrival stamp gives 15 days, extendable once at an immigration office for ฿1,900 — so 30 days in total, which is less than a single visa-exempt entry gives a European passport. If your trip is longer than two weeks, visa on arrival is the wrong instrument; an e-visa tourist visa gives 60 days for about $40 and is cheaper than the extension you would otherwise buy.
If you are refused at check-in
It happens, and almost always for one of three reasons: the nationality is no longer on the list, there is no onward ticket, or the passport has less than six months left. The airline is fined for carrying passengers who are inadmissible, so they check. Ask for the refusal in writing and contact the Thai embassy in your departure city — a same-day e-visa is sometimes possible, but not reliably, and not on a weekend.
Visa on arrival, answered
Which nationalities can still get visa on arrival?
About four, down from 31 before 15 September 2026. The reduction was one of the headline changes in the cabinet revision of 19 May 2026, published in the Royal Gazette on 31 August. Because the list is now short and has changed twice in two years, the only responsible answer is to check your own nationality on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs site rather than any list, including this one. If you are not on it, the alternative is an e-visa through the official Thai e-visa portal, which costs about $40 and takes 5–10 working days — comfortably less than a ruined trip.
How much does visa on arrival cost and can I pay by card?
The fee is ฿2,000, payable at the counter in the arrivals hall, and it is cash at most ports — some accept cards, but the machines are unreliable and there is no ATM before immigration. Bring the exact amount in baht if you can. On top of that, budget for a passport photograph if you forget one, which the airport will sell you at several times the price of a photo shop in the city. The fee is per person, including children, with no family rate.
How long is the visa-on-arrival queue at Bangkok airports?
Between 20 minutes and two hours, depending on how many regional flights land together. The counter is separate from the main immigration hall and is staffed for the volume the airport expects, not the volume that arrives when three flights from the same region are delayed and land at once. Late-night arrivals between 23:00 and 02:00 are the worst case, with a single officer on the desk. If your time is worth more than $40, an e-visa gets you into the normal queue, which is faster and better staffed.
Can I extend a visa-on-arrival stamp?
Yes, once, for 30 days at an immigration office for ฿1,900 — so 30 days in total, which is fewer than a single visa-exempt entry gives many passports. That arithmetic is the reason visa on arrival is only worth it for genuinely short trips. For anything over two weeks, a 60-day tourist e-visa costs about $40, is extendable once, and does not involve the arrivals-hall queue at all. If you are already here on a VOA stamp and want to stay, apply for the extension in the last week of the 15 days, at the immigration office covering your address.
What happens if I arrive without the photo or the onward ticket?
The photograph you can buy at the airport for a marked-up price, so that is an inconvenience rather than a problem. The onward ticket is the one that stops people: it is a stated requirement, it is checked at the VOA counter more consistently than at the main immigration desks, and without it you can be refused a stamp and put back on a flight. If you are genuinely travelling one-way, book a cheap refundable onward flight or a bus ticket out of Thailand before you fly — the requirement is evidence of onward travel, not a flight home.
Need a hand at the airport?
Fast track moves you to a shorter queue — it does not skip the counter, but it saves the hour.
Written and checked by the Travel Thailand Tour team, Bangkok · Last updated · Prices are per person and were correct at the time of writing.