What documents do you need before arriving in Thailand?

ENTRY RULES 2025

New entry rules for Thailand 2025

The Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) is a new requirement that will take effect on May 1, 2025. From this date, all foreign travelers must submit their arrival information electronically before entering Thailand, regardless of whether they are arriving by air, land, or sea.

According to TatNews, the TDAC aims to reduce border formalities and increase traveler convenience. The online form must be completed before arrival and includes essential travel and personal information.

Filling out the TDAC will be mandatory for all foreign passport holders - tourists, business travelers, and long-term residents alike.

If you are only transiting through Thailand and not passing through immigration, you do not need to complete the TDAC.

The form can be completed on the official Immigration Bureau website: https://tdac.immigration.go.th/arrival-card/#/home

Travelers can submit the TDAC up to three days before their planned arrival date. For example, if you arrive on May 9, you can apply starting May 6. The system will open on April 28, allowing travelers arriving on May 1 to complete the form in advance. The process will function similarly to Malaysia’s MDAC system.

After entering your personal details, you will proceed to sections about travel and accommodation. Fill in all fields marked with an asterisk (*) - and don’t forget to select “The Republic of Poland” as your country of residence 😉

The final section is a brief health declaration, asking whether you have visited any countries in the past two weeks.

You can submit the TDAC individually, as a couple, or as a group via the website. All information can be updated any time before travel. Required details include passport and travel information, accommodation in Thailand, and a basic health declaration.

For foreign long-term or permanent residents in Thailand, it is recommended to select “Thailand” as your country of residence - this option will appear once the system is live.

According to TatNews: "If you are unable to submit the TDAC in advance - travelers who cannot complete the form before arrival and have no internet access at the entry point will receive assistance at designated help desks located at immigration checkpoints. This support is intended only for exceptional cases. All travelers are strongly encouraged to complete the TDAC online in advance to avoid delays and reduce congestion at entry points.” In short - don’t panic if you haven’t filled it out yet, especially in the early stages of the rollout. We’ll monitor how smoothly the process works in practice - sometimes, as with any new system, issues like bugs, email delays, or slow servers can appear.

More information

TDAC Portal: https://tdac.immigration.go.th
User guide: https://tdac.immigration.go.th/manual/en/index.html
FAQ: https://tdac.immigration.go.th/manual/en/faq.html

From a traveler’s point of view - especially for those of us who travel spontaneously - this new requirement can be a bit of a hassle. Sometimes, decisions to enter a country are made the same day, and budget travelers on long overland routes may not even have a return ticket yet. Up until now, decisions were often made on the go - whether to take a bus from Thailand through Cambodia to Vietnam, or maybe fly to Indonesia for two weeks if the flights looked good. Well… we’ll see how it goes.

Don’t forget: besides the new TDAC form, you must still have a passport (or temporary passport) valid for at least 6 months from your date of entry into Thailand.

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