Just after midnight on 2 November 2025, Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism & Sports confirmed it is ‘actively reassessing’ the 60-day visa-exemption that has been in place for citizens of 93 countries—including Australia—since July 2024. Officials told local media that options on the table range from cutting the stay back to 45 days or reverting to the pre-2024 30-day limit, citing over-stay concerns and pressure on infrastructure.
The 60-day waiver helped Thailand recover visitor numbers, with Australians surging to 1.3 million arrivals in the year to September 2025—up 27 per cent on 2019. Travel agents say the longer stay has underpinned a new wave of ‘work-cation’ and extended remote-worker trips out of Sydney, Melbourne and Perth during the southern winter.
![Thailand signals rethink of 60-day visa-free stay, unsettling Australian holiday market]()
If the exemption is shortened, Australians planning Christmas 2025 or school-holiday breaks that exceed the new limit would need to apply for a tourist visa or arrange an in-country extension at a cost of THB 1,900 (≈ AUD 80). Mobility managers sending staff to regional HQs in Bangkok may also need to revert to multiple-entry business visas to cover back-to-back trips.
The ministry said a decision will be made “early in Q1 2026” after consulting airlines, hoteliers and immigration police. Tourism operators are lobbying to retain the 60-day scheme at least for visa-waiver markets with high spending—Australia ranks third behind China and Russia in per-capita expenditure.
Practical tip: travellers holding confirmed bookings that straddle any future implementation date should retain proof of paid accommodation and onward flights; historically, Thai immigration has granted discretionary 15-day extensions when policy changes caught visitors mid-trip.
The 60-day waiver helped Thailand recover visitor numbers, with Australians surging to 1.3 million arrivals in the year to September 2025—up 27 per cent on 2019. Travel agents say the longer stay has underpinned a new wave of ‘work-cation’ and extended remote-worker trips out of Sydney, Melbourne and Perth during the southern winter.
If the exemption is shortened, Australians planning Christmas 2025 or school-holiday breaks that exceed the new limit would need to apply for a tourist visa or arrange an in-country extension at a cost of THB 1,900 (≈ AUD 80). Mobility managers sending staff to regional HQs in Bangkok may also need to revert to multiple-entry business visas to cover back-to-back trips.
The ministry said a decision will be made “early in Q1 2026” after consulting airlines, hoteliers and immigration police. Tourism operators are lobbying to retain the 60-day scheme at least for visa-waiver markets with high spending—Australia ranks third behind China and Russia in per-capita expenditure.
Practical tip: travellers holding confirmed bookings that straddle any future implementation date should retain proof of paid accommodation and onward flights; historically, Thai immigration has granted discretionary 15-day extensions when policy changes caught visitors mid-trip.
