Thailand visa run: border rules

Since 15 September 2026 a visa run to Thailand over land works visa-free only 2 times per calendar year; at airports, too, immigration can refuse you.

Last checked: 11 October 2026

In short (as of 11 October 2026)
Since 15 September 2026, visa-free means: up to 30 days per entry, for tourism only.
Over land you may enter Thailand on this exemption no more than 2 times per calendar year (Royal Gazette, published 31 August 2026).
For airports the announcement sets no fixed maximum, but since 12 November 2025 immigration can refuse entry at all border checkpoints, airports included, to anyone who does more than 2 rounds of visa runs without a plausible reason.
Immigration offices inside Thailand can refuse an extension, or revoke it afterwards, for anyone who shows a visa run pattern.
The border with Cambodia is closed, and the Mae Sot and Mae Sai crossings into Myanmar are open only to Thai and Myanmar passports (Dutch travel advice, 24 September 2026).

This guide is for Dutch and Belgian nationals who are in Thailand without a visa and are thinking of leaving the country briefly and coming back in to get another 30 days. The Thai rules in this guide apply to every traveller who enters on the visa exemption, with the exceptions named below; the parts about embassies, documents and travel advice are written for Dutch and Belgian passport holders, so if you hold another passport, check the requirements of the Thai embassy or consulate that serves you.

What a visa run is

The Dutch government describes a visa run as crossing the border briefly and then returning to Thailand straight away ("kort de grens overgaat en daarna direct terugkeert naar Thailand"). The Thai rules do not treat it as a separate procedure: every entry on the visa exemption gives a new stay of up to 30 days, for tourism. That rule is in the announcement of the Thai Ministry of Interior of 26 August 2026, published in the Royal Gazette (Thailand's official gazette) on 31 August 2026 and in force since 15 September 2026. The Netherlands and Belgium are on the list of 60 countries and territories.

So a visa run gives you no right to a longer stay. At every entry, the immigration officer decides again whether you may enter the country as a tourist.

Over land: a hard limit of 2 times per calendar year

Article 3 of the announcement of 26 August 2026 states that anyone who enters on the visa exemption for tourism through a checkpoint on a land border may do so no more than twice per calendar year.

Calendar year: 1 January up to and including 31 December.
Land borders only: the limit names checkpoints on the land border, not airports.
Visa exemption only: the rule is about entry on the exemption. For people who travel with a visa, the announcement does not mention this limit.
Exceptions: nationals of Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore, and other nationalities designated by the minister. The Netherlands and Belgium are not among them.

A third entry over land in the same calendar year is therefore not allowed on the visa exemption.

By air: no fixed number, but strict checks

The announcement gives no number for airports. That does not mean that repeated entries and exits are free there.

On 12 November 2025 the Immigration Bureau announced four measures against visa runs:

All checkpoints, airports as well as land borders, check more strictly on people who frequently enter and leave on the visa exemption without going back to their own country. Anyone who does more than 2 rounds of visa runs without a plausible reason can be refused, with the aim that they apply for a visa that fits the real purpose of the trip. According to the same notice, about 2,900 foreigners with this pattern had been refused at airports between early 2025 and 12 November 2025.
Anyone who is already on a watch list in border areas near scam centres, such as Mae Sot, or who was sent back there before, is refused.
Immigration offices inside Thailand become stricter on extensions for anyone who shows a visa run pattern. They can refuse the extension, or revoke it after it has been granted, and remove the person from the country.
Extra action against overstay.

The Dutch government writes in its travel advice (last changed 24 September 2026), translated: "Do you travel to Thailand several times in quick succession without a visa? And do you do this without a valid reason? Then the Thai Immigration Service can refuse you entry to Thailand."

What immigration may refuse

A visa or exemption does not guarantee entry. The Thai embassy in The Hague writes that the decision on entry and stay lies with the immigration officer, even if you have a valid visa.

The Immigration Act of 1979 (section 12) gives, among others, these grounds for refusing someone entry:

no valid passport, or no valid visa while you have no exemption;
no appropriate means of support for the stay in Thailand;
entry to work in breach of the law on foreign labour;
no money or guarantee with you as set by the minister.

The Thai embassy in Brussels adds that immigration officers can ask for extra documents or refuse entry if the entry looks suspicious.

What you must be able to show at every new entry

Passport: valid for at least 6 months on arrival (Dutch government; Thai embassy Brussels).
Departure within the permitted period: for example with a return or onward ticket (Dutch government).
Money: the embassy in Brussels mentions at least 20,000 baht per person or 40,000 baht per family. The Dutch travel advice gives no amount for visa-exempt travellers. Make sure you can show it, and if in doubt ask the Thai embassy that applies to you.
TDAC: the Thailand Digital Arrival Card is mandatory at every entry, also over land and by sea. You fill it in within 3 days before arrival (including the day of arrival), and every trip needs a new TDAC.

Land borders with restrictions (11 October 2026)

According to the Dutch travel advice (last changed 24 September 2026, still valid on 11 October 2026):

Cambodia: the border is closed. The strip of 5 kilometres along the border has colour code red.
Myanmar: the Mae Sot and Mae Sai border crossings are open only to people with a Thai or Myanmar passport. The crossing at Ranong is usually open to foreigners, but you cannot travel further into Myanmar from there. The travel advice recommends not crossing the border into Myanmar.

Check the travel advice on the day you leave.

Costs

Amounts in baht as the Thai government states them. Euro amounts are an indication, converted at the ECB reference rate of 9 October 2026: 1 euro = 37.574 baht.

Visa-exempt entry (30 days)                 free
Extension of max. 30 days, once             1,900 baht   (about 51 euros)
Overstay, per day                             500 baht   (about 13 euros)
Overstay, maximum fine                     20,000 baht   (about 532 euros)

Tourist visa (TR), The Hague       35 euros single / 175 euros multiple
Tourist visa (TR), Brussels        40 euros single / 170 euros multiple

The cost of the trip to the neighbouring country and any visa for that country come on top of this.

Staying longer without visa runs

Extending: once, up to 30 days, at a Thai immigration office, for 1,900 baht. Together with the 30 days on entry, that is up to 60 days. See the guide on visa-exempt travel.
Tourist visa (TR): 60 days per entry, extendable once by 30 days. The multiple entry version is valid for 6 months. You apply from the Netherlands or Belgium via thaievisa.go.th, not from Thailand.
DTV or Non-O: for longer stays, see the guides on the DTV and the retirement visa.

Common mistakes

Thinking that flying in works without limit. The announcement sets the limit of 2 times only for land borders, but since 12 November 2025 the Immigration Bureau can also refuse at airports after more than 2 rounds without a plausible reason.

A third time over land. On the visa exemption this is no longer allowed since 15 September 2026, however long your earlier stays were.

Travelling to a closed border. According to the Dutch travel advice the border with Cambodia is closed, and Mae Sot and Mae Sai are not open to foreigners.

Counting on a visa on arrival. Since 15 September 2026 Visa on Arrival applies only to Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia, not to the Netherlands or Belgium.

Forgetting the TDAC at a land border. Anyone entering over land must also fill in a new TDAC beforehand.

A visa run after the end date. If you leave only after the date in your stamp, you are in overstay and pay 500 baht per day, up to a maximum of 20,000 baht.

Where the sources contradict each other

How often. The Dutch government writes that a visa run is allowed "maximaal twee keer per jaar" (no more than twice a year), without distinguishing between land and air. The Royal Gazette limits only entry over land, to 2 times per calendar year. The Immigration Bureau speaks of more than 2 rounds without a plausible reason, at all checkpoints. If you follow the strictest reading, you plan no more than 2 visa runs a year, by any route.
Proof of funds. Brussels mentions 20,000 baht per person or 40,000 baht per family; the Dutch travel advice gives no amount for visa-exempt travellers.

What has changed

12 November 2025: the Immigration Bureau announces stricter checks on visa runs, at airports and land borders, and stricter assessment of extensions.
31 August 2026: the Royal Gazette publishes the new 30-day visa exemption, with a maximum of 2 entries per calendar year over land.
15 September 2026: the new rules take effect; the old 60-day exemption ends; Visa on Arrival remains for 3 countries.
24 September 2026: the Dutch travel advice is updated (Cambodian border closed, restrictions at Mae Sot and Mae Sai).

Frequently asked questions

How many visa runs can I do in Thailand?

Over land, no more than 2 times per calendar year on the visa exemption (since 15 September 2026). For airports the announcement gives no number, but since 12 November 2025 immigration can refuse anyone who does more than 2 rounds without a plausible reason.

Does an entry by air count towards the limit of 2 land border entries?

No, the limit of 2 times per calendar year in the Royal Gazette applies only to land border checkpoints. The Immigration Bureau's checks on repeated visa runs do apply at airports too.

Do I get another 30 days after a visa run?

If you are admitted, you get up to 30 days per entry on the visa exemption. Entry is not guaranteed: the immigration officer decides at every entry.

Can I do a visa run to Cambodia?

According to the Dutch travel advice of 24 September 2026, the border with Cambodia is closed. Check the travel advice on the day you leave.

Can I still extend at immigration after a visa run?

Yes, one extension of up to 30 days for 1,900 baht is possible, but since 12 November 2025 the office can refuse or revoke it if there is a visa run pattern.

Does the limit of 2 land border entries also apply with a tourist visa?

The Royal Gazette sets the limit only for entry on the visa exemption. For visa holders, the official sources consulted give no similar maximum.

Sources

All sources opened on 11 October 2026.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Thai visa rules can change and are sometimes applied differently from one office to another. Check the current requirements with the Thai embassy or the immigration office before you apply or travel.

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Thailand visa run: border rules, 2 land border entries a year and refusal