Thailand has tightened its immigration rules for tourists from 41 countries (including the Philippines, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United States) who avail of visa-free regulations, beginning 1 October 2006.

Under the old rules, tourists from these countries are given a 30-day tourist stamp in their passports at Thailand’s international airports or at the borders. Every 30 days, those who wish to remain in the Kingdom beyond the 30-day period have to leave the country and re-enter at border crossings. These old regulations provided said tourists the opportunity to stay in Thailand for several more months or even indefinitely.

Under the new regulations, these tourists may still enter Thailand without visas and stay for up to 30 days, however, they will only be able to extend their stay in the Kingdom twice (i.e., two successive 30-day stamps at border crossings or other exit points). After that, they must leave Thailand for at least 90 days before being permitted to re-enter.