On 31 August 2026, Thailand's Royal Gazette published four Ministry of Interior regulations that rebuild the visa-free entry system from scratch. They take effect on 15 September 2026, and for Latin Americans this is not a minor adjustment: the community splits into two groups with opposite rules.
The 60-day exemption that had covered 93 countries since July 2024 disappears. In its place: 60 countries at 30 days, two countries at 15 days, three with Visa on Arrival, and a list of 21 nationalities that lose the benefit outright. Eight of those 21 are Latin American.
Quick summary by passport
No change — 90 days visa-free:
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Chile
- Peru
You now need a visa before you fly:
- Colombia
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Guatemala
- Mexico
- Panama
- Uruguay
No change — you already needed a visa: Bolivia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Venezuela. The reform does not alter your situation.
Why Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru are untouched
This isn't luck or a new favour. Those four countries hold standalone bilateral agreements with Thailand, and the 15 September reform touches no bilateral agreement — it only rewrites the unilateral scheme Thailand grants at its own discretion.
In practice: you still walk up to the immigration counter, hand over your passport, and receive a 90-day stamp. No paperwork, no fee. It is by a wide margin the most generous arrangement Thailand offers anyone in the region.
Worth saying plainly: no Latin American country appears on the new 30-day list. You either hold a bilateral agreement with 90 days, or you need a visa. There is no middle tier.
What "you need a visa" actually means
If you hold a Colombian, Cuban, Dominican, Ecuadorian, Guatemalan, Mexican, Panamanian or Uruguayan passport, from 15 September you can no longer show up at the airport and expect a stamp. You need the visa approved before you board — airlines check this at the departure gate.
The standard route is the e-Visa from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, available online worldwide since January 2025:
- Official portal: thaievisa.go.th — the only official site. The agencies ranking above it on Google charge a markup for the same process.
- Single-entry TR visa: valid 3 months from issue, allows a stay of up to 60 days from the day you enter. Extendable by 30 more days at immigration for 1,900 baht.
- METV (multiple entry): valid 6 months, up to 60 days per entry. Heavier financial requirements.
- The process: create an account, complete the form, upload documents, pay, and wait for email approval. Print the confirmation and carry it.
Requirements, fees and processing times vary by the embassy or consulate handling your file. If you have travel coming up, start now — turnaround times are stretching precisely because of this reform.
The clause that can save you: enter before the 15th
What counts is the date you physically enter Thailand, not the date you booked.
If you enter on 14 September 2026 or earlier, immigration stamps you under the old rules and you keep the full 60 days — even if your passport is on the list that loses the benefit, and even if your stay runs well past 15 September.
The same applies if you are already in Thailand: the stamp in your passport stays valid until the date printed on it. Nobody is going to shorten it.
If you were planning a quick hop to Vietnam or Malaysia to reset your stamp, do the maths carefully. Leaving on 20 September and coming back means re-entering under the new rules — and on a Mexican or Colombian passport with no visa filed, that means being turned away.
A detail almost nobody is reading: land borders
For travellers who do enter on the 30-day exemption, the regulation adds a new cap: a maximum of two entries per calendar year through land border checkpoints. Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore are exempt.
It doesn't affect Latin American passports covered by bilateral agreements, but it does affect the European and American partners, business associates and friends many of us travel with. Van-based border runs to Cambodia stop being a sustainable strategy for them.
If you live here, the real conversation is the DTV
Everything above is about tourism. If your life is already in Thailand — remote work, muay thai training, a partner here — a tourist visa was never the right answer, and after 15 September it is even less so.
The Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) remains in force: five years of validity, 180 days per entry, with one 180-day extension available in-country. It is filed from abroad and does not depend on the exemption list that just changed. For anyone with remote income or here for cultural or sporting activities, it is the route that gives real stability.
The TDAC is still mandatory for everyone
Visa or no visa, every foreign national must register the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online before entering. It's free and filed within the 72 hours before arrival. An approved e-Visa does not exempt you: they are two separate steps and immigration asks for both.
What to do this week
- Check which group your passport falls into. If it's Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama or Uruguay, you need to act.
- If you fly before 14 September, don't move the booking. Entering under the old rules gives you a clean 60 days.
- If you travel after, open your application at thaievisa.go.th today, not next week.
- If you already live here and are leaving the country this month, don't go without settling how you're getting back in.
- If your stay here is measured in years, not weeks, it's time to look at the DTV seriously.
If you're unsure about your own case, write to us in the community — between all of us we've been through nearly every scenario, and sharing what worked saves a lot of time and money.
Sources: Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Ministry of Interior regulations published in the Royal Gazette on 31 August 2026, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs official e-Visa portal. This article is informational and does not replace immigration advice. Always confirm with the Thai embassy or consulate responsible for you before buying tickets. Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.