If the latest season of The White Lotus has inspired you to visit Thailand, you’re in luck.
As of July 2024, Canadians can stay in the Southeast Asian country known for its beautiful beaches and flavourful food visa-free for 60 days.
“If you’re travelling to Thailand for tourism with a regular Canadian passport, you can obtain a 60-day visa exemption on arrival [no visa required],” reads a government notice. That’s up from the previous 30 days.
According to Travel and Tourism Canada, that visa exemption can be extended at the Immigration Office for another 30 days maximum at the discretion of the officer.
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This change coincided with Thailand scrapping its 300 baht (about C$11) tourism fee.
“The fee, intended to be collected from each tourist entering Thailand, was abandoned with the rationale that its elimination could encourage higher tourist spending in other areas, thereby providing a more substantial boost to the economy,” read a news release from Thailand’s public relations department.
The Southeast Asian country’s previous government approved the charge in February 2023, saying the cost would be used to develop tourist attractions and help cover healthcare for uninsured travellers.
“Part of the fee will be used to take care of tourists,” Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn told Reuters in January 2022.
“We’ve encountered times when insurance didn’t have coverage for tourists… which became our burden to take care of them.”
The so-called tourist tax was imposed on all foreigners travelling into Thailand by air but faced a lot of opposition from the private sector, according to the government’s PR department.
Other types of visas are available to visit the country, depending on how long you want to stay there.
The Multiple Entry Tourist Visa (METV) lets you enter Thailand multiple times during the six-month validity period. However, each visit can only be 60 days or less. You need to obtain this visa before travelling.
The Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) is valid for five years. It’ll allow you, your spouse, and your children to enter multiple times, but each stay can’t exceed 180 days.
“After the initial maximum stay of 180 days, you will have to leave and re-enter Thailand with the same DTV before it expires,” according to the Canadian government.
DTVs are usually issued to remote workers and participants in Muay Thai courses, Thai cooking classes, sports training, medical treatments, seminars, and music festivals.
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