How to Stay in Thailand Visa-Free for 90 Days

If you’re Indonesian, you probably already know that Thailand is among the countries we can enter without a visa. But I only recently found out that not many people realise you can actually stay for a total of 90 days. You get 60 days visa-free when you first enter, and then you can apply for an extension at the local immigration office.

At first, I thought I needed a visa agent because I’d never done anything like this before and was scared of getting rejected. But when I went to the immigration office in Chiang Mai for the first time, they happily explained the steps. It was surprisingly easy – and you can absolutely do it yourself.

Check how many days you can stay in Thailand visa-free on Thai e-visa official website

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The first 60 days

After checking several trusted official websites, the rule (at the time I’m writing this) hasn’t changed. Indonesians can enter Thailand visa-free and stay for 60 days, despite the uncertain news you might have seen on social media. What shocked me was that during check-in at Soekarno–Hatta, when I showed my return ticket, the staff questioned my 60-day stay – even the immigration officer seemed unsure. But don’t worry. If you’re ever in doubt, you can check the official Thai e-visa official website and enter your nationality (if you’re not Indonesian) to confirm whether you can enter visa-free and how long you’re allowed to stay.

Fill in TDAC online before you fly

Arriving in Thailand

Don’t forget to fill in the TDAC (Thailand Digital Arrival Card) form before arriving in Thailand – you can do it a day before your trip to stay organised. In the form, you’ll be asked for your return flight details.

When you’re in the immigration line, you just need to scan the barcode sent to your email. As long as you haven’t been going in and out of Thailand a suspicious number of times in the past few months, you should be fine. I landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, and after scanning the QR code, they didn’t even ask me any questions.

You may also like this article: What It’s Like to Live in Bali: Cost, Culture, and Everyday Life

After your first 30 days

Depending on where you’re staying in Thailand, you can look up the nearest immigration office. I was based in Chiang Mai, and the immigration office there is conveniently located inside a shopping mall called Central Festival Chiang Mai.

After you’ve spent a month in the country, or basically before your 60 days run out, you can apply for a 30-day extension. Here’s what you’ll need:

Applying for your extension

It’s actually pretty straightforward once you have all your documents ready. You can show up during opening hours, but like most administrative offices, I’d suggest going early. I’m not sure about other cities, but in Chiang Mai they’re closed for lunch from 12–1pm. When I arrived, an officer checked our documents first. They’ll let you know if you’re missing anything or forgot to fill in a section. If everything’s in order, they’ll sign it off and give you a queue number.

After that, you just sit inside and wait for your number to be called. When it’s your turn, hand over the checked documents and pay the 1,900 Baht fee in cash. Then you wait another 15–30 minutes (depending on how busy it is). Your name will be called, they’ll take a quick photo of you, and hand back your passport with a new stamp giving you another 30 days to stay in this beautiful country.

In my personal experience, I wasn’t asked a single question, and the staff were actually pretty nice – you know how immigration offices can sometimes feel a bit intimidating? Anyway, that’s it. The whole process was done in one day, which was great and super efficient.

Final Thoughts

So yes, staying in Thailand visa-free for 90 days is completely doable for Indonesians and many other nationalities, and you don’t need an agent to make it happen. It might feel intimidating at first (especially with all the mixed information online), but once you understand the steps, it’s actually very manageable.

My biggest tips are to double-check official sources, prepare your documents properly, and go early to the immigration office. That’s really it. Hope you find this article useful and happy holiday!

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