Thailand Arrival Card (TDAC): The Free Form Every Indian Traveller Must Fill
Complete Thailand's free TDAC arrival card correctly: who needs it, the three-day submission window, family entries and the official government form.
The short answer
The Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) is a free online form that every foreign traveller must submit within 3 days before arriving in Thailand — by air, land or sea. It has been mandatory since 1 May 2025, replacing the old paper TM6 card. The only official site is tdac.immigration.go.th, and it takes about 10 minutes.
_Last updated: August 2026._
Do not confuse it with a visa. Indian ordinary passport holders currently use Thailand's visa exemption, and Thailand has approved a shorter 30-day exemption that will begin after the required Royal Gazette process. The Thailand visa guide tracks that separate rule; this page covers the arrival form.
Who needs it
All non-Thai nationals, every entry: tourists, business travellers, kids, infants, and repeat visitors (it is per-trip, not one-time). Land borders count — crossing from Malaysia by train or entering from Laos needs a TDAC just like landing at Suvarnabhumi. Airside transit that never crosses immigration does not.
How to fill the TDAC, step by step
- Open tdac.immigration.go.th — bookmark it. Sponsored lookalike results charge for this free form and are the single biggest TDAC trap for Indian travellers.
- Wait for your 3-day window (arrival day included). Earlier attempts are rejected by date.
- Personal details: name exactly as in your passport, passport number, nationality, date of birth. Thailand's form asks for family name separately — if your passport has a single long name line, follow the passport split exactly.
- Trip details: flight number (or border checkpoint), arrival date, purpose of visit, and your first accommodation's name and address.
- Health declaration: the short built-in questionnaire.
- Group submission for families: add each traveller, infants included, in one go.
- Save the QR confirmation. It arrives by email as a PDF with a QR code per traveller. Keep it on your phone and print one copy — airlines ask for it at check-in, and immigration scans it on landing.
How it fits with the visa, in order
For an Indian traveller in 2026, the checklist runs:
- Entry permission — confirm the visa exemption or visa that applies on your arrival date in the Thailand visa guide.
- TDAC — submit it free within the three-day window, including your arrival day.
- Airline check — keep your passport, onward ticket, accommodation details and TDAC confirmation ready.
- Immigration — present the same documents if asked.
Miss step 2 and you may be completing it on airport Wi-Fi. Miss step 1 and the TDAC will not save you: it is a declaration, not permission to enter.
Common mistakes
- Paying for it. The TDAC has no fee, no "express processing", no "approval service". Money asked = wrong website.
- Filing outside the window. Three days, arrival day included. Not four.
- Name mismatches. The QR data must match the passport the airline scans. Middle names in the wrong field cause counter delays, not refusals — but after a red-eye, you want neither.
- Forgetting re-entries. Bangkok → Siem Reap → Bangkok needs a second TDAC for the second Thai entry. Multi-country Southeast Asia loops trip on this constantly.
- Assuming it replaced the visa. It replaced the paper arrival card. Visa and exemption rules are separate and can change independently.
With the paperwork sorted, Thailand is the easy part: island time, night markets, and things to do from Bangkok to Phuket that you can book at ₹ prices before peak dates sell through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Since 1 May 2025, every non-Thai national entering Thailand by air, land or sea must complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online before arrival. It replaced the old paper TM6 form and remains mandatory in 2026.
Yes, completely free for all nationalities. The only official website is tdac.immigration.go.th. Third-party sites charging ₹1,000–₹3,000 to 'process' your TDAC are middlemen or scams — the official form takes about 10 minutes and costs nothing.
Within 3 days before arrival, including the arrival day. For a Saturday landing you can submit from Thursday. Submissions earlier than that window are not accepted, so set a reminder rather than trying to file a week ahead.
No. The TDAC is an arrival declaration, not a visa. Indian ordinary passport holders currently use Thailand's visa exemption, while an approved change will reduce the stay to 30 days after it becomes effective. Entry rules and the TDAC are separate, so check both before travel.
Fill it as soon as you realise — the form can be submitted on your phone even while queueing at Bangkok immigration, and officers will point you to it before clearing you. Airlines increasingly check the TDAC QR code at check-in for Thailand-bound flights, so doing it in the 3-day window at home is far less stressful.
Yes, every traveller including infants needs a TDAC entry. The official site supports group submission, so one parent can file the whole family together and receive one set of QR confirmations by email.
