TDAC FAQ 2026:25 Questions Travellers Ask, Answered

The Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC, sometimes misspelled as TDCA, TTAC or DTAC) is the electronic immigration form that replaced the paper TM6 arrival card on 1 May 2025. It records your passport details, flight number and address in Thailand in one digital record that immigration officers check at the border.

You file it online before you travel and receive a QR code by e-mail. Paper forms are no longer handed out at major airports such as Suvarnabhumi (BKK) and Phuket (HKT).

Yes. Every foreign passport holder entering Thailand by air, land or sea must have a TDAC, including infants and children. Unlike a visa, it does not depend on your nationality or the length of your stay: it applies whether you hold a Tourist Visa, a Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa, or enter under the visa exemption (30 days since 15 September 2026).

The official government portal issues it free of charge; our service files it for you for a fee.

This is the most common confusion for travelers in 2026. The short answer is: For most travelers, the TDAC is the only form you need.

The 'Electronic Travel Authorization' (ETA) was a separate proposal by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs intended to pre-screen travelers. It was never launched as a separate document: the TDAC is the only pre-arrival form Thailand requires in 2026, and the government portal issues it free of charge.

Ignore outdated advice telling you to apply months in advance. As of right now, your primary mandatory digital step is filing the TDAC within 72 hours of your arrival. You do not need to file two separate forms. Focus on getting your TDAC Approved QR Code, and you will be clear to pass through immigration.

Yes, the TDAC is completely free. You can file it at no cost on the official Thai Immigration website at tdac.immigration.go.th. There is no government fee, processing charge, or hidden cost for submitting your Digital Arrival Card.

Third-party services like TDAC.info charge a fee for premium assistance — including expert error review, group family filing, and 24/7 support — but the underlying TDAC itself is always free when filed directly with the government.

Important: If any website asks you to pay a fee to 'process' or 'approve' your TDAC, verify that you are on the official .go.th domain. The only official portal is tdac.immigration.go.th.

The official Thai Immigration website is free but designed as a 'self-service' portal. It requires individual filing, has strict photo upload rules that often fail on mobile, and offers no support.

TDAC.info offers Premium Assistance to save you time:

• Error Review: We manually check data against passport standards (e.g., catching '0' vs 'O' errors) before submission.
• Group Processing: The official site forces a fresh form for every person. We allow you to add up to 6 travelers in one go, auto-copying flight and hotel details.
• Lifetime Backup: We can resend lost QR codes instantly 24/7.

Yes. Do not confuse visa exemption with form exemption.

The visa exemption grants you the right to enter without applying for a visa — 30 days since 15 September 2026. It says nothing about the arrival card. The TDAC is a separate, mandatory immigration declaration that every foreign passport holder files before arrival, whatever their visa status. Arrive without the QR code and you are pulled out of the queue to fill it in at a kiosk.

No, you are not exempt. Holders of Thailand Privilege (Elite), LTR, or Non-Immigrant O visas must submit a Digital Arrival Card for every entry.

While your visa gives permission to reside, the Immigration Act mandates that every entry is recorded with current flight and accommodation details. For long-term residents, enter your permanent condo or house address rather than a hotel.

Pro Tip: Using our service saves time for frequent travelers as we store your profile, meaning you only need to update flight dates for future trips.

Two different clocks matter. The government portal accepts a TDAC only in the 72 hours before you arrive. Our service can be booked as soon as your trip is confirmed, up to 12 months ahead.

• Too early on the portal: before the 72-hour window it will not accept the form.
• Too late: filing at the airport is risky because of system outages and manual review delays.

Recommendation: book with us early. We queue your application and submit it to immigration as soon as the 72-hour window opens, so your QR code is valid when you land.

On the official government portal, no. You must start a new blank application for every passenger. This is tedious and prone to errors.

On TDAC.info, YES. We built a 'Group Application' feature:

1. Fill out Trip Details once.
2. Add up to 6 passengers by entering passport details.
3. We process all simultaneously and send all QR codes in one email.

This saves the average family of four about 20-30 minutes of data entry.

A mistake is critical. The system links your TDAC QR Code directly to your Passport Number. If they don't match, you do not exist in the system.

Common Mistakes: Swapping '0' and 'O', or wrong birth year.

The Fix: If you used the government site, you must re-apply. If you use TDAC.info, email support@tdac.info immediately. We can often correct the data and re-issue the QR code instantly if it hasn't been final-filed yet.

This is mandatory under Immigration Law (Section 38) for security and contact tracing.

What to enter:

• Tourists: The name/address of your first hotel.
• Visiting Friends: The full address of their residence.
• Backpackers: You cannot write 'Bangkok'. You must book your first night's stay. Vague addresses trigger manual review.

Our system includes an address validator to prevent these rejections.

We highly recommend printing a physical copy, though screenshots are technically accepted.

Why print?

• Battery: Phones die after long flights.
• Internet: Airport WiFi is spotty; you might not access your email.
• Scanning: Paper scans instantly; screens often struggle with glare.

Keep a printed copy inside your passport as a fail-safe.

This law is enforced strictly in 2026 to crack down on illegal workers.

The Rule: You must prove adequate funds.

• Individual: 20,000 THB (~$600 USD).
• Family: 40,000 THB total.

The Catch: It must be CASH or liquid currency. Banking apps or credit cards are not accepted. Checks are random, but if you cannot produce cash upon request, you can be denied entry.

No. The TDAC is a pre-arrival declaration, not a 'right to enter.'

Final approval rests with the Immigration Officer. Entry can be denied for:

1. Blacklist status.
2. Lack of funds (20k THB rule).
3. No return flight ticket.
4. Excessive 'Visa Exempt' entries.

Think of the TDAC as your 'ticket to get in line.'

Visa-exempt travellers are limited to two (2) land border entries per calendar year. From 15 September 2026 the cap does not apply to citizens of Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore.

• Entries 1 & 2: the standard exemption stamp — 30 days from 15 September 2026, 60 days before that.
• Entry 3: you will likely be refused and told to fly in.

Important: the TDAC is required for land entries too. File it before you reach the border, where the signal is often poor.

Indirectly, yes. Immigration officers may check your arrival record when you apply for a 30-day extension.

If your original entry data was incomplete, it causes delays. Having your TDAC copy helps verify your 'Date of Arrival' and flight details for the TM7 Extension Form.

Extension Rule 2026: Visa Exempt travelers get one 30-day extension (Cost: 1,900 THB).

Yes, absolutely. Thai law requires every individual passport holder to have a digital arrival record, including infants (0-2 years).

Parents often mistakenly assume the child is covered by their form. This is false. When using our service, ensure you add every child as a 'Passenger' so they generate a unique QR code.

It depends on how you transit:

• Fly-Through (Int'l Transfer): Bags checked through, staying in transit area. NO TDAC needed.
• Self-Transfer: Collecting bags to re-check for a separate airline. YES, you need a TDAC because you must pass immigration to reach the baggage belt.

On the official portal, no. You must submit a new application.

On TDAC.info, we hold applications in a 'Review State'. If you reply to your confirmation email immediately with corrections, we can fix it before final filing. If already filed, we can help submit a corrected version quickly.

The free government site has no login/retrieval system.

TDAC.info maintains a Secure Cloud Backup. Simply email support@tdac.info with your name and passport number. Our automated system or agents will resend your QR code PDF within minutes.

We use 256-bit SSL encryption.

• Usage: Solely for generating your Digital Arrival Card.
• Retention: Retained only as long as necessary for processing and support.
• Privacy: We never sell or rent data to third parties. Your travel plans remain private between you, us, and Immigration.

Overstaying is a serious offense.

• Short (< 90 Days): Fine of 500 THB/day (max 20,000) and an 'Overstay' stamp.
• Long (> 90 Days): Mandatory ban from re-entering Thailand (1, 3, or 5 years).

The TDAC records your intended departure, giving immigration clear data. Do not risk it.

No. Thailand approved a 300-baht entry fee for foreign tourists, but collection has been delayed repeatedly from the original February 2026 date, and no start date or payment mechanism has been confirmed as of July 2026. You should not be asked to pay it at the border today.

• Air arrivals only — the proposed 150 THB land/sea charge was dropped.
• 70 of the 300 THB funds medical and accident insurance, valid from the moment you enter.
• Not related to the TDAC, which remains mandatory for every foreign arrival.

THIM (Thailand Immigration Management) is the Immigration Bureau's mobile app, piloted since June 2026 with an official launch in August 2026. It scans your passport and files the same Thailand Digital Arrival Card — a new way to submit the TDAC, not a second requirement. During the rollout the web portal and assisted filing continue to be accepted and produce the same QR code, and you do not need to install THIM if your TDAC is already filed. See our THIM news update.

The government portal takes the date as day, month, year in that order. Typing it US-style (month first) or pasting it from another app is usually rejected. Pick the year first in the calendar, then the month and the day, and check that it matches the MRZ line of your passport.

When you file with us, you type the date once and we enter it in the format immigration expects.