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TDAC.info — Thailand Digital Arrival Card
Flag of Saudi Arabia — Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) for Saudi citizens: visa, immigration and entry requirements
For Passport Holders: Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦

Saudis in Thailand 2026:Visa-Free, TDAC & Arabic Name Order

Visa rules, TDAC arrival card, customs, currency, vaccines and embassy contacts for Saudi travellers heading to Thailand in 2026.

Visa Status: Visa Exempt (30 Days)

Entry Requirements

If you hold a passport from Saudi Arabia, you must submit a Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) before entering the Kingdom of Thailand. The TDAC replaced the paper-based TM6 form and is now required for all international arrivals — regardless of your visa status or purpose of travel.

As a Saudi citizen, you are eligible for visa exempt (30 days) entry. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from your date of entry. The TDAC collects your personal details, travel information, and accommodation address in Thailand.

⚠️ Common Issue for Saudi Passport Holders

Name order in passport — this is the most common reason for TDAC rejections from Saudi travelers. Our system automatically detects and corrects these issues before submission, ensuring your arrival card is accepted without delays at immigration.

How to Apply

  1. 1Have your Saudi Arabia passport ready with at least 6 months validity from your planned entry date.
  2. 2Complete the online form on TDAC.info with your personal details, travel itinerary, and accommodation address in Thailand.
  3. 3Our team reviews your submission for errors and you receive your approved QR code via email before your departure.
  4. 4Present your QR code at Thai immigration upon arrival — no paper forms needed, skip the queues.

Visa Status

Saudi citizens: Visa Exempt (30 Days). No visa application required for tourist stays within the allowed period.

Visa Duration for Saudi Citizens

Saudi passport holders can stay in Thailand for 30 days from 15 Sep 2026 under the current visa exemption. Extensions are available at local Immigration offices.

Flights to Thailand from Saudi Arabia

  • Riyadh (RUH) → Bangkok
  • Jeddah (JED) → Bangkok

Common TDAC Mistakes by Saudi Travelers

  • Name order in passport must match TDAC exactly
  • Saudi passport numbers: 1 letter + 8 digits
  • Tribal names must be included as in passport
Announced 17 August 2026 - phased rollout, not yet live

Auto Gates at Suvarnabhumi: Saudi Arabia Is Not on the Announced List

On 17 August 2026 Thailand approved in principle the addition of 31 more passports to the automated arrival gates at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, joining Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong. Saudi Arabia is not among them, so arrival is at a manned immigration counter as before. The Thailand Digital Arrival Card remains mandatory either way and has to be filed before you travel.

Read the full breakdown of the auto gate rollout →

Royal Thai Embassy in Riyadh

For visa enquiries beyond the visa exemption period, contact the Royal Thai Embassy in Riyadh.

Visit Embassy Website

The 90-Second Version

Saudi visitors come mainly in the summer school holidays and around Eid, usually as families or groups of friends, with Bangkok and Phuket as the anchors and medical and wellness trips a growing share. Since the 2022 restoration of full diplomatic relations, Saudia flies non-stop from Riyadh and Jeddah in about seven hours, and Saudi passport holders have been visa-exempt — 60 days since July 2024. Visa-free days for Saudi passports: 30 days, tourism and short business visits. Flight time: about 7 hours non-stop from Saudi Arabia. Where you land: Suvarnabhumi (BKK) via Gulf carriers.

What Immigration Checks on Saudi Passports

  • Hotel booking. Immigration asks Gulf families for the address of the first night more consistently than it asks Europeans; the TDAC needs the same address, so book before you fly and keep the confirmation on your phone.
  • Return ticket. Expected, and usually already in hand for package travellers. Open-jaw itineraries (in via Bangkok, out via Phuket) are fine.
  • Passport validity. Six months from entry. Saudi passports issued for five years run out sooner than people expect — check every family member's expiry date, children included.
  • Medication. Bring prescriptions for any controlled medicines; Thai customs is strict on codeine-based painkillers and some sleep aids that are freely sold in the Kingdom.

Your Name on the TDAC

Saudi passports carry four names — given name, father's, grandfather's and family name — and the MRZ splits them into a surname segment and a given-names segment. Copy exactly that split onto the TDAC: the family name (with any Al) in the surname field, the other three, in order, in the given-names field. Dropping the grandfather's name or moving Al is the most common mismatch we see on Saudi cards. Tribal names printed on the passport stay in; the passport number is one letter followed by eight digits.

Staying Longer Than 30 days

Sixty days is generous for a holiday, and one 30-day extension is available at any Immigration office for 1,900 THB. Saudis staying for extended medical treatment should ask the hospital for a letter — immigration accepts it as grounds for a medical extension beyond the standard 30 days.

Practical Notes for Saudi Travellers

  • Cards. Domestic-only mada cards do not work abroad. Bring a Visa or Mastercard-badged card or a credit card; Apple Pay with a Saudi-issued card works in Bangkok malls and chains.
  • Halal and prayer. Suvarnabhumi has prayer rooms before and after immigration; halal food is concentrated around Sukhumvit Soi 3–5 (Nana) and Pratunam in Bangkok, and is easy to find in Phuket's Patong and Kata areas.
  • Season. Saudi summer holidays fall in Thailand's rainy season (June–October). Phuket's west-coast beaches see red flags; Samui on the east coast is drier in those months.
  • Help in Thailand. The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia is in Bangkok's Sathorn business district; the Royal Thai Embassy in Riyadh handles visas for stays beyond the exemption.

Ready to apply?

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Other Nationality Guides

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Netherlands

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Japan

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Guide

Free field-by-field guide to the Thailand Digital Arrival Card: passport name, address in Thailand, occupation for children, dates and QR timing.

FAQ

Do children need a TDAC? Is it a visa? When do you file? 25 answers on the Thailand Digital Arrival Card, checked against the September 2026 rules.