YourThaiPlanet.com

In general, foreigners who wish to travel to Thailand and stay for longer than 30 days are required to obtain a visa from a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate.

Nationals of most European, many North and South American, as well as other Asian countries, who meet "visa exemption" requirements and wish to stay in Thailand for not exceeding 30 days for "tourism purposes" only, however, do not require a visa when entering Thailand. All they need is a passport valid for at least six months.

This permission of stay has only little in common with a 'regular' visa. In fact, it's not a visa at all. The term "visa exemption" simply means that eligible foreigners shall be granted a permission of stay without having to apply for a visa prior to their entry into the Kingdom.

Upon arrival at a Thai immigration checkpoint, you'll simply have an entry stamp (no regular visa) stamped onto a page of your passport. This little square stamp displays both the "date of arrival" and an "admitted until" field, showing the date when you're due to leave.

This visa-exempt entry stamp (sometimes wrongly referred to as "tourist visa" or "visa on arrival") is free of charge.

The permitted duration of stay is up to 30 days (for nationals of most countries).

Tourists arriving via international airports will get a 30-days entry stamp, whereas touristsarriving in the Kingdom via land border checkpoints will receive only a 15-days permission of stay.

The only official requirement is an onward travel ticket as proof of your intention to leave Thailand again. Therefore, travelling to Thailand with a one-way ticket cannot be recommended. While this regulation is occasionally being enforced (and some airlines might refuse to let you board a flight to Thailand unless you have a return ticket), adequate financial means to cover your expenses in Thailand (10,000 Baht a person or 20,000 Baht per family, as officially required) are usually taken for granted.

Employment is strictly prohibited, and work permits cannot be applied for. If you want to work in Thailand legally and/or conduct a business you'll need to obtain a non-immigrant visa "B".