After temporarily suspending the TM6 arrival card in Thailand, which arriving passengers had to fill out for over a decade, the government announced that it will soon return in electronic form.
From May 1, 2025, travelers to Thailand can expect to fill out the new electronic version, which has become somewhat of a staple for many countries in the Asia Pacific region.
This comes as Thailand is working on making adjustments to the immigration process overall, including having installed automatic entry/exit barriers, preparing the implementation of an ETA system and still considering policy regarding the 300 Baht tourism entry levy.
As reported by the Bangkok Post, the electronic TM6 arrival form is definitely making a comeback though.
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports is preparing to promote the online TM6 immigration form, which will be compulsory for all foreign arrivals entering Thailand as of May 1, though the government is reluctant to start collecting the 300-baht tourism fee this year.
TM6 immigration forms were temporarily suspended by the cabinet on April 15, 2024.
When the suspension period ends on April 30 this year, a digital version of the TM6 will replace the paper-based one, said Natthriya Thaweevong, the ministry’s permanent secretary.
She said the online form is expected to help track tourists while they are in Thailand, increasing confidence in safety as the country combats negative perceptions.
This week the ministry held an internal meeting and invited the Immigration Bureau to demonstrate the online system. …
Mongkon Wimonrat, the ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, said the government would prioritise the digital TM6 before adopting other types of entry screening planned earlier to prevent confusion among tourists.
He said the online TM6 applies only to foreign arrivals. The free online form will be compulsory for all arrivals by air, land and sea, said Mr Mongkon.
A source at the ministry who requested anonymity said that with the online TM6 form coming soon, there is a greater likelihood the 300-baht tourism fee will be postponed.
The government wants the TM6 process to operate without any problems, and it could take months or a even a year until the system runs smoothly, said the source.
As the country copes with news regarding illicit networks using Thailand as a transit hub to neighbouring countries, the government may believe now is an inappropriate time to start collecting the fee, added the source. …
So they will implement the new electronic arrival card by May 1st, but it could take up to a year for it to run smoothly? Not that I’m really surprised considering this is Thailand.
But I’m not exactly sure what they expect to be a problem. Digital arrival cards have been relatively common in neighboring countries, including Malaysia and Singapore, for several years now. Taiwan has a digital arrival form as well, and it works without a hitch. This isn’t rocket science! Simply ask your ASEAN partners how they designed the system, done.
At the same time, I read there are already people who complain online that they have to fill out a form like this, requiring them to provide personal information. This is totally normal and appropriate when entering a foreign country so I don’t see any angle why this would be questionable practice. Don’t like it? Don’t travel!
Conclusion
Thailand will once again introduce an arrivals form for passengers who arrive in Thailand by air, land and sea. This will help the immigration department facilitate the entry process. The collection of arrival information has been suspended for roughly a year, and it actually worked quite well as the processing was faster. Are these details really that vital for the immigration process though?
In any case, the digital form is a good compromise and it doesn’t cause any real inconvenience spending a few minutes to register the information.
As far as the 300 Baht tourism fee goes, this has really become a running gag over the past 10 years in Thailand, and they should really just drop this discussion. Increase some other tax to collect additional funds and move on from this unpleasant topic once and for all. It doesn’t help the image of the Thai tourism industry one bit and operators are universally against it.
