How to fill in the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC)

What you need before you start

• Your passport.
• Your full name, date of birth and nationality, exactly as in your passport.
• Your flight details and arrival date.
• The address where you will stay in Thailand.
• A contact phone number and an email address.
• Your purpose of visit, such as tourism, business or visiting family.
• Your recent travel history, in case you need to complete the health declaration (see step 5).
• Everything must be entered in English. In dropdown lists, type three characters to see matching options.

Step by step

1. 1Open tdac.immigration.go.th and click "Arrival Card".
2. 2Enter your passport details. You can upload a clear photo of your passport or type the details in English.
3. 3Check every detail read from your passport photo against your passport. Your full name, passport number, nationality and date of birth cannot be edited after you submit.
4. 4Enter your itinerary: your flight details and where you will stay. Then click "Continue".
5. 5If you hold a relevant nationality or have travelled in a high-risk disease area in the last 14 days, complete the extra health declaration, then click "Next".
6. 6Travelling with others? Click "Add" and repeat the steps for each person.
7. 7Review everything. Click "Edit" to change anything.
8. 8Enter your email address, agree to the terms and conditions, and click "Submit".
9. 9Download the proof of submission or open the confirmation email. It contains your TDAC as a QR code, which you can print or show on your phone.
10. 10On arrival, show the confirmation to the immigration officer. If you did not receive the email or QR code, tell the immigration officer at the checkpoint.

When to submit

Submit within the 3 days before you arrive in Thailand. You can also submit on your arrival day, right up until you go through immigration.

A TDAC is valid for one entry only. You need a new TDAC every time you enter Thailand.

If you need to change your details, you can update them at any time before you travel. Your full name, passport number, nationality and date of birth cannot be changed: if one of these is wrong, submit a new TDAC.

No phone or internet? Some airports have WiFi and TDAC kiosks: Suvarnabhumi (BKK), Don Mueang (DMK), Phuket (HKT), Chiang Mai (CNX) and Hat Yai (HDY). Using a kiosk can mean extra delay and queues, and help points at checkpoints are for exceptional cases only, so submit before you travel if you can.

Cost

The TDAC is free. Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports says TDAC registration "is completely free of charge".

Submit only on the official site, tdac.immigration.go.th. A website that charges a fee to handle your TDAC is not an official Thai government site.

Families and children

• You can submit for yourself only or as a group.
• A group submission can include up to 10 people. For the second and later people, you can reuse information from the same group.
• To add a traveller, click "Add" and repeat the steps for that person.
• Children and infants need their own TDAC. A parent or guardian completes it for them.

Who doesn't need it

• Thai nationals.
• Travellers transiting or transferring through Thailand without passing through immigration control. If you pass immigration and leave the airport, you need a TDAC.
• Travellers entering with a Border Pass.
• All other foreign nationals must submit, including tourists and business travellers.
• Permanent residents: official sources differ. Thailand's government guide (thailand.go.th) says permanent residents are excluded, while the Tourism Authority of Thailand says long-term residents must submit and should choose "Thailand" under "Country of Residence". Check the official TDAC site before you travel.

Fake websites: how to spot them

The only official TDAC site is tdac.immigration.go.th, run by Thailand's Immigration Bureau. Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports warns that websites claiming to handle TDAC registration for a fee are not official: "The websites requesting payment are not official Thai government sites."

• Check that the address is exactly tdac.immigration.go.th. It sits under immigration.go.th, the Immigration Bureau's site, and ends in .go.th, the Thai government domain.
• The TDAC is free. If a site asks for payment or an administrative fee, it is not the official site.
• Do not trust any site or page that claims to be a TDAC agent or asks you to pay.
• Information sent to a fake site is not in the official system. Submit your TDAC on tdac.immigration.go.th.
• To report a fake site, save the web address, screenshots and any messages, then contact the Cyber Police Hotline 1441, the Online Complaint Center 1212 OCC or the Anti-Fake News Center Thailand.

Common mistakes

• Entering details in a language other than English.
• Mistakes in your full name, passport number, nationality or date of birth. These cannot be edited, so you must submit a new TDAC.
• Not rechecking details read automatically from your passport's machine-readable zone.
• Submitting too early, outside the 3-day window.
• Not submitting before you travel and relying on an airport kiosk, which can mean delays and queues.
• Reusing an old TDAC. Each entry needs a new one.
• Using a fake or paid site. Your details will not be in the official system.
• Treating the TDAC as a visa. It is not a visa and does not replace one.