What is the Thailand Digital Arrival Card and who needs it?

The Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) is the electronic replacement for the paper TM6 immigration card that travellers previously completed on arrival in Thailand. This article explains what the TDAC is, why it was introduced and which travellers are expected to submit one before entering the country.

Published 12 January 20267 min read

A short definition of the TDAC

The Thailand Digital Arrival Card is an online form operated by the Immigration Bureau of Thailand. It collects basic personal, travel and accommodation information from foreign nationals arriving in the Kingdom of Thailand. Once submitted, the form generates a confirmation that immigration officers can verify electronically at the border.

The TDAC is not a visa and it does not grant the right to enter Thailand. It is an administrative declaration that supports the existing immigration, public health and tourism reporting systems.

Why Thailand introduced a digital arrival card

For many years, travellers filled in a paper TM6 card on the aircraft or at the immigration desk. Authorities phased out the paper form and replaced it with a digital process for several reasons:

To reduce queues and paperwork at international airports.
To enable faster sharing of arrival data between the Immigration Bureau, the Ministry of Public Health and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
To make it easier to keep records consistent with passport information.
To support modernisation of border control infrastructure.

Because the form is filled in before travel, immigration officers can focus on identity and document checks rather than data entry, which generally shortens the time spent at the counter.

Who is required to complete the TDAC

As a general rule, all foreign nationals arriving in Thailand must complete a Thailand Digital Arrival Card before crossing the border. This applies whether the traveller is:

Visiting Thailand on a visa exemption (visa-free entry).
Holding a tourist visa, visa on arrival, education visa, retirement visa, work permit or other long-stay permit.
Entering by air, by sea or through a land border checkpoint.
Returning to Thailand after a short trip abroad on a re-entry permit.

Thai nationals do not need to complete the form. Some narrow categories of travellers, such as certain transit passengers who do not pass through immigration, are also not required to submit one. These exemptions are discussed in a separate article on this site.

What information the TDAC collects

The form is intentionally short. It asks for information that the traveller would normally already have at hand, including:

Full name and date of birth as shown in the passport.
Passport number, nationality and country of residence.
Flight or transport details and date of arrival.
Address in Thailand for the first night of the stay.
Purpose of the visit (such as tourism, business, transit or study).

No payment information is requested, because the TDAC itself is free of charge on the official government platform.

How the TDAC fits into the wider entry process

A traveller arriving in Thailand normally goes through three steps: holding a valid passport and, where required, a visa; submitting the Thailand Digital Arrival Card before crossing the border; and presenting documents to an immigration officer at the checkpoint. The TDAC is one element in that chain and does not replace any of the others.

For more detail on what happens after arrival, see the article on the immigration process at Thai airports and land borders.