By Kylian Dev
What is the TDAC?
A digital version of the old paper arrival card.
The Thailand Digital Arrival Card is an online pre-arrival registration run by the Thai Immigration Bureau. It replaced the paper TM6 card on 1 May 2025. The information you enter (identity, travel details, accommodation) is sent to immigration before you land, which speeds up passport control.
Who must fill in the TDAC?
Almost every foreign traveller.
- All non-Thai nationals entering Thailand, whatever their visa: visa exemption, visa on arrival, tourist visa, long-stay visa.
- Arrivals by air, by land (Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia) and by sea.
- Children and babies: each traveller needs their own card, which the group form makes easy.
- Thai nationals.
- Passengers in transit who stay in the international area and do not go through immigration.
- Holders of a Border Pass crossing at a land border.
When to submit it
The window opens 3 days before your arrival date.
You can submit the TDAC within the 3 days before your arrival date in Thailand, including the day of arrival itself. Earlier submissions are not accepted. The simplest is to fill it in at home the day before you fly, or during a layover, so you are not stressed at the airport.
What to prepare
Have these ready before you start.
- Your passport: the form can scan the machine-readable zone to fill in your details.
- Your arrival date, flight number (or vehicle or boat) and the country where you boarded.
- The purpose of your trip (holiday, business and so on).
- The address of your first accommodation in Thailand (hotel name and address is enough).
- Your departure date and flight, if you already know them.
- A valid email address, to receive the confirmation.
- If you enter by car or bus rather than by air: the vehicle's plate number or the bus company's name instead of a flight number.
A health declaration is only asked of travellers who have recently been in certain countries listed by the Thai Ministry of Public Health. The form shows it automatically if it applies to you.
What exactly does the form ask for?
The form is organised into five sections.
| Section | What you enter | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Passport details | Passport number, name, date of birth, nationality | Often scanned directly from the passport's machine-readable zone |
| Personal information | Occupation, country of residence, contact address | Only fields marked with an asterisk are compulsory, the rest is optional |
| Travel details | Mode of entry, flight or vehicle number, country you last departed from | For a layover, it is the country where you boarded your last flight |
| Accommodation | The address of your first stay in Thailand | Hotel name and address is enough, no booking reference is needed |
| Health declaration | Only shown for certain countries of origin or transit | The system displays it automatically if it applies to you |
- Submitting the TDAC more than 3 days before arrival: the system will not accept it.
- Typing your email address wrong: your confirmation never arrives, so note down your TDAC number too, just in case.
- During a layover, entering your departure date from Europe instead of your arrival date in Thailand.
- Filling in a separate individual card for each family member when the group form would save time.
How to fill in the TDAC, step by step
About ten minutes per person.
- 1Go to the official website tdac.immigration.go.th and choose "Arrival Card".
- 2Choose an individual form, or a group form to add several travellers (up to 10 per submission).
- 3Fill in your personal details, or scan your passport.
- 4Fill in your travel details and the address of your accommodation.
- 5Answer the health declaration if it appears.
- 6Check everything, then submit. Your confirmation and TDAC number arrive by email.
- 7Save the confirmation on your phone (screenshot) or print it.
Group form
FamiliesOne person can submit the cards of up to 10 travellers at once: practical for families and friends. Each traveller still gets their own card.
Editing
ChangesYou can change your travel details before you travel. Only your name, nationality and date of birth cannot be changed: if they are wrong, submit a new card. To make a change you need the TDAC number, passport number, nationality and date of birth from your confirmation.
On arrival in Thailand
What happens at passport control.
Immigration officers can see your TDAC in their system. Keep the confirmation email or its QR code on your phone, with an offline screenshot in case you have no data when you land, and show it if asked. Also keep your return or onward ticket and your accommodation booking handy: they may be requested with the TDAC. What comes next is covered in our step-by-step guide to arriving in Bangkok.
At passport control, immigration takes your fingerprints and a photo as they do for every entry, and checks your TDAC number against their system before stamping you in. This usually takes only a few seconds per person.
Beware of paid copycat sites
The TDAC is free.
Many sites with official-looking names charge a fee to "process" your TDAC. They simply fill in the same free form for you, and some keep your passport data. The only official site is tdac.immigration.go.th, run by the Thai Immigration Bureau.
- Paying anything: the official TDAC has no fee.
- Clicking the first sponsored result in a search engine without checking the address.
- Sending a photo of your passport by email or messaging to an agency.
- Replying to a call or text asking for a "processing fee" after you already submitted: the real TDAC never asks for payment once you have your confirmation.