What's already required
Since May 2025, all foreign nationals entering Thailand by air, land or sea have needed to complete a Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) before arrival, replacing the old paper TM6 form. It applies to every entry, including repeat visits, and must be submitted between 24 and 72 hours before arrival — submitting earlier than that window gets rejected. Completing it is free directly through Thailand's official immigration portal; any site charging a fee for it is not the official one.
What's changing in August 2026
Thailand's Immigration Bureau is rolling out THIM (Thailand Immigration Management), a mobile app currently in pilot phase on iOS and Android that folds the TDAC into a broader platform — travellers register a profile once, then only update flight number and arrival date for future trips, with the QR code generated inside the app. THIM becomes mandatory for arriving foreign nationals from August 2026; until then, both THIM and the standard TDAC web portal are accepted.
Practical tips
- Save your QR code as a screenshot as well as in-app — don't rely on having signal at immigration.
- Submit within the 24–72 hour window before arrival, not earlier.
- If you make a significant error, submit a fresh entry rather than trying to edit — immigration checks the most recent submission.
Why this matters for Krabi arrivals
Whether you're flying directly into Krabi International Airport or connecting via Bangkok or Phuket, this requirement applies at your first point of entry into Thailand, not specifically at Krabi's airport — so it's worth completing before you leave home, alongside checking the current visa exemption rules, which have also recently changed.