The Thai arrival card is free, and the three day window is the bit people get wrong

The window, and why it catches people

The TDAC opens within three days of your arrival, not before.

The usual sequence is that someone organised books flights in March, decides to get the admin out of the way, opens the site, and finds it will not accept the submission. They conclude the site is broken or that they are on the wrong one, and go looking for another. That is exactly the moment a paid look-alike site catches them, because a site that takes your money will happily accept a submission outside the window and simply sit on it.

Put a reminder three days before you fly. That is the whole solution.

Paying for it is the actual risk

The Australian government does not usually name a specific scam pattern in destination advice. It does here.

Beware of fake websites charging you a fee for the TDAC. Smartraveller, Thailand travel advice

The sites are convincing. They use official-looking branding, they rank in search results, and they charge something in the range of a plausible government fee. Two outcomes follow. Either they submit the free form on your behalf and keep your money, or they do not submit it at all and you find out at immigration.

The money is the smaller problem. To fill in a TDAC you hand over your passport number, full name, date of birth, nationality, flight number and where you are staying. That is a useful set of details for identity fraud, given to an unknown party, voluntarily.

How to be sure you are in the right place. Go through the link on Smartraveller’s Thailand page rather than through a search result. If you are being asked for a payment method, you are not on the government system. There is no fast-track version and no premium tier.

What it asks for

Passport and personal details, your flight, where you are staying in Thailand, your travel purpose and health declaration information. The Thai Immigration Bureau says it takes about three to five minutes when your details are ready.

You get a QR code at the end. Screenshot it.

Do you need a travel eSIM for it?

No, and this is a page on an eSIM retailer’s site telling you that.

Complete the TDAC at home on wifi three days before you fly. There is nothing about the form that needs mobile data, and having a travel eSIM does not change the process or speed it up.

The screenshot advice is worth following anyway. Not because you will be offline, but because arrival halls have slow wifi and long queues, and a saved image opens instantly while a web page might not.

If you want data when you land in Thailand for maps, transfers and the hotel address, that is a separate decision and we have written it up in the best eSIM for Thailand.

If Thailand is one stop in a longer trip, our digital arrival card guide keeps the current Thailand, Indonesia, New Zealand and Japan rules side by side.

Questions people actually ask

Is the Thailand Digital Arrival Card free?

Yes. Smartraveller states it “is free of charge and must be submitted online through the Thailand Immigration Bureau website”.

How early can I submit the TDAC?

Within three days before arriving in Thailand. Not earlier.

Is the TDAC compulsory?

Yes. Smartraveller says you must complete one within three days before arriving.

I paid a website for my TDAC. What now?

Check whether you actually have a valid submission from the Thai Immigration Bureau system rather than a receipt from a third party. If you do not, complete the free form directly. Treat the passport details you gave that site as exposed and be alert for follow-up contact.

Do I need to print the QR code?

A screenshot on your phone is enough. Print it if that suits you better.

Do I need internet in Thailand to use it?

No. It is submitted before you arrive.

Does everyone need one?

All non-Thai nationals entering by air, land or sea need one, including children. Crew and travellers staying airside without passing immigration do not.

Sources

The requirement to complete a TDAC within three days before arriving, the statement that it is free of charge and must be submitted through the Thailand Immigration Bureau website, and the warning to beware of fake websites charging a fee, from Smartraveller’s Thailand travel advice. The eligibility rules, airside-transit and crew exemptions, required information, submission time and QR instructions are from the Thai Immigration Bureau’s TDAC FAQ. Both were checked 3 September 2026. Government requirements change without notice; check the official page before you travel.

Written by Lachlan, who runs The SIM Shop from Brisbane and answers the support email himself.