The end of the year is when a lot of people living in Thailand fly home to see family, and when friends and relatives fly out to visit. It's also when small oversights cause the biggest headaches: a cancelled extension, a passport that's a few weeks too short, a medicine that needed paperwork, or a bag that didn't arrive. Late September showed how quickly things can go wrong, when flooding left more than 10,000 bags stuck at Suvarnabhumi for days. Here's what to sort, in order, so your holiday trip is about the people, not the paperwork.
The short version
- On an extension of stay? Get a re-entry permit before you leave, or the extension ends at the border.
- Check your passport: it should have at least six months' validity when you arrive back in Thailand.
- Know how you'll re-enter: without a valid visa or re-entry permit, you come back as a visitor.
- Medication: carry no more than 30 days' supply of personal prescriptions, with the prescription or a doctor's letter, and check controlled medicines with Thai FDA before you fly.
- Pack for a missing bag: essentials and valuables in your carry-on.
- If a bag goes missing: report it at the airline desk before leaving the airport, then send a written claim within 21 days of getting it back.
- Coming back: complete your TDAC, make sure a fresh TM30 is filed, and remember your 90-day count restarts.
Before you book: the immigration checks
The re-entry permit
If you live in Thailand on an extension of stay, for retirement, marriage, work or study, that permission is tied to you remaining in the country. Leave without a re-entry permit and it ends when you cross the border, and coming back doesn't restore it: you'd be assessed on whatever visa or exemption you arrive on, and the extension process starts again from scratch.
A re-entry permit costs ฿1,000 for a single trip or ฿3,800 for multiple trips, and if you'll travel more than once before your extension expires, the multiple usually works out cheaper. It can't be done online in 2026, so apply at your immigration office or an airport counter, and allow time, because airport queues and closures happen. The permit doesn't extend your stay; it only protects the permission you already have.
Your passport
Thailand expects your passport to be valid for at least six months when you arrive, and airlines check this at check-in, so a passport that's too close to expiry can stop you boarding the flight back. If yours is running short, renewing it before the trip is far easier than dealing with it at the airport. If you renew while living here, remember that your visa or extension stamps may need transferring to the new passport at immigration.
How you'll get back in
If you're not on a visa or extension protected by a re-entry permit, you'll return as a visitor. Since 15 September 2026, many nationalities, including US, UK, EU, Australian and Canadian passport holders, receive a 30-day visa exemption, for tourism only, extendable once by 30 days at immigration. It isn't a substitute for your old long-stay status, so plan around it if your circumstances have changed.
If you want the full picture of which visa routes exist and what each allows, our Visa Breakdown Guide lays them out side by side.
Packing: medication and the carry-on
Bringing medicine back into Thailand
Thailand's Food and Drug Administration allows travellers to bring personal prescription medicines for up to 30 days' use, carried in the original packaging with the prescription or a doctor's letter naming the medicine, the dose and the condition it treats. Keep that paperwork with you throughout your stay, and never sell or give your medicine to anyone else.
Some medicines are controlled substances in Thailand, including certain strong painkillers, sleeping and anxiety medicines and some ADHD treatments, and they come with extra rules. Amphetamine-based ADHD medicines are prohibited altogether. If you need more than 30 days' supply of a controlled medicine, you must get approval from Thai FDA before you travel; it can't be sorted at the airport.
One honest caveat: published guidance is inconsistent about certain strong prescription painkillers, such as codeine or tramadol, and whether a permit is needed even for a short supply. If you take one of these, check directly with Thai FDA, through its traveller permit website, before you fly, rather than relying on forum posts or older guides.
Pack as if your bag might not arrive
Keep anything you can't easily replace in your carry-on: medication and prescriptions, chargers, passport and documents, valuables and electronics, plus one change of clothes and basic toiletries. Many airlines limit or exclude liability for valuables in checked bags anyway. Take photos of your checked bag and its contents before check-in, put your name, phone number and email both outside and inside, and consider a small tracker tag inside the bag.
At the airport
Thailand's main airports have automated e-gates. For departures they're open to biometric e-passport holders, including foreigners, which can speed up leaving. Eligibility for arrival e-gates has been expanding through 2026 and depends on your passport, so check before you rely on them. Whichever lane you use on arrival, the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) is still required.
If your bag goes missing
The steps you take before leaving the airport decide how easy the claim is.
- Report it before you leave the baggage hall. Go to your airline's baggage services desk and file a Property Irregularity Report. Keep the reference number, your bag tag and boarding pass.
- Buy only reasonable essentials, and keep every receipt. Airlines reimburse what's reasonable, and their policies on interim allowances differ.
- Send a written claim. The airport report isn't the same as a written claim. On most international flights, the Montreal Convention requires a written complaint within 21 days of the bag being delivered for a delay, or within 7 days of receiving it for damage.
- If it never turns up: a bag still missing after 21 days is treated as lost. Airline liability under the Montreal Convention is up to 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger, roughly US$2,000, and many travel insurance policies add their own cover.
During the September backlog at Suvarnabhumi, the airline asked affected passengers to complete delayed-baggage forms so bags could be tracked and delivered, and set up a collection point at the airport. Filing the report promptly was what put passengers in the queue.
Avoiding the classic first-trip slip-ups, from packing to arrival, is exactly what our First-Trip Mistakes guide covers.
Coming back to Thailand
- TDAC: complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card within 72 hours before arrival. It's free on the official website (tdac.immigration.go.th) and can also be done through the official THIM app. Never pay a third-party site for it.
- TM30: your address needs a fresh notification within 24 hours of returning from abroad, even to the same home. It's usually your landlord's job, so remind them and ask for the receipt, since a missing TM30 can hold up your own immigration paperwork.
- 90-day reporting: if you report every 90 days, the count restarts from your new arrival date.
- Ordering gifts from abroad? Since 1 January 2026, every parcel imported into Thailand, from the first baht, is subject to import duty and 7% VAT, so check the final price at checkout.
Plan your admin around the December holidays
Government offices and banks close on Thai public holidays, and late December fills up quickly. Early December includes national holidays such as 5 December and 10 December, and the New Year period brings more closures. If you need immigration or bank paperwork before you travel, such as a re-entry permit or a bank letter, do it well ahead and check the official holiday calendar first.
Your checklist, in order
- Check your passport has six months' validity for your return date.
- If you're on an extension, book time for a re-entry permit.
- Check any controlled medicines with Thai FDA, and pack prescriptions and letters.
- Pack essentials and valuables in your carry-on; photograph your checked bag.
- Save your airline's baggage-claim details and your travel insurer's number.
- Coming back: complete your TDAC, remind your landlord about the TM30, and note your new 90-day date.
FAQ
Do I need a re-entry permit for a short trip home? Yes, if you're living here on an extension of stay. Without one, the extension ends when you leave, however short the trip.
How much validity does my passport need? At least six months on arrival in Thailand. Airlines check this before you board.
Can I bring my usual medicines? Usually yes, up to 30 days' supply with your prescription or a doctor's letter. Controlled medicines have extra rules, some are prohibited, and guidance on certain strong painkillers is inconsistent, so check with Thai FDA before you fly.
My bag didn't arrive. What's the deadline? File a report at the airport before you leave, then send a written claim within 21 days of the bag being delivered (7 days for damage). A bag missing for 21 days is treated as lost.
Do I need a new TM30 after a trip home? Yes, within 24 hours of returning, even to the same address.
This guide is general information, not legal, medical or immigration advice. Rules change, so confirm current requirements with the Immigration Bureau, Thai FDA, your airline and your insurer before travelling.