Can You Travel to Thailand With A Criminal Record?

Recently I was having a conversation with someone who’s been in prison for a bar brawl and he was nervous about going to Thailand since he has a criminal record and wanted to know if he could travel to Thailand with criminal record.

So I looked into this for him and I wanted to share this with you as well, in case you have a criminal record and are planning to go to Thailand.

The Thai government has no access to foreign criminal registries and therefore will not be able to check whether or not, you have a criminal record. As long as the country you have residency in allows you a passport and to leave the country, you can travel to Thailand with a criminal record.

This is for when you’re traveling to Thailand,

But there are a few differences when you want to move to Thailand. So if you want to travel to Thailand and stay there permanently, or even get a job, make sure to read on, because I will explain this more thoroughly below.

Visiting Thailand on a Visa exemption

If you have a criminal record and are in possession of a valid passport, the easiest way to visit Thailand for a holiday is with a visa exemption.

This means that you don’t need to file for a tourist visa and you are free to enter Thailand as long as you stay no longer than 30 days.

As I’m writing this, the Thai government has extended this from 30 to 45 days, but that is officially only valid until March of 2023.

Whether or not they will extend this again, only time can tell.

In order to be approved for this visa exemption, you’d need to be originated from one of the 64 countries below.

Andorra
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrein
Belgium
Brazil
Brunei
Cambodia
Canada
Chile
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Korea
Kuwait
Laos
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Malaysia
Maldives
Mauritius
Myanmar
Monaco
Mongolia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Oman
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Russia
San Marino
Singapore
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Vietnam

Again, the visa exempt rule is when you don’t have to file for a tourist visa and you are to stay in Thailand as long as you can show that you’re leaving the Thai borders before the 30 days expire, or until March of 2023 that would be the 45 days.

Visiting Thailand on a tourist visa

If you want to stay longer in Thailand and need to file for a tourist visa and have a criminal record, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

In order to even be able to leave your country, you do need a valid passport.
And in your country of origin, the Thai embassy can check on your status.

If you’ve been convicted of a felony, the Thai embassy may decide to not approve your visa and the best way to find out about this is to file for the visa and see whether or not they will approve it.

Also if you are on the no-fly list, maintained by the TSC, for obvious reasons, you’re not allowed to leave your country and therefore can’t go to Thailand.

Visiting Thailand after being prosecuted in Thailand

In case you were prosecuted in the past by the Thai government. Whether that’s for Drugs, violence, trafficking, or anything else, chances of you being allowed back into the Kingdom of Thailand are almost non-existent.

In most cases, after being released from jail, people will receive a travel ban which makes it hard if not impossible to come back to Thailand.

The difficult part of whether or not you’d be granted a visa to Thailand is that it’s all relying on a day-by-day situation.

Most people will have no issues with getting the visa, even with a felony, but if you happen to meet that cranky person on an early Monday morning, they may disapprove the visa.

My personal advice would be to just file for the tourist visa if you’re unsure and if you get the visa, you’re free to go.

The last thing you want is to go to Thailand and get denied entry when arriving at Suvernaverbi Airport.