Bangkok transit for Indian passport holders

Before you book a connection through Bangkok

1. 1Check whether your two flights use the same airport, Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang.
2. 2If you will enter Thailand, carry proof of onward travel out of the country within 30 days.
3. 3Complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card before you land if you will pass immigration.
4. 4Allow generous time between Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang, since you collect bags, clear immigration and cross the city by road.
5. 5Recheck the exemption on the Thai Embassy’s page before you travel, as it changed in September 2026.

The 30-day exemption and what it covers

The Royal Thai Embassy in New Delhi, on a page updated on 16 September 2026, says the 30-day visa exemption for Indian ordinary passport holders, for tourism and short-term business, remains effective from 15 September 2026 until further announcement. Before that date the exemption was 60 days.

For a transit passenger, this means the formal airside rule matters less than at most hubs. Thailand’s airside rule could not be read on an official page, but an Indian who needs to pass immigration, for a self-transfer, a change of airport or a night in the city, can normally enter under the exemption.

Entry under the exemption requires “proof of onward travel (confirmed air, train, bus or boat tickets) to leave Thailand within 30 days of the arrival date”. The Tourism Authority of Thailand reminded visitors in July 2026 that funds checks apply, at 10,000 or 20,000 baht per person or family depending on the category.

The TS transit visa

Thailand also issues a TS (Transit) visa, for the purpose “To transit to the country of destination”. The embassy lists it at INR 2,500 for single entry or INR 5,000 for double entry, with three months’ validity and a 30-day stay. Since 1 January 2025 all Thai visa applications from India go through the e-Visa site, thaievisa.go.th.

Most Indian travellers will not need it while the exemption lasts. It is an option if the exemption changes or does not fit your trip.

Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang

Bangkok has two international airports, Suvarnabhumi (BKK) and Don Mueang (DMK). A connection from one to the other is not a transit: you collect bags, clear Thai immigration, travel across the city by road and check in again. For a visa-exempt Indian traveller that is allowed, but it takes time, and the onward travel and arrival card rules apply.

The Thailand Digital Arrival Card is reported to be mandatory since 1 May 2025, free, and completed within 72 hours before arrival. Fill it in for any connection that takes you through immigration.

A Bangkok connection on a flight reservation

A flight reservation is an airline booking held without payment. On a route through Bangkok, for example a Thai Airways booking from an Indian city through Bangkok to Japan or Australia, keep both flights on one booking so the connection stays at one airport.

Entering Thailand itself is different, because the exemption asks for confirmed onward tickets. A held reservation shows a plan for a visa application elsewhere; check-in staff and Thai immigration may want a ticket you have paid for. Buy the onward flight if you will rely on the exemption.

Each airline decides how long it holds a reservation, so it varies. Order it for the day you submit.

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK) questions, answered