Thailand’s government announced on Tuesday that it will keep visa-free entry for Indian nationals, reversing an earlier cabinet proposal to remove India from the list of exempted countries. The decision, confirmed by Tourism Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul, follows a measurable decline in Indian tourist arrivals even before the proposed change took effect. The maximum permitted stay, however, is being reduced from 60 to 30 days, a move the minister said was calibrated to match the typical travel patterns of Indian visitors while sustaining a tourism sector that counts India as its third-largest source market after China and Malaysia.

Viewed from Bangkok, the policy reversal reflects a balancing act between economic reliance on tourism and growing domestic pressure to curb misuse of visa-free entry. The Thai government has cited concerns that some foreign nationals exploit the regime to work without authorisation or engage in illegal activities, particularly in tourist hotspots. The same cabinet decision that preserved Indian access also extended 30-day visa-free entry to Croatia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta and the Maldives, while the overall list of visa-exempt countries was trimmed from 93 to 54. Minister Surasak indicated that the government could review the measure again if problems arise.

The United States, by contrast, has left its Visa Waiver Program (VWP) unchanged. Citizens of 43 countries—including most of Western Europe, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Chile and Qatar—can still enter for tourism or business for up to 90 days without a visa, provided they obtain an approved Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) and hold an e-passport valid for at least six months beyond the intended stay. According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services, alternative pathways also continue: the H-1B visa programme for skilled workers, where data from immigration law firms show technology and consulting companies such as Google, Amazon and Deloitte remain the largest sponsors, and the U visa for crime victims, where a “bona fide determination” mechanism grants temporary work authorisation and deferred action while applicants wait for one of the 10,000 annual visas.

In a separate trend, several Asian nations are widening visa-free access for African passport holders. Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Indonesia, along with Georgia, Kazakhstan, the UAE and Qatar, have signed multiple bilateral agreements that ease travel for selected African nationalities, though no Asian state grants blanket access to all 54 African countries. Regional trade analysts note the expansion is expected to boost business travel and investment links. For Indian travellers, the immediate effect is a shorter permitted stay in Thailand; for US-bound visitors, the VWP framework remains stable, with the next H-1B registration cycle having closed on 24 March 2025 and U visa petitioners continuing to face multi-year backlogs.