Thailand Holidays

Foreign Office issues updated Thailand travel guidance for Brits on Monday

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has revised its travel guidance for those planning a trip to Thailand.

The South East Asian destination is growing increasingly popular with British holidaymakers, with over a million making the journey every year. On top of this, tens of thousands of UK nationals live, work, or retire in Thailand – in locations such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, and Phuket. To enter Thailand as a tourist, your passport must have an ‘expiry date’ at least 6 months after the date you arrive and have at least one blank page.

The FCDO warns: “You will be denied entry if you do not have a valid travel document or try to use a passport that has been reported lost or stolen.” As of September 15, 2026, if you enter Thailand on a British passport, under the visa exemption scheme, you can stay for up to 30 days for tourism only.

This does not extend to business travel, including attending conferences, meetings or other business activities. Those travelling for business purposes should secure the appropriate visa prior to departure.

New Foreign Office Thailand alert issued

New FCDO Thailand advice, issued on Monday, reads: “Visa-exempt entry for tourism through land-border immigration checkpoints is normally limited to two entries per calendar year. This restriction does not generally apply to arrivals by air.

“If you frequently enter Thailand as a tourist, immigration officials may ask for evidence of your onward travel, accommodation, or sufficient funds, and may refuse entry if they believe you are not a genuine visitor.”

All overseas nationals travelling to Thailand, whether by air, land or sea, are required to complete a digital arrival card online prior to their arrival. Travellers are able to register for an arrival card up to three days before they land.

Should you overstay your visa, you face a penalty of 500 Thai baht (around £11) per day, rising to a maximum of 20,000 baht (around £449). You also risk being detained, deported at your own cost, and banned from returning to Thailand for as long as 10 years.

She has been left with scars and missing teeth

A woman has been left with no feeling in her face after shattering her jaw in an accident while on holiday..

Tia Lockey was at the start of a dream trip through Asia when she was involved in a motorbike accident. The 22-year-old waved goodbye to her friends after volunteering to go first down to a remote beach.

Tia can now only remember the first few minutes of the journey before waking up on the jungle floor, concussed and in agonising pain. “My dream trip I had been planning for years had been stripped away from me because of a lift to the beach,” said Tia from Durham.

“I opened my eyes and I was on the floor in the jungle of Koh Tao, in the middle of nowhere covered in blood. I didn’t and still don’t remember the crash at all; it’s completely wiped from my memory. I definitely mourn the life I used to have.”

The marketing worker had organised a trip down to the beach in Koh Tao, Thailand in the early hours of the morning of March 14. A fellow traveller offered to take them down one by one as the ride would only take 10 minutes – and thinking nothing of it, Tia went first.

However, shortly after they had set off, they were involved in a horrific crash. Tia said: “My friend thought something must’ve been up and she had a bad feeling since the driver was meant to go back for her next but he still hadn’t come.

“Luckily I had shared my live location with her that night so she followed it and found me with all of my injuries. An ambulance came and the hospital told me I had shattered my jaw in two places, knocked two teeth out, and had very deep wounds on my face. I needed to be emergency speed-boated to a hospital in Koh Samui which was around three hours away.”

Tia was rushed to the hospital with her face completely bandaged up due to the gaping wounds on her upper lip, forehead, left eye, chin and scalp. For the next two weeks she was bedridden in hospital with her mouth wired shut following her jaw surgery.

The 22-year-old then returned back home to the UK as another jaw surgery was required. She said: “I needed to have another jaw surgery in May. I couldn’t chew for four months and because my jaw was so severely broken, they described it as cornflake bits, when I woke up from the eight hour surgery my teeth and bite were completely different.

“They no longer touched at the front, so I was left with an open bite and they said that this will just be my teeth from now on and there’s not a lot they can do to fix them. So now I struggle to eat anything with my front teeth.”

The crash completely changed Tia’s life, leaving her with crippling insecurities that stopped her from leaving the house. On top of the scars and teeth damage, nerve damage to her bottom lip and chin left them completely numb

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Tia said: “I struggled a lot with going out and about with friends and family because I was so insecure about my teeth and scars. If I’m eating or brushing my teeth for example and I was to get toothpaste or food on my chin I would have no idea.

“My sisters have to give me a heads up when we’re out. I’m still being seen by the hospital for regular appointments and I still have missing teeth. I am hoping to finally have them fixed by the end of the year.

“My confidence and mood plummeted massively, there didn’t seem to be an end to my recovery.” S ix months on from the crash Tia has finally started to adjust to the changes.

Documenting her recovery journey has given her a new found purpose. Tia said: “It has also made me realise just how precious life is and never to take a single day for granted.

“I thought posting about it on TikTok would give me a purpose during recovery and it turned it into something more positive. The response I’ve received is just so overwhelming in the best way and I massively appreciate all the support and love I’ve been getting from everyone.

“I just hope it reminds people to stay safe, even when you feel invincible, because you never think it will happen to you until it does, and unfortunately I’m still paying the price for it.”