Thailand prepares THIM app for foreign arrivals before August launch

The Immigration Bureau said on Saturday (June 6, 2026) that, under government policy prioritising the care of foreign nationals entering Thailand as tourists or staying under various types of visa, immigration authorities had been instructed to strengthen their capacity to supervise foreigners’ stays.

The aim is to prevent people from blending in and causing problems in the country, or from being victimised, as reflected in recent public attention.

At the same time, the bureau said problems affecting the country’s tourism image also had to be reduced, including congestion at airports and inconvenience in contacting officers.

The Immigration Bureau has developed the THIM app for foreign nationals to register during a trial phase, drawing public interest and a large number of enquiries to the bureau.

Immigration Bureau develops THIM app for foreigners to register before travelling to Thailand

Most recently, on Saturday (June 6, 2026), Pol Lt Gen Panumas Boonyalug, commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, assigned Pol Maj Gen Pratchaya Prasansuk, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, to drive the development of the THIM app, or Thailand Immigration Management, which can be used on mobile phones or other mobile devices.

The core concept is to create a balance between supervising stays under national security considerations and facilitating registration and applications for permission under immigration law for foreigners travelling to Thailand under all visa types.

Foreign nationals can download and register via the THIM app to enter passport information.

The app can make entering passport details more convenient by allowing users to photograph their passports.

The system will read and record the information automatically.

Foreign nationals need only fill in their place of stay in Thailand, travel details and relevant reasons to be used in considering permission to enter the Kingdom in the form of the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC).

The data will be stored in the immigration information system, which has been jointly developed with a globally credible private company in terms of system security.

An initial advantage of the app is that foreign nationals can complete entry information in detail, but more conveniently than before, in no more than three minutes.

It can also help people travelling in groups by allowing information for up to 10 people to be entered at the same time.

This helps make group processing more convenient and faster, reducing processing time to an average of no more than three minutes per person.

At present, the information must be entered through a website, which works more slowly.

Development to expand it into a Super App for foreigners

In addition, in future it will be developed into a one-stop Super App for foreigners, covering short-stay tourists, long-term residents and those who have taken up residence in the Kingdom.

This includes enabling them to request relevant and necessary documents for certifying or confirming their identity as foreigners, and to submit necessary documents to competent officers.

Officers will be able to review applications through the app without foreign nationals needing to appear in person.

The app will also support appointment scheduling to meet officers, reducing travel time and the density of foreign nationals applying for permission at immigration offices, while not reducing the efficiency of officers’ checks.

In addition, foreign nationals registered on the app who experience an incident or need help can request assistance through the app via the Tourist Police hotline 24 hours a day.

At the start of the pilot project, the digital platform has been developed to support four main languages: English, Russian, Japanese and Chinese, which correspond to major tourist nationality groups entering Thailand in high proportions.

The developer also aims to expand its capacity to support at least 15 more languages in the near future to cover travellers from around the world.

The app is ready for travellers to download on both iOS via the App Store and Android via the Play Store.

Trial use begins, with launch set for August 2026

The Immigration Bureau has now opened the app for download to test its use and systems.

Initially, it can be used to link registration in the TDAC (Thailand Digital Arrival Card) system, and other systems will be developed further and completed.

The official full launch is scheduled for August 2026.

Pol Maj Gen Pratchaya Prasansuk, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, said: “Thailand’s immigration system currently handles about 30 million foreign tourists a year and is likely to see further growth. We are committed to improving the experience of travellers at immigration checkpoints”.

“This is to reflect Thailand’s image as a modern and friendly country. THIM will help drive Thailand towards becoming a leader in the transition to digital immigration systems in Southeast Asia through a national platform on mobile phones and other mobile devices”.

“Using modern but secure technology, we can significantly reduce processing time while also strengthening the country’s security capacity.”