Do citizens of Thailand need a Schengen visa?
Schengen area
Yes
Citizens of Thailand must hold a short-stay Schengen visa before travelling, whatever the purpose of the trip. Applications are made to the consulate of your main destination.
This requirement has been in place since 2001.
How long you may stay
A short-stay Schengen visa allows up to 90 days in any 180 days, unless your visa states a shorter period. The day you enter and the day you leave both count, and the days are shared across the whole area.
Your entries and exits are now recorded automatically
Since Apr 10, 2026, the 29 European countries operating the Entry/Exit System have replaced passport stamps with a digital record. Crossing an external border registers your facial image, fingerprints, travel document details, and the date and place of every entry and exit.
This is why counting carefully now matters more than it used to. The 90/180 total was previously reconstructed from ink stamps that were sometimes missing, smudged or unreadable. It is now a database record, so an overstay is visible the moment you reach a border.
It applies to every non-EU traveller on a short stay — whether you hold a visa or are exempt from needing one. There is nothing to apply for and no fee.
Two EU countries still stamp passports by hand, because they do not operate the system: Cyprus and Ireland.
Source: European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs — the EES is fully operational(opens in a new tab)
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ETIAS: the travel authorisation that has not started yet
Not open for applications yet
ETIAS is not in operation and no applications are being accepted. The European Union has said it will announce the start date several months in advance. Any website inviting you to apply or pay for one today is not the official service.
ETIAS will not apply to you. It is a requirement for visa-exempt travellers only, and nationals of Thailand need a Schengen visa instead. A visa already covers what ETIAS is for.
Count your days
The 90/180 rule is a rolling window rather than a yearly allowance, so the answer changes every day. The calculator works it out from your dates, and keeps them on your device.
Which countries this covers
The determination applies to the Schengen area as a whole. A visa, or an exemption from one, is not per country, and days spent in any member state come out of the same allowance.
What this page does not tell you
A visa exemption is permission to travel without a visa. It is not a right of entry: border officers still check your purpose, your funds, your accommodation and your passport validity, and may refuse entry. It also does not cover long stays, work or study, which need a national visa or permit whatever your nationality.
This list changes
The annexes to the regulation are amended from time to time, and a nationality can move between them. If your trip is some way off, check the instrument itself before you book.
Source
Instrument: Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement
Source: EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, Annexes I and II(opens in a new tab)
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Work out your dates
The rule on this page, applied to your actual trip.
- Visa Overstay CalculatorCount exactly how many days a stay runs past its permitted departure date, and how many are left if it has not.
- Passport Expiry CalculatorCheck your passport against a destination's actual validity requirement — not a one-size-fits-all six-month rule.
- Travel Days CalculatorCount the days of a trip the way border authorities do, with both the arrival and departure days included.
Other nationalities
The same determination, checked against the same instrument.