Bangkok airport: Suvarnabhumi passport control gets faster, but not for everyone
Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok has opened automated arrival gates for citizens of 33 countries, but Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine are not on the list. Here is what changes on arrival, where any e-passport holder can already skip the officer, and how to get from Bangkok airport to Pattaya quickly.
At Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, automated passport control gates are now working on arrival for citizens of 33 countries. Travellers from the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the UAE and two dozen other countries now clear the border through a face-scanning gate instead of queuing for an officer.
Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine are not on the list, and neither are the US, China and India. For these passports nothing changes on arrival: you queue at an officer's counter, have your photo taken and give fingerprints.
Those left in the general queue still benefit. Some passengers now go to the machines, so fewer people wait for the officers. But when several big flights land back to back, the arrivals hall still fills up, and there is no way to predict exactly how long the border will take.
Even for the 33 countries, the arrival gates have conditions:
1. Biometric passport - with a chip.
2. Repeat visit - you have entered Thailand before on the same passport.
3. Visa exemption - you enter without a visa; visa holders are still sent to an officer for now.
4. TDAC card - completed before arrival.
First-time visitors go to an officer, who records their biometrics.
Departure is already simpler. Since December 2023, the automated channels at Suvarnabhumi have been open to foreigners of any nationality with a biometric passport, Russians included. You place your passport on the scanner, look into the camera, and you are through. You go to an officer if your passport has no chip or you have overstayed your visa.
The TDAC arrival card is mandatory for everyone, whichever lane you use. You can fill it in for free on the official website tdac.immigration.go.th. Paid look-alike sites from search results are not needed.
You can't predict how long the border will take, and after a long flight nobody wants to haggle with taxi drivers at the exit. On MyThai GO you can book a transfer from Bangkok airport to Pattaya in advance: the driver meets you with a sign bearing your name and takes you to your hotel. A sedan costs from 1,300 baht, luggage included. Other destinations are available too: Hua Hin, Kanchanaburi, Koh Samet, Koh Chang.
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