Does Thailand still refuse travelers for not having 6 month's passport validity from their entry date?

Question

According to the website of the Thai Embassy in Stockholm (emphasis mine):

For Swedish passport holder, and wish to stay in Thailand for no more than 30 days, your passport has to be valid for at least 6 months when you enter Thailand. (according to immigration law). The immigration officer can make an exemption for you if your passport is only valid during your stay in Thailand. We do strongly recommend that your passport has a validity of at least 6 months. You shall also check with your airline for other requirement.

Similar information is stated on the website of the Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv (emphasis mine):

Can I enter Thailand without a visa?

Nationals of Israel are eligible to travel to Thailand, for tourism purpose, with the exemption of visa and are permitted to stay in Thailand for a period of not exceeding 30 days.

However, please make sure that you are in possession of a passport valid for at least 6 months, a round-trip air ticket, and adequate finances equivalent to at least US$1,000 per person or US$2,000 Baht per family. Otherwise you may be inconvenienced upon entry into the country.

Similar information is echoed by other countries informing their citizens. The UK's Foreign Office website states (emphasis mine):

Your passport must have at least 6 months’ validity remaining from your date of entry into Thailand. Entry to Thailand is normally refused if you have a passport which is damaged or has pages missing.

The US State Department has similar information, but only uses recommend rather than phrasing it as a strict requirement:

PASSPORT VALIDITY: 6 months from date of entry recommended

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I've searched through and English version of the Immigration Act, B.E. 2522, but I haven't found it. I may have overlooked it, but it may also be one of those unwritten rules.

So my question is whether this requirement is (still) enforced. Are there any stories of people being refused entry solely for not having a passport with 6 months validity remaining?

Answer 1

Per TIMATIC, the database used by airlines:

• Passports and other documents accepted for entry must be valid for a minimum of 6 months from the arrival date. [With the following exceptions:]
  • Nationals of Thailand are allowed to enter with an expired passport.
  • When nationals of Thailand travel with a Certificate of Identity or a temporary passport, it must be valid on arrival.
  • Passports and other documents accepted for entry issued to residents of Thailand must be valid on arrival.
  • Passports issued to nationals of Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland (Rep.), Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Rep.), Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russian Fed., Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, USA and United Arab Emirates must be valid for the period of intended stay.
  • British passports must be valid for the period of intended stay.
  • Hong Kong (SAR China) passports must be valid for the period of intended stay.
  • Macao (SAR China) passports must be valid for the period of intended stay.
  • When applying for a visa on arrival, passports issued to nationals of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Malta, Mexico, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Vanuatu must be valid for a minimum of 30 days from the arrival date.
  • When applying for a visa on arrival, Chinese Taipei (on the cover: Republic of China Taiwan) passports must be valid for a minimum of 30 days from the arrival date.
  • When nationals of Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Colombia, Czechia, Denmark, Djibouti, Finland, France, Guinea, Hungary, Iceland, Korea (Dem. People's Rep.), Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Netherlands, Norway, Palau, Paraguay, Philippines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, USA and Uruguay travel with an emergency passport, it must be valid for a minimum of 30 days from the arrival date.
  • When nationals of Argentina, Belize, Benin, Bulgaria, Canada, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Namibia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sao Tome and Principe, Suriname, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Zambia travel with a temporary passport, it must be valid for a minimum of 30 days from the arrival date.
  • When applying for a visa on arrival, normal passports issued to nationals of Bhutan, India and Romania must be valid for a minimum of 30 days from the arrival date.
  • When applying for a visa on arrival, normal passports issued to nationals of China (People's Rep.) must be valid for a minimum of 30 days from the arrival date.

As such, the Thai embassy website is wrong regarding Swedes (embassy sites often are): only a passport valid during the stay is needed, except for emergency passports, which must have 30 days on entry.