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Since 28 August 2026 Thailand has a Prime Minister's Office Regulation on Deportation (B.E. 2569). For the first time it sets out how agencies deport foreigners: after a sentence for six kinds of offence, and, without a sentence, for conduct against public order and good morals. A deportation order may carry an entry ban for a set period, but the text names no length. Position as of 7 October 2026.
In short
- Signed by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on 26 August 2026, published in the Royal Gazette on 27 August (Vol. 143, Special Issue 205 Ngor), in force the next day.
- Six grounds apply after a sentence: illegal entry or stay, illegal work, illegal business, forged official documents, offences punishable by five years or more, and complicity.
- A separate route needs no sentence: conduct against public order, good morals or public welfare (clause 4).
- The regulation sets no length for the entry ban. We found no change to the overstay ban scale.
What came into force on 28 August?
The regulation rests on Section 11(8) of the State Administration Act of 1991 and applies from the day after publication. Its preamble says agencies had no common procedure for deportation. The power to deport comes from the Deportation Act of 1956 (Royal Gazette, 27 August 2026; Rajah & Tann, 10 September 2026). The regulation was made with Cabinet approval: Khaosod English reported that the Cabinet approved the draft on 14 July 2026.
What can get you deported?
The regulation has two routes. After a sentence, the Interior Minister may deport a foreigner who has served it for one of six offences. Without a sentence, clause 4 covers conduct against public order, good morals or the welfare of the people, including instigating or supporting it.
| Route | Ground | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| After a sentence, clause 5 | Illegal entry or stay; illegal work; illegal business under the Foreign Business Act; forged official documents; an offence punishable by five years or more; principal, instigator or supporter in any of these | The Interior Minister, once the person has served the sentence and been released |
| Without a sentence, clause 4 | Conduct against public order, good morals or the welfare of the people | The Interior Minister, on a report from the Permanent Secretary |
How does the procedure work?
For convicted foreigners, release is the trigger. Corrections sends their details to the Interior Ministry at least 15 days before release, and courts report suspended sentences and fines. The minister then decides without delay, and the order may include an entry ban for a set period. The person goes to the country of nationality or, if that is unclear, the country where they say they last stayed before entering (clause 7).
The first order is dated 5 September 2026 and the second 7 September. Nation Thailand, Thairath and Thai PBS World (7 September 2026) say the second describes threats, harassment and assault on Koh Samui. It cites Section 5 of the Deportation Act and clause 4, and it states a right to appeal to the Prime Minister within seven days (Section 8).
How long is the blacklist?
The regulation gives no length. Clause 5 says that an order may also set a period during which the person cannot return (our translation), and the text says nothing more. The word "permanently" appears in a statement of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of 28 August 2026, not in the regulation (Thairath English, 28 August 2026).
Overstay bans follow Ministry of Interior Order 1/2558, in force since 20 March 2016. If you surrender before leaving, there is no ban up to 90 days, then 1, 3, 5 or 10 years. An arrest brings 5 years under a year of overstay and 10 years above it (Royal Thai Embassy Mumbai, 2019). The full scale is in Visa runs and overstay in Thailand in 2026.
What did the government say, and how does it fit the visa changes?
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports called it zero tolerance for tourists who threaten or disturb others (Thairath English, 28 August 2026). Rajah & Tann (10 September 2026) reads the regulation, the 30-day exemption from 15 September 2026 and the two-entry land cap as one tightening, covered in 30-day visa exemption in Thailand (2026).
What should foreigners and employers do?
Keep your status valid, work only within your permit, and do not hold land or a business through nominees. Illegal stay, illegal work and breaches of the Foreign Business Act are named grounds, and law firms say nominee structures breach that Act (Section 36; ThaiLawOnline, Lex Bangkok). A work permit is tied to the approved duties, employer and place of work (Newland Chase, 3 September 2026).
- Check your "Admitted Until" date and extend before it passes.
- Update the permit when your role, employer or workplace changes: Work permit and Non-B visa in Thailand.
- Avoid nominee owners. A police-led campaign has targeted them in Phuket (Nation Thailand, 20 June 2026), and lawful routes exist: a condo within the 49% quota, a registered lease, BOI promotion or a licence.
- In a criminal case bring in a Thai lawyer at once, because even a fine or suspended sentence is reported to the Interior Ministry: English-speaking lawyer in Phuket.
What we do not know
- How agencies read clause 4: the text has no list of behaviour.
- Whether the first orders set an entry ban: the reports do not say.
- An official English translation: we read the Thai gazette text and PRD summaries.
Date checked: 7 October 2026. If the procedure changes, we update this article and the date.
What next
- What overstay costs and how the blacklist works: Visa runs and overstay in Thailand in 2026.
- Lawful structures instead of nominees: Villa held through a nominee company: the 2026 DBD crackdown and the typical situation Villa on a nominee company, restructured before the DBD check.
- Legal help in Phuket: English-speaking lawyer in Phuket.
