Thailand to Turkmenistan visa requirements

Thai passport holders need a visa to visit Turkmenistan. There is no visa-free or true visa-on-arrival channel: every tourist must first obtain a Letter of Invitation (LOI) from a licensed Turkmen travel agency, certified by the State Migration Service, before either applying at a Turkmenistan embassy or collecting a visa on arrival at Ashgabat airport. As of 2026, Turkmenistan operates one of the world's most restrictive visa regimes, and Thailand is not on any visa-exemption list. Thai ordinary passport holders traveling for tourism must obtain a tourist visa, and the entire process hinges on a Letter of Invitation (LOI) issued by a licensed travel agency inside Turkmenistan and certified by the State Migration Service / Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The LOI typically requires booking a "basic tourist service" (tour package with accommodation and registration) and takes roughly 10-20 business days to be approved. Once the LOI is approved, the traveler can either obtain the visa in advance at a Turkmenistan embassy/consulate (the nearest serving Thailand is generally handled via embassies in the region such as New Delhi or Beijing, as Turkmenistan has no resident embassy in Bangkok), or collect a visa on arrival at Ashgabat International Airport using the pre-approved LOI. A single-entry tourist visa for up to 10 days costs around USD 35, with longer validities priced higher. Important: a visa on arrival is NOT a standalone option — it is only granted to travelers who already hold an approved LOI, so the verdict remains visa-required rather than visa-on-arrival. An electronic visa system was announced by presidential decree on 18 April 2025 but is not yet operational as of mid-2026, so travelers should not rely on an eVisa channel. Turkmenistan is not in the Schengen area, so the Schengen 90/180 rule and ETIAS do not apply.