Guide · ~5 min read · Updated September 2026
Filing the arrival card: a step-by-step walkthrough
The form is short, but every field is checked against your documents. This walkthrough goes section by section, so you can fill it in once, correctly, and forget about it.
Gather the three documents
- Passport - open beside you. You will copy the number, name, nationality and dates exactly as printed; this is where most mistakes are made.
- Flight or crossing details - your confirmation email. The flight number and arrival date on the card must match your booking.
- First night's address - your hotel or host booking. "Somewhere in Bangkok" is not an address; the form wants the real one.
Travelling with family? Each person - children and infants included - needs their own card. Prepare one set per traveller before you start.
Section by section
Identity and passport
Name, passport number, nationality, issue and expiry dates. Copy character by character from the passport itself - not from memory, not from an old scan. One wrong digit in a passport number is the most common reason travellers are held at the desk. Helper: the form can scan the passport's MRZ (the two machine-readable lines) or accept a photo of the page to auto-fill - but re-check every retrieved character before continuing.
Travel and arrival
Flight number (or land crossing), arrival date, mode of entry. If your itinerary changed after booking, use the flight you will actually be on - the card must match reality, not the plan you had last month.
Stay and contact
The address of your first night, the type of accommodation, and a contact email or phone. Use the same address as your booking confirmation - immigration may cross-check the two.
Health questions
A short set of standard questions carried over from the paper era. Answer honestly and quickly; there is nothing to strategise here.
Timing and confirmation
Submit inside your 72-hour window - ideally early in it, not in the departure hall. Confirmation arrives electronically, usually by email: keep it on your phone and take a screenshot or a print as backup.
Plans changed? Use the portal's Update Arrival Card function - search by card number, date of birth and nationality to correct travel and accommodation details any time before arrival. Name, nationality and date of birth are locked; those require a fresh card. See 7 common mistakes for what to double-check.