Do I Need a Papua New Guinea Arrival Card? (2026 Exemption Rules)

The short answer: yes, unless you are exempt

Yes. If you hold a non-PNG passport and you enter Papua New Guinea by air, land, or sea, you need a Papua New Guinea arrival card — officially the PNG Digital Arrival Card (PNGDAC) — submitted before you arrive. The official form is free at https://ica.gov.pg, and it takes about three to five minutes per person. The rule has applied since 1 May 2025, when the PNGDAC replaced the paper TM6 card handed out on planes.

Your visa status does not change the answer. The card is a registration of your arrival, not permission to enter, so it applies on top of a visa, a visa on arrival, or visa-free entry. US, UK, Australian, and Canadian travelers all need it. So do infants.

Only four narrow groups are exempt, and this guide lists them exactly. If you are not in one of those groups, submit the card. If you want the full background on the system, see our PNG Digital Arrival Card guide.

Who needs a Papua New Guinea arrival card?

The rule is broad on purpose. PNG immigration wants a record of every foreign arrival — who, on which flight or crossing, staying where, and whether there is a health concern. So the requirement covers every non-PNG national at every type of entry point: international airports, land border crossings, and seaports.

It makes no difference how long you stay. A two-week holiday, a weekend visa run from Penang, and a same-week business trip all need the card. It also makes no difference whether you paid for a visa, queued for a visa on arrival, or walked in visa-free: the card is a separate requirement that sits alongside your entry permission, as our PNGDAC requirements guide explains in detail.

One limit matters: a card covers a single entry only. Fly out to Laos and come back, and you submit a new card within 3 days before that second arrival.

Who does not need one: the exemption list

The official exemption list is short and specific. You do not need a PNGDAC only if you fall into one of these categories:

The four PNGDAC exemptions

• PNG nationals
• Travelers transiting without passing immigration — staying airside, on the same plane or an onward connecting flight
• Passengers on technical landings
• Crew members on duty

Quick check: do you need a PNGDAC?

Match yourself against the table. If your row says yes, submit the card within 3 days before arrival.

Do visa-free travelers need the card?

Yes. This is the single most common wrong assumption. Travelers from the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and roughly 90 other territories enter Papua New Guinea without a visa, and every one of them still needs the PNGDAC.

The reason is simple: the visa question and the card question are different. A visa or visa exemption answers “may this person enter and stay?”. The PNGDAC answers “who is arriving, on which flight, and staying where?”. You record the second regardless of how the first was settled. Our PNGDAC for US citizens guide works through the visa-free case step by step, and the logic is the same for every visa-exempt nationality.

If your form shows a visa number field and you entered visa-free, leave it empty. Nothing bad happens; the card does not require a visa number to exist.

Do children and babies need a Papua New Guinea arrival card?

Yes. Every foreign passport holder needs a card, including infants. There is no minimum age, because the card is tied to the passport, not the traveler's age.

The practical part: a parent files for the whole family. On the traveler information step, the portal's “Add Other Travelers” function adds each child as their own traveler with their own passport details, up to 10 travelers per submission. The “Same as Previous Traveler” button copies the shared flight and accommodation details, so a family of five is one sitting of roughly 15 minutes rather than five separate forms.

The confirmation email with all QR codes goes to the email entered on the form, so the parent who filed holds everyone's proof at immigration.

Transit through Bangkok: do you need one?

It depends on one thing: whether you pass immigration. If you land at Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang to catch an onward flight and stay airside — same plane, or a connection within the transit area — you do not need a PNGDAC. This is the official airside-transit exemption.

The moment you cross immigration, the exemption ends. Planning to leave the airport for a few hours between flights, or ending your journey in Bangkok? You need a card, submitted within 3 days before arrival.

One caution: if your bags are checked through and you stay airside, you are fine. If you must collect bags and re-check them landside at some airports, you may pass immigration — check your connection before assuming you are exempt.

What if you arrive without a card?

The official FAQ says travelers who fail to submit may face delays and, at immigration's discretion, could be denied entry. No fixed penalty is published. In practice at the big airports, the usual outcome is that an officer directs you to a self-service kiosk to file on the spot before processing you. Kiosks exist at Suvarnabhumi (BKK), Don Mueang (DMK), Phuket (HKT), Chiang Mai (CNX), and Hat Yai (HDY).

That works, but it costs time and adds scrutiny at the start of your trip. The clean fix is submitting before you fly, which is free and takes minutes — our how to apply for the PNGDAC walkthrough shows every step. Airlines generally do not block boarding over a missing card, but some check-in staff ask for the confirmation email, and having it keeps the desk moving.

Frequently Asked Questions