One visa for two countries

[Khun Don]

One visa for two countries


Thailand and Cambodia will sign a single visa agreement on Monday enabling visitors from outside to use only one visa for two countries, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram would sign the agreement with this Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong when he makes his official visit to Phnom Penh on Monday.

The pact was a pilot project under the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS).

Set up since 2003, ACMECS is a joint development scheme made of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

Under the initiative of "Four countries, One Destination", the ACMECS Single Visa pact aimed to facilitate tourism in the region.

Foreign ministers of four countries agreed in Siem Riep in August 2005 to allow Thailand and Cambodia to implement the scheme first and the remaining members might join later if it is successful.

Visitors from outside could apply entry visa at embassies of either Thailand or Cambodia for two nations, said the ministry's spokesman Tharit Charungvat.

The arrangement would benefit for tourism of the two countries and visits apply only one visa to both Thailand and Cambodia which have many different attractive sites, he said.

However, the pact would not come into force until the Interior Ministry and concern agencies issued related regulations to enforce, Tharit said but did not say when such related regulations would be finished.

The Nation

[Richard Barrow]

That is interesting. I wonder if that means my one year Thai visas will mean I can visit Cambodia any time without applying for a visa first. Or do I need a tourist visa?

[David_Loves_Ubonwan]

And presumably it will stop people staying long time in Thailand on Tourist visa's visiting Cambodia every 90 days to revalidate their Thai visas if Cambodia is the same visa?

And if Laos comes on board then you would have to go to Burma (?) or Malaya.

David

[lenss]

Cambodia and Laos would like a bangkok in their own countries. Only way for it to happen is to have ten million visitors a year to each country., and an expat community. Sounds like a pretty good idea.

[Khun Don]

And presumably it will stop people staying long time in Thailand on Tourist visa's visiting Cambodia every 90 days to revalidate their Thai visas if Cambodia is the same visa?

And if Laos comes on board then you would have to go to Burma (?) or Malaya.

David

Where?

[David_Loves_Ubonwan]

Malaya, I made a stop-over in Ceylon on the way to Siam last year.

David

[paul_au]

And if Laos comes on board then you would have to go to Burma (?) or Malaya.

I will need to cross some pretty unsafe territory to get to some of these countries, to renew my visa, I will have to take more than just my bodyguard.

[David_Loves_Ubonwan]

I don't really see south Thailand as being that unsafe, but then British people lived with the threat of the IRA for many years and just got on with life.

David

[Toucanzoo]

Are they still going to do this?

Last I heard from the BBC web site that Cambodia was getting ready to start a war with Thailand.

i wish I could remember more of what the article said.

[Khun Don]

The Cambodia-Thailand war story is here The BBC was still carrying the Thai retreat from border story at noon. I sent them an e-mail requesting they update as all the Thai english lang newspapers were saying it was not true.