Thai government confirms introduction of “double entry” tourist visa

PHOTO: The Nation

The Thai government has announced a new double-entry tourist visa. The government says the new measures would allow a visitor to go in and out of Thailand to neighboring countries, such as Cambodia, Laos or Malaysia, then back into Thailand.

The deputy secretary general to the PM, Kobsak Pootrakul, says a double-entry tourism visa will be introduced. The new visa will allow visitors to leave and re-enter Thailand during their stay in the Kingdom. He also touched on the possibility of applying for the new visa online.

ThaiVisa reports that, in addition, two land entry points – Nong Khai (between Thailand and Laos) and Sadao (between Thailand and Malaysia), will be open 24 hours a day for a three-month trial period.

There has been no official confirmation of when the trial period will begin but it’s reported to be from the end of this year or beginning of next. Following the trial, officials will check the numbers to see if they justify the entry points remaining open around the clock.

Kobsak says the new visa and extra opening hours at the checkpoints are part of a series of new measures being considered to kick along the tourism industry.

Kobsak says the government’s target is to bring 42 million visitors to Thailand in 2020, adding that the country had already welcomed 20 million tourists in the first half of 2019 and was heading for a year end total of around 39 million, down from the 40 million target set at the start of the year.

It’s understood there will be a time limit on the validity of the double-entry visa, but this has not yet been confirmed, nor has there been any confirmation of when it will be introduced.

SOURCE: Thai Visa | Post Today