New Zealand Embassy introduces increased visa fees for Thailand

The Royal Thai Embassy in Wellington announced an increase in visa fees for individuals from New Zealand intending to visit Thailand. The new fees will be effective from March 19 onwards. The announcement has caused concern among netizens on social media that there could be a possible visa fee increase for other nationalities.

The embassy announced on its official website on February 23 that the visa fees would be raised in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and the exchange rate. The embassy also provided a document detailing the updated fees.

For instance, the cost of a single-entry tourist visa will be NZ$300 (6,600 baht), while the multiple-entry tourist visa (with a six-month validity) will be NZ$1,000 (22,000 baht).

In addition to the fee increase, the embassy informed citizens that it will cease accepting physical visa applications starting from March 19. Those wishing to travel to Thailand will need to apply for a visa online only.

No other announcement on the visa fees has been made by other embassy offices. Following the clarification from the Royal Thai Embassy in Wellington, these new fees apply only to citizens from New Zealand. However, there is a possibility that fees for visa applications from other countries may also rise.

The Royal Thai Embassy in Wellington advised people planning to enter Thailand to stay updated on announcements from each embassy office.

The Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson, Chai Watchaong, shared that Thailand granted visa-free access to 60 countries in 2023 and plans to expand this to more countries in the future to boost Thai tourism.

New Zealand is not included in the plan to stimulate tourism of the Thai government. Thailand recently approved permanent visa-free travel for Chinese nationals and extended a visa-free scheme for Kazakh nationals until August of this year to enhance Thai tourism.

Tourists from China remain the country’s main target as the spokesperson mentioned that Thailand anticipates welcoming 8 million Chinese travellers this year and aims to increase the number of flights between the two countries to facilitate tourism.

More visa news updates to follow.