Thailand, China to ink pact lifting visa requirements on Friday
The agreement on waiving visa requirements for Thai and Chinese citizens should be signed on Friday when Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will arrive in Thailand, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said.
The mutual visa waiver, scheduled to be effective from March 1, will allow Thai and Chinese citizens to visit each other’s countries freely, thus promoting tourism and relevant industries in both countries.
“This measure will upgrade the Thai passport higher,” said Srettha, who also doubles as finance minister.
He was speaking at the “Thailand 2024 – The Great Challenge”, held on Wednesday at Pullman King Power Hotel in Bangkok.
Srettha added that on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, last week, he had asked European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen and Belgian PM Alexander De Croo to consider waiving the requirement of Schengen visa for Thai travellers.
The Schengen visa grants a less than 90-stay in 27 countries in the Schengen Area, namely Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
“We know too well that applying for a visa to Italy, France, Spain and Germany is a herculean task. The talk with European leaders is the first step to fix this pain point for Thai travellers,” Srettha said.
Thailand was the first to offer visa exemption to visitors from China and Kazakhstan in September last year, followed by India and Taiwan nationals in November. The visa waiver for Chinese and Kazakhstani citizens is set to expire on February 29.
