Four for one on hold

September 17, 2012

TTR Weekly

by Rapeepat Mantanarat

HO CHI MINH CITY - 17 September 2012: A single visa for travel between Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam will not be introduced until governments see how a smaller version between Thailand and Cambodia performs.

CLMV tourism ministers made the statement during a report on the outcome of their First Meeting of CLMV Tourism Ministers, held last Friday, on the sidelines of the 8th International Travel Expo in Ho Chi Minh City, 13 to 15 September.

Cambodia’s Tourism Minister, Thong Kon, said the bilateral agreement on a single visa with Thailand was the first step.

“We will have to see how the single visa between Thailand and Cambodia goes. We will assess the results for the first two countries before proceeding to the next level,” he said.

Minister Thong Kon told TTR Weekly that all processes on both sides had been completed.

“We are just waiting for the governments to give the green light. It should be implemented by the end of this year,” he said.

Under the umbrella of ACMECS, the five countries — Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar have already agreed on a single visa. It was initiated in 2005, under the concept known as “Five Countries, One Destination” and continues to be in a preparatory stage.

In 2007, the Thai and Cambodian governments signed an agreement to organise a pilot project. According to the plan, it allows a tourist to get a visa from either the embassy of Thailand or Cambodia (first port of call) and the visa would then be valid for visits to both countries.

Also on the visa front, Myanmar officials during a presentation at the ministerial meeting said Myanmar has been working on an e-visa that was  now with the Ministry of Immigration and Population to make a final decision.

“We cannot say when it will be implemented. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has completed its part and it now depends on the process at the Ministry of Immigration and Population,” the officials reported.

They also added that additional 27 nationalities would soon be eligible for visa-on- arrival. The scheme, which  is exclusively for business visitors is already available for 27 nationalities.

The e-visa would be for both business tourist visits and would reduce the workload for both visitors and officials. In the region just Vietnam and Cambodia are offering a similar service.