Apparently an ASEAN-wide visa is expected to be launched in the next year or so. It will be similar to a Schengen visa in that it will be valid in all the member states. The system will involve more sharing of information between the member states and is obviously a step towards a common visa policy. In the Schengen area that has meant limits on how long you can spend in individual countries being replaced by limits on how long you can spend in the bloc as a whole, so you can't ping pong between say France and Spain and stay in the region indefinitely. Is a similar thing on the horizon in this region? Will a visa for a trip to Thailand followed by one for a trip to Vietnam followed by one for Singapore come to be seen as 3 back-to-back visas? I usually spend about 5 months of the year in Thailand - so no problem currently - but I spend at least 10 months of the year in ASEAN. Should I be worried?

Worry when everything in details is known. Why worry for something that is not in control art present?

most of sea countries do charge for visa some $30.

So travellers would enter thailand or malaysia visa exempt and cross unlimited times to the other countries for some 3-6 months.

I don't think those countries would agree, huge loss of revenue for them

“Launched in the next year or so”…. looking at the long delays in any changes in Thailand only policies, If I were a betting Tyrell, I’d say the odds were better for “in the next year or five”

Anything "to be launched in the next year" that is announced by ASEAN might happen eventually, but will 99% certain take longer than a year, and no one can predict what the visa will eventually mean. The combined Thai/Cambodia visa turned out to be more trouble than it was worth, and was discontinued within a year. Other proposals for multi country visas have come and gone. More than a decade after it was announced to be imminent, it is still impossible to purchase a combined BTS/MRT ticket in Bangkok, something that ought to be really easy to negotiate.

This will happen in Asean Time, which is slower by a factor of ten than Thai Time.

Think 2030s - maybe.

Every time ASEAN integration promises made nothing really happens. Thai Immigration will never allow any such visa liberalization to benefit so-called "Farangs" or white westerners so forget it

I think this will remain pure fantasy for the foreseeable future; it has been "coming soon" for at least a decade in one form or another. None of those countries want to give up control over their immigration policies, and there isn't any real incentive to cooperate anyway.

 

I'd say nothing to worry or think about right now. But if and when it comes, it might actually work in your favor, as you might be able to shop around.

Personally, doubt very much this will even come to the board room.  Where did you hear/ see this report ?

14 hours ago, geisha said:

Personally, doubt very much this will even come to the board room.  Where did you hear/ see this report ?

The only people being specific about the year are these guys who look to be trying to corner the market ahead of time. Somewhere on the main ASEAN site there is a 10-year plan that started in about 2015 and includes the common visa as a target for the second half of that period. There's a regular ministerial meeting where they apparently discuss it, so it's already reached the board room, but it could well be they just say what a good idea it would be to have something like that one day and then move on. Looks like it's an aspiration but no more than that for now. I have a good few years till I can get a retirement visa but after that it shouldn't matter to me, so fingers crossed.