Deputy PM’s passport plea: Thai tourists seek visa-free voyage to Germany, EU

[webfact]

 

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara is calling for visa-free travel privileges for Thai tourists travelling to Germany and other European Union (EU) countries.

 

During his stay in the United States to attend the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 78), the 66 year old MP seized the opportunity to meet with German Foreign Minister Tobias Lindner to strengthen ties and discuss various cooperation between the two countries.

 

The discussion was mainly about trade partnerships, the management of climate change, the emergence of electric and hydrogen vehicles, as well as the intricacies of the defence industry. Pranpree also invited the German Minister to consider the Schengen visa exemption for Thai tourists.

Parnpree highlighted that Germany is a leading destination for Thai people along with other EU members such as France, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Therefore, Thailand wanted to ask for cooperation to strengthen the potency of the Thai passport and facilitate travel through a visa-free policy.

 

by Petch Petpailin

Photo via Facebook/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand.

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2023-09-26

 

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[Captain Monday]

Eliminate visa free travel for EU, USA, and others, a very simple and fair solution.

 

Mandatory home country criminal checks are also desperately needed.

[BusyB]

Lindner is not Germany's Foreign Minister. Annalene Baerbock is the FM. He is a 'Minister of State' in the Foreign Office. One of her underlings, a junior minister.

[arithai12]

1 hour ago, Captain Monday said:

Eliminate visa free travel for EU, USA, and others, a very simple and fair solution.

 

Mandatory home country criminal checks are also desperately needed.

Simple and fair, but a disaster at economic level. Asking for reciprocal visa-free for Thai tourists seems a good thing.

[BMW Overlander]

Thai passport holders have only their corrupt government to thank for being treated as outcasts by the EU, USA, etc. Even the nearest neighbor Malaysia enjoyed EU visa-free privileges for the past 20 years. Not to mention $hithole countries like Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Albania, etc.

Edited September 25, 2023 by BMW Overlander

[madmitch]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

other EU members such as France, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Sweden

Anyone spot the deliberate mistake? ????

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara is calling for visa-free travel privileges for Thai tourists travelling to Germany and other European Union (EU) countries.

If it's reciprocal?

[kwilco]

these countries have visa free entry to EU - looks like Thailand hasn't been asking the right people.....

 

Albania

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Australia

Bahamas

Barbados

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Brazil

Brunei

Canada

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Dominica

El Salvador

Georgia

Grenada

Guatemala

Honduras

Hong Kong S.A.R*

Israel

Japan

Kiribati

Macao S.A.R*

Malaysia

Marshall Islands

Mauritius

Mexico

Micronesia

Moldova

Montenegro

Nauru

New Zealand

Nicaragua

North Macedonia

Palau

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent

Samoa

Serbia

Seychelles

Singapore

Solomon Islands

South Korea

Taiwan**

Timor Leste

Tonga

Trinidad and Tobago

Tuvalu

Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

United States of America

Uruguay

Venezuela

[Swiss1960]

First: Luckily, Switzerland is not member of the EU, but only the Schengen zone...

 

Second: Give foreigners in Thailand the same rights to stay and work, as the EU gives to Thai people, specially for married people, get rid of the ridiculous requirements for TM30, 90d reporting and so on, and we can talk about Visa free travel

[Ben Zioner]

Enough illegal immigrants in EU.

 

Maybe Korea, where they  are all over the place,  is getting tough. Or is  it that they want to collect more of that new tax on "money from abroad" ?

[mberbae]

I would LOVE to see Every Country in the World charge Thai citizens triple prices

at museums and National Parks like Thais do to foreigners here.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander, as they say.

[nobodysfriend]

Thais should be allowed Visa free entrance to the EU .

Thais in the EU should be subject to the exact same conditions as foreigners in Thailand .

( 90 day reporting , visa limitations , not allowed tom own land etc ... )

Would be fair enough .

[bob smith]

why should the EU grant visa free travel to Thais?

 

What do Thai people bring to the table?

[couchpotato]

24 minutes ago, bob smith said:

why should the EU grant visa free travel to Thais?

 

What do Thai people bring to the table?

And vice versa...

[2baht]

24 minutes ago, bob smith said:

What do Thai people bring to the table?

Somtam! 

[bob smith]

Just now, couchpotato said:

And vice versa...

I beg your pardon?

[jacko45k]

25 minutes ago, bob smith said:

why should the EU grant visa free travel to Thais?

 

What do Thai people bring to the table?

Perhaps more than many of the Romanians?

[ezzra]

It would be fair to assume that more than few of the Thai 'tourists' will abuse their say to find employment and stay a lot longer than what they're allowed to...

[brianthainess]

26 minutes ago, bob smith said:

why should the EU grant visa free travel to Thais?

 

What do Thai people bring to the table?

Fish sauce, Tom Yum and Durian.

[khunjake]

It will never happen. Thai falls under the same category as Cambodia, Myanmar & Laos which means risk of overstay or immigration violation is simply to great. 

[RandolphGB]

Thai women can't be trusted to visit wealthy countries. 

[Flying Saucage]

It will be a cultural shock for many Thai tourists to see how Germany really looks nowadays. A broken country. A completely rotten railway system with no train on time, city centers occupied by young men from Africa, daily rape and knife murder, and a police, courts and media which all turn a blind eye on that and often even blame the victims, and a government with the most uneducated politicians in the world.

 

I know why I left this country and chose to live in exile in Thailand.

[kcpattaya]

I totally understand why...

 

[circa02]

1 hour ago, mberbae said:

I would LOVE to see Every Country in the World charge Thai citizens triple prices

at museums and National Parks like Thais do to foreigners here.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander, as they say.

Yep and a 6euro ATM withdrawl fee when any EU bank detect a Thai card..  And send them to local EU immigration for a whole day with half a tree when they want to extend for a mere 30 days..

[RichardColeman]

Kinda hard not to allow free entry when half of afican and middle east age young men can walk in for free !

[Cabradelmar]

With the EUs immigration issues as they are now, there is no way they are allowing more visa free travel. 

[AustinRacing]

18 minutes ago, ezzra said:

It would be fair to assume that more than few of the Thai 'tourists' will abuse their say to find employment and stay a lot longer than what they're allowed to...

Correct. Thais are notorious when it comes to overstaying and working illegally. Visa-free is granted after a risk assessment is done. In the case of Thailand it does not pass the test. 
A relatively poor Thai will seize any opportunity to work for foreign cash to bring back home. I know quite a few in OZ who did this and bought a house or a small business back home. It doesn’t matter to them if they get caught, blacklisted and deported as the reward is worth it. So they’ll stay as long as possible. 

[phetphet]

2 hours ago, Ben Zioner said:

Enough illegal immigrants in EU.

 

Maybe Korea, where they  are all over the place,  is getting tough. Or is  it that they want to collect more of that new tax on "money from abroad" ?

That wouldn't work. Those wily Thais would probably just bring it all back home as cash.

[micmichd]

41 minutes ago, RandolphGB said:

Thai women can't be trusted to visit wealthy countries. 

Why not?

[Caldera]

That's a bit rich. I think Thai tourists to the EU still need to be scrutinized, as too many of them aren't actually tourists (work and/or overstay).

 

The income gap needs to become more narrow first for this to become feasible.