Thais and Chinese to travel visa-free, starting March 1

[snoop1130]

 

Starting from March 1, Thais and Chinese traveling to each country will no longer need a visa, as part of the latest agreement between both governments, said Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin today.

 

“The new privilege marks an upgrading to the mutual relationship,” Srettha said. Authorities concerned will be informed to prepare for the new regulations to facilitate travel, he said.

 

Previously, Thailand waived the tourist visa requirement for Chinese tourists as part of efforts to boost tourism to Thailand among Chinese visitors. However, this privilege is set to end after February.

 

Srettha told reporters that the waiver will replace the near-end rules for Chinese people. “This reflects the importance of the Thai passport on the international stage,” he said.

 

He referred to earlier reports that China has granted temporary visas to five countries, excluding Thailand.

 

“We had been criticised for not being important to China. However, during that time, we had discussions with China to waive visas for Thai passport holders. Today, we have good news about the permanent visa waiver, not just temporarily.’

 

Caption: File photo: Thai PM Srettha Thavisin

 

Full story: Thai PBS 2024-01-02

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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[Will B Good]

Does this mean there are no checks at all on who enters the Kingdom.......???

 

If so, that is frightening......or are they no checks now anyway?

[Gweiloman]

14 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Does this mean there are no checks at all on who enters the Kingdom.......???

 

If so, that is frightening......or are they no checks now anyway?

It just means visa exempt travel. 
 

Excellent news. I’m planning to take the HSR from Vientiane to Kunming for a short holiday and visa exempt makes the planning much simpler and more convenient.

[jacey]

visa-exempt for Chinese and Thai and vice versa

[Blumpie]

I wouldn't expect a huge influx.  

The economy in China is not doing well at all and a simple reduction in red tape does little to help the underlying problem.  Chinese are not travelling like they used to and there isn't a catalyst for them to start anytime soon.  

[GammaGlobulin]

I speak fluent Chinese.

But, I think this new ruling might still not apply to me.

 

I am also classified as a   Friend of China....by the way.

 

 

[Gweiloman]

1 hour ago, Gweiloman said:

It just means visa exempt travel. 
 

Excellent news. I’m planning to take the HSR from Vientiane to Kunming for a short holiday and visa exempt makes the planning much simpler and more convenient.

Was wondering why I got some confused reactions and then realised that I didn’t specify that the visa exempt is valid for my wife who is Thai. Apologies.

[Neeranam]

Good news. I might take a trip to Macau for a few days. 

[Mavideol]

1 hour ago, Gweiloman said:

It just means visa exempt travel. 
 

Excellent news. I’m planning to take the HSR from Vientiane to Kunming for a short holiday and visa exempt makes the planning much simpler and more convenient.

are u Thai??? Thais and Chinese traveling to each country will no longer need a visa,..... enjoy the trip

Edited January 2 by Mavideol

[Schnicnac]

2 hours ago, Mavideol said:

are u Thai??? Thais and Chinese traveling to each country will no longer need a visa,..... enjoy the trip

 

Or if you are French, Italian, Spanish, German, Malaysian you can also now go to China visa free

[JemJem]

It doesn't say how many days of visa exempt the Chinese will get. I wonder if they will get 90 days like the Russians, or 30 days like most nationalities.

 

By the way, there has been no development regarding the increasing of the visa exempt period from 30 days to 60 days for European and Middle Eastern nationalities. Well, we are already halfway into the peak tourism season, so, I am afraid this will most probably happen sometime near the end of this year. 

 

[Blumpie]

1 hour ago, Schnicnac said:

 

Or if you are French, Italian, Spanish, German, Malaysian you can also now go to China visa free

No thank you though.  

[greeneking]

8 hours ago, Will B Good said:

Does this mean there are no checks at all on who enters the Kingdom.......???

 

If so, that is frightening......or are they no checks now anyway?

Yes, so why were the regulations so important before?  Keeping the hordes from invading the paradise that is Thailand.  Thailand for the Thais and everyone else leave some money and leave because you do not belong here.

[webfact]

Thailand and China to waive visa requirements from March
By Kelly Ng & Thanyarat Doksone
in Singapore and Bangkok

 

File photo

The Chinese are the second largest group of foreign visitors to Thailand, after the Malaysians

Thailand and China will permanently waive visa requirements for each other's citizens from March, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said.

 

Thailand waived visas for Chinese nationals in September in a bid to boost tourist arrivals.

 

The programme saw strong response at a time when Thailand was starting to lose its appeal for Chinese travellers.

 

More than 22,000 Chinese entered the Southeast Asian nation in the first two days of the waiver, authorities said.

 

Full story: BBC 2024-01-03

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

 

[ukrules]

6 hours ago, JemJem said:

By the way, there has been no development regarding the increasing of the visa exempt period from 30 days to 60 days for European and Middle Eastern nationalities. Well, we are already halfway into the peak tourism season, so, I am afraid this will most probably happen sometime near the end of this year.

 

I doubt it - how do you think the Chinese would feel about that unless they get 90 days as well?

 

They're not going to accept it and when that happens they pull the plug.

[Captain Monday]

10 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Good news. I might take a trip to Macau for a few days. 

Do it. 

I get enough China on layovers to prevent any interest in tourism. Imagine being  stopped  by security 3 times at checkpoints to show passport and visa walking to to Tienanmen square then to be finally turned around because we did not have a reservations. 
 

A long nosed Barbarian with a Thai passport might just blow their minds 

[Shocked farang]

4 hours ago, greeneking said:

Yes, so why were the regulations so important before?  Keeping the hordes from invading the paradise that is Thailand.  Thailand for the Thais and everyone else leave some money and leave because you do not belong here.

Actually most people can send their money through Western Union and there's no need to come to Thailand at al!

[hotchilli]

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Previously, Thailand waived the tourist visa requirement for Chinese tourists as part of efforts to boost tourism to Thailand among Chinese visitors. However, this privilege is set to end after February.

Which to be honest never worked, Thailand hoped it would send droves of Chinese to Thailand.

It didn't, and won't by extending it further.

China has a lot of domestic issues which now prevent mass travel as before, those with funds to travel are mostly choosing other destinations, where it's cleaner, has more attractions and has less chance of being killed.

[Gknrd]

I want to go see the ghost city...

[thesetat]

14 hours ago, Will B Good said:

Does this mean there are no checks at all on who enters the Kingdom.......???

 

If so, that is frightening......or are they no checks now anyway?

Even Thais have to go through immigration checkpoints. But just as a Thai they will no longer need to leave Thailand or renew Visa. This is bad news for Thailand and a lose-lose situation. They still will not be getting more tourists. But, the ones they get will be more criminally minded with the ability to enter the country and stay without being checked on why they are staying so long here. My Chinese friend who works in China as a government teacher said that all Chinese government workers had their passports taken away during Covid and he went to check about getting another one recently and was told they are still not permitted to get their passports back. This makes me believe that the Chinese government is not wanting normal good citizens to have passports. I dread the idea of what type of Chinese that are actually allowed to have passports and leave China coming here. 

[Phil1964]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Which to be honest never worked, Thailand hoped it would send droves of Chinese to Thailand.

It didn't, and won't by extending it further.

China has a lot of domestic issues which now prevent mass travel as before, those with funds to travel are mostly choosing other destinations, where it's cleaner, has more attractions and has less chance of being killed.

You forgot to add that middle class Chinese with money are prefering to visit places where there's a 1,000 times more culture and things to see other than Thailand's basic offering of temples and girlie bars, plus some nice beaches..

[thai006]

European people stil waiting 60 days free 😡😡😡

[hotchilli]

11 minutes ago, Phil1964 said:

You forgot to add that middle class Chinese with money are prefering to visit places where there's a 1,000 times more culture and things to see other than Thailand's basic offering of temples and girlie bars, plus some nice beaches..

I did say "has more attractions" ?

[Paul Henry]

Great for criminals and organised crime syndicates to ply their skills with less scrutiny.

[kinyara]

There wasn't a significant increase in Chinese tourism the first 2 months after introducing the more favourable visa conditions, I think the jury is most definately out on the success of this policy.

 

Sept - 284,989

Oct - 291,323

Nov - 310,266

[Expat Tom]

Does anyone in the Thai government read the news or communicate with their own embassy in China?

China is in the midsts of another pandemic. The hospitals are full now. Am I mistaken or was the first recorded Covid 19 outside of China in the WORLD a Thai taxi driver who transported a Chinese tourist from the airport to to a Bangkok hotel? 

I have live in Thailand for many years but with the current state of affairs, I am planning my exit strategy in 2024. 2024.  

With Bangkok being the most visited internationals city in the world the Thai government has a duty to protect ALL of its visitors and not just the beloved Chinese.

By the way, did you ever ask yourself why is is called Covid 19? Simple, there were 18 Covids that came before. Hong Kong flu, bird flu, swine flu....all came before and were all gifts from China.

[sandyf]

14 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

Was wondering why I got some confused reactions and then realised that I didn’t specify that the visa exempt is valid for my wife who is Thai. Apologies.

There is a bit of a bonus. We went twice while my niece was at uni in China.The first time I did the visas for both of us and other than payment no difference between doing one or two. When they moved to the visa centre a bit different and we both had to attend.

I did the HSR from Luang Prabang to Vientiane last Jan, superb.

[sikishrory]

Thailand is so desperate with this.

How many bloody tourists do you need.

The roads are full and don't move and going outside feels like walking in Moscow. The place is packed already. 

[CartagenaWarlock]

14 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Good news. I might take a trip to Macau for a few days. 

Macau was always visa-free for the US and Thais.

Edited January 3 by CartagenaWarlock

[CartagenaWarlock]

Just now, sikishrory said:

Thailand is so desperate with this.

How many bloody tourists do you need.

The roads are full and don't move and going outside feels like walking in Moscow. The place is packed already. 

It's all about making travel easy.