Thailand pushes for Asean visa

BANGKOK (Oana/TNA) - Many member countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have expressed interest in Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's idea of banding together to issue joint visas, a Foreign Ministry spokesman revealed Thursday.

Sihasak Phuangketkeow, who is also director-general of the ministry's Department of Information, said that Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei were all suitable candidates for the scheme due to the stringency of their visa regulations. Under the scheme, a visa valid for one participating country would also be valid for others.

However, it would be less wide-ranging than the (EU)European Union's Schengen visa, as while travellers would not have to request separate visas, they would still be required to go through immigration controls as they moved between the participating countries.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin