Thailand began offering half-year multiple-entry tourist visas to foreign visitors from November 13.
The new visa policy offers visitors to Thailand the choice of a single-entry visa or a multiple-entry tourist visa. The single-entry visa is processed in one working day for a RMB230 fee. It is valid for three months and allows holders to stay for up to 60 days in the kingdom. The six-month multiple entry visa takes four working days to process and costs RMB1,200. It is valid for six months and also allows holders to stay up to 60 days.
The Thai government’s launch of the six-month multiple entry visa scheme is an important measure to stimulate the national tourism industry that has begun to flag after the Erawan Shrine bombing last August.
Besides Thailand, Southeast Asian nations Malaysia and Vietnam have also relaxed visa restrictions for foreign visitors and especially for Chinese tourists. The Malaysian government has decided to officially launch a tour visa for Chinese groups of two or more travelers from Chinese New Year 2016. The Vietnamese Ministry of Commerce announced that it will lower its single-entry visa application fee from US$45 to US$25 from November 23.(Translation by David）
