From today's Nation:
One visa for Thailand and Cambodia
Thailand and Cambodia will sign a single visa agreement enabling visitors to use only one visa for the two countries, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
Published on December 13, 2007
Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram would sign the agreement with this Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong when he makes an official visit to Phnom Penh on Monday.
The pact is a pilot project under the Ayeyawady-Chao Phya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS).
Set up since 2003, ACMECS is a joint development scheme that includes Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
Under the initiative of "Four countries, One Destination", the ACMECS Single Visa pact is aimed at facilitating tourism in the region.
Foreign ministers of the four countries agreed in Siem Reap in August 2005 to allow Thailand and Cambodia to implement the scheme first
and the remaining members might join later if it proves successful.
Visitors could apply for an entry visa at the embassies of either Thailand or Cambodia for both countries, said the ministry's spokesman Tharit Charungvat. The arrangement would benefit tourism and visitors would only need one visa for both Thailand and Cambodia, which have many different attractions, he said.
However, the pact would not come into force until the Interior Ministry and concerned agencies issued related regulations, Tharit said. It was not know when the regulations would be ready.
Supalak G Khundee
The Nation
This could be interesting. There's been talk of the SE Asian countries getting together visa wise for some time. Phnom Phen has long been regarded as a particularly visa unfriendly Embassy for westerners as they regard themselves as being there primarily to facilitate visas for Cambodians only to enter Thailand.
This might possibly open up PP as a decent location for Tourist Visa runners.
Then again, Cambodia has a pretty liberal attitude towards long term visas for us farangs, so maybe they'll get tainted by Thailand's ever stricter visa regulations?
