A common visa within the ASEAN Economic Community? "Not easy to put in place, because such a measure requires the involvement of many ministries, including finance, interior and immigration, and tourism. We've been discussing it for three or four years now, but I have to say that there has been little progress because the issue is technically complex", admitted Lim Hong Hin, ASEAN Deputy Secretary General in charge of the AEC, during the ASEAN Tourism Fair, ATF, last January. "I think we will end up with bi- or even trilateral agreements before we have legislation for the whole of ASEAN", he explained. Some countries, such as Thailand and Cambodia, have already introduced legislation allowing entry to either country on a common visa. But in practice, this measure is having little effect, simply because Thailand does not require visas from a large number of countries, including those of the European Union...
Then there are the different visa regimes in each country. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand do not require visas from European nationals for stays that vary from one country to another - generally for 14 or 30 days. Indonesia is set to join this first group, as the government has just announced the abolition of visas on arrival for 30 countries, including 17 in Europe. The measure comes into force on April 1. Next come the countries that offer a visa on arrival. This is the case for Cambodia, Laos, and now Burma with the possibility of obtaining an electronic visa.
Vietnam remains the most complex country in terms of visas. The authorities still prefer a visa obtained in due form at a diplomatic representation in the country. However, the visa regime has been relaxed somewhat. You can now obtain a visa on arrival by asking specialist agencies - including your travel agent - to take the necessary steps and issue an official letter to obtain the precious stamp.
A multi-entry, multi-country visa could therefore only be justified for business people making a long stay in the region. "This will probably be the first type of common visa that could actually be introduced. But nothing has been decided yet", insists Lim Hong Lin. The fact that five of the ten members of ASEAN can obtain a visa without formalities makes the measure virtually obsolete for businessmen, who can already travel at will throughout much of the region. If they have a passport with enough pages!
How will the ASEAN Economic Community benefit international travellers? First and foremost, it will simplify border crossings by creating new infrastructure. For several years now, bridges have been built across the Mekong between Thailand, Laos and now Burma, border crossings have been extended, and new airports and new train lines - some of them high-speed - are providing an increasingly dense network across the region.
* ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
