Kimberley AmbroseThailand is a year-long tourist hotspot, drawing travellers with its rich culture, fantastic shopping and extremely good and cheap eats. It’s no wonder that visitors, especially from neighbouring Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, often flock there not once but several times a year.
If you fall into this category, you’d be happy to learn that a new scheme, set to be in place by next month, will make your delays at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang a whole lot shorter.
Floating Market, Bangkok
Authorities have implemented a new customs-related scheme, allowing visitors from Singapore and Hong Kong to use part of the automatic passport scanners currently reserved for Thai nationals. To enjoy this privilege, visitors are required to register with the Thai immigration office prior to their visit to Thailand.
Thirty minutes long queues will soon be a thing of the past. The scheme is aimed at reducing immigration processing time from one minute to 20-30 seconds per person, ensuring that avid tourists breeze into the Land of Smiles!
There are also plans to expand this system to border checkpoints in Sa Kaew, located in eastern Thailand, and Nong Khai, located in north-eastern Thailand. Hopefully, this will be implemented nationwide so that entry through all border checkpoints in Thailand will be much quicker.
While there are plans to extend this privilege to countries with no-visa requirements like Australia and certain parts of Europe, security concerns continue to disallow this possibility for visitors from parts of the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
Be sure to plan your next trip to Thailand soon, especially if you’re from Singapore or Hong Kong, as you can enjoy a hassle-free entry and exit into this exciting destination.
