India announced 500 000 free visas for tourists

[gerefan2]

. the opening of India with free visas is a good sign and hopefully others will follow.

. Thailand??!

[goji]

. Thailand??!

I paid £30 for the last Thai visa, plus £13.40 recorded delivery for the passports.

For a long holiday, this cost is irrelevant.

What I'd like to see as encouragement to visit Thailand is:

1 Visa free entry for a longer period of time, e.g. up to 6 months in any one year, with no pfaffing around. No visits to immigration etc.

2 If #1 is not possible, please do an e-visa so I don't have to post the passport. Thai immigration already have my passport details, photo and finger prints on file, so they should not need to see the passport AGAIN to issue a visa. They can even see I have followed the rules on past trips and departed on time.

3 No restrictions once I get to Thailand, no quarantine, no sandbox, nothing !

4 No COE


5 No compulsory covid insurance. By all means ask for proof of travel insurance or funds for unexpected medical expenses.

6 No threat of being sent to "hospital" if failing a covid test & havng no symptoms.

7 Open all the bars etc


Actually, for countries like India and China, lower visa fees might just be a suitable inducement. I think China charge UK citizens nearly £200 based on reciprocal pricing. Since I would rather make the first visit to China for just 2 weeks to see how it is, £200 is something of a minor deterrent. Already encouraging me to think I should go for a month, which puts me off. (Obviously this is pre-covid. Now it is out of the question.)

£30 for 60 days in Thailand, probably to be extended, is almost irrelevant.

[christianpfc]

Philippines are missing in my previous post.

I think China charge UK citizens nearly £200 based on reciprocal pricing. Since I would rather make the first visit to China for just 2 weeks to see how it is, £200 is something of a minor deterrent. Already encouraging me to think I should go for a month, which puts me off. (Obviously this is pre-covid. Now it is out of the question.)

In 2019 I wanted to go to China, but when I saw their tourist visa fees (about 150 EUR for German passport) and other requirements (proof of hotel booking for every night), I thought (to keep this forum family-friendly, I spare you my exact words) and went to Myanmar once again (e-visa works great, not cheap at 50 USD but worth the money, no questions about when and how I will leave the country - I had a few departures over land, no questions where I will stay) and had a great time as I had in all my trips to Myanmar.

Only later did I learn of 48/72/144 hours visa-free transit in China, which fits me perfectly (Taiwan and Hongkong count as foreign countries for visa purposes). Just right to get a first impression, and to sort everything out (e.g. no google maps; there are ways around but I would want to try internet behind the Great Firewall of China). The 144 hours count from 00:00 the day after your arrival; whereas in Thailand day of arrival is day 1.

2 If #1 is not possible, please do an e-visa so I don't have to post the passport.

And e-visa doesn't use up one page of passport.

[goji]

The 144 hours count from 00:00 the day after your arrival; whereas in Thailand day of arrival is day 1.

The day of arrival in Thailand is day 1 for visas, so 30 days is effectively 29 nights.
The day of arrival in Thailand is day 0 for quarantine, so 14 days quarantine is 15 nights.

And e-visa doesn't use up one page of passport.

I always liked that as well, then I decided to get a 50 page passport in 2019 and then covid came along. I'd almost like to "waste" some pages now.