Thailand plans to raise fee of five-year visas for foreigners
Thailand plans to increase the price of its five-year residency permit by 20 percent in January 2021, after the programme dubbed "elite" visas drew a record new membership this year as people sought to stay in the largely coronavirus-free country.
Passengers at an airport in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo: VNA)
Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand plans to increase theprice of its five-year residency permit by 20 percent in January 2021, afterthe programme dubbed "elite" visas drew a record new membership thisyear as people sought to stay in the largely coronavirus-free country.
According to Thailand Privilege Card – a company under theTourism Authority of Thailand and theoperator of the programme – Easy Access, one of the nine elite-visa packages,will be offered for 600,000 baht (19,850 USD), up from the current 500,000 baht.Easy Access enjoyed great demand this year, for its cheaper price and theprivilege of staying in Thailand for an uninterrupted five years.
Thailand Privilege Card added 2,674 members during itsfiscal 2020 ending in September, a 24.8 percent increase. Over 60 percent ofthe new members were Easy Access holders.
President of the company Somchai Soongswang attributed therecord membership to Thailand's containment of COVID-19.
He added that many tourists trapped in Thailand amid closedborders wanted to stay here longer, and others from abroad wished to come herefor a "pandemic-free" living environment.
The Southeast Asian country has logged slightly over 4,000COVID-19 cases, compared with over 65,500 in neighboring Malaysia and 58,000 inSingapore./.
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Thai Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Vuttikrai Leewiraphan Thailand's formal proposal will be substantial enough for the US to consider further detailed negotiations. He hoped for a tariff rate not exceeding 10% and suggested that the US might extend the negotiation period if an agreement is not reached by the July 8 deadline.
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Passengers at an airport in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo: VNA) 
