Common ASEAN visa

Member countries of ASEAN establish mechanism for common ASEAN visa implementation.

ASEAN visa system is similar to that in EU, in which citizens from countries outside the bloc, after getting ASEAN visa would be able to visit all member countries of the bloc. For example, instead of using Vietnam tourist visa to visit Vietnam, tourist can arrive to Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia… with only common visa.

This mechanism is expected to be concretized in 2015 with special efforts because each country has its own visa mechanism. ASEAN members need a long time to adjust their visa grant process before the common visa system is realized.

Common visa policy could be divided into different stages. For example, at the first stage, visa will only be granted to diplomats and for the next stage, it will be issued to citizens of certain countries such as Japan, Korean and China since many visitors from these countries come to ASEAN member countries.

However, before adopting the common visa system for visitors from countries outside ASEAN, the bloc must agree on common visa for citizens of ASEAN countries.

To achieve the objectives of “ASEAN Tourism Strategy Plan (ATSP) 2011-2015” adopted in ASEAN Tourism Ministers Meeting held on 17 January 2011 in Phnom Penh, ASEAN members have agreed to present actively tourism destinations to habitants in the bloc. The ATSP will contribute to the overall goals of ASEAN Community in 2015. ASEAN, with a population of approximately 600 million people (about 8, 5% of the world population) and with high economic growth of member countries, is potential for intra-regional tourism.

Nowadays, ASEAN includes Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

Common ASEAN visa