Coronavirus: Thailand suspends visa-free policy but consulate insists Hong Kong not affected
- Travellers from South Korea, Italy and Hong Kong now need visas to enter the kingdom, according to its interior minister
- However, the special administrative region’s Thai consulate later released a statement saying travellers from Hong Kong and Macau were still exempt
Travellers from these destinations will have to apply for a visa at Thai embassies and present a medical certificate proving they are free of Covid-19, the illness caused by the virus.
“These measures will solve the problem of foreigners arriving from risky zones,” Minister of Interior Anupong Paochinda told reporters, adding that he would start the process immediately but it was not immediately clear when the restrictions would take effect.
However, the Thai Consulate-General in Hong Kong later released a statement insisting the visa exemption for travellers from the city, as well as those from Macau, would remain in place.
Government spokesperson Narumon Pinyosinwat told This Week in Asia that Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Ministry would work out bilateral agreements in due course to comply with the interior ministry’s new regulation.
She also said the visa policy changes announced Wednesday were in addition to the rules already imposed on travellers entering Thailand from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Italy and Iran, which have been deemed “dangerous communicable disease areas”.