In line with the Government of Thailand’s initiative to promote tourism, the Immigration Bureau of Thailand has partnered with VFS Global to offer the new eVisa On Arrival (eVOA) service that will enable a faster and more convenient arrival process for travellers from 21 countries* like India, P.R. China, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine etc. Travellers who are eligible to use the online eVOA service provided by VFS Global will receive their travel authorisation from the Immigration Bureau of Thailand prior to their departure from their country of origin. The eVOA service will be available as of February 14, 2019 on thailandevoa.vfsevisa.com.
The new Thailand eVOA offers travellers a whole new experience when applying for a travel pre-authorisation to Thailand and when entering the country at the Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueng airports in Bangkok, as well as at Phuket and Chiang Mai airports flying by Thai Airways and other airlines.
Travellers receive their pre-departure travel authorisation online before the trip within 24 to 72 hours. If there is an urgent visa requirement to travel to Thailand, travellers can also avail online the Express eVOA service for quicker processing. By paying an additional service fee, eligible travellers can get their eVOA decision within 24 hours for any short notice travel requirements.
eVOA applicants benefit from dedicated Immigration counters at major airports in Thailand to save time and experience a faster entry into Thailand. Due to the smooth online eVOA application process pre-departure, travellers don’t need to carry any physical copies like hotel booking confirmation or air-tickets, photographs etc. Since the eVOA fee was paid online, no cash in local currency is required at the immigration counter.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Surachate HAKPARN, Commissioner of Immigration Bureau said, “With the eVOA service, we are proud to offer new age digital solution which enhance the overall experience for the modern day traveller who seeks to visit Thailand from 21 countries across the globe. In our cooperation with the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide – VFS Global, we aim to effectively meet the objective of increasing tourism to the country through this solution especially taking into consideration the all-important security aspect that allows pre-check of travellers prior the arrival, as it offers time to the Immigration Bureau for effective assessment.”
Zubin Karkaria, CEO, VFS Global said, “It is an honour to work with the Immigration Bureau of Thailand and Thai Airways to ensure a more convenient and faster service for travellers to Thailand, while maintaining the security and integrity of the visa process. With our experience and reliability in providing seamless visa application services across the world, and with the advantages of our eVisa solution, the Thailand eVOA service will further enhance ease of travel to Thailand, and thereby facilitate increase in tourism to the country. In addition, we are proud to be associated with the Royal Thai Embassy with whom we already share a long-standing relationship since 2005 and provide visa services across 27 cities in four countries through a strong network of 27 Visa Application Centres. As an organisation, we continue to support the economic growth and development of Thailand through our operations within Thailand where we employ 326 Thai nationals – of which 96 are dedicated resources for the new eVOA service.”
