"ASEAN plans a special Immigration lane for ASEAN nationals and single visa for its citizens" Leaders of the ASEAN countries pressed forward with their proposal for a common visa for non-ASEAN nationals during the 22nd ASEAN Summit held in Brunei from 24-25 April 2013. The visa will facilitate greater business mobility and tourism within the ten-member ASEAN bloc. The statement released on 25th April 2013, explains that the leaders were driven to implement this change by the rapid expansion of the tourism sectors across the ASEAN countries. They commended the joint efforts of both public and private sectors to facilitate, and enhance, business and tourism travel experiences. The announcement also highlighted that leaders are encouraging ministers to support the establishment of both visa-free travel in ASEAN countries for ASEAN nationals and special ASEAN immigration lanes. One of the benefits of an ASEAN Business Travel Card, which was called for during theSummit, will be to increase investment and trade within the region. Easier, and freer, movement of businessmen and investors within the region will help to achieve this. More generally, the Business Travel Card would also improve ASEAN connectivity; for example,Thailandhas already introduced exclusive “ASEAN Lanes” atSuvarnabhumiInternationalAirportfor ASEAN nationals, which works to enhance the experience of both ASEAN tourists and businesspeople. ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh said that, “only recognised professionals” will be able to move freely within ASEAN. The sort of professionals which would be included were not specified by the Secretary-General, however he did say that it would not be restricted to any industry; rather it will depend on the labour demands of the individual country. This is good news for an improved business and tourism environment across ASEAN. However, it will be important to examine the detail for non-ASEAN nationals.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Jul 2013 15:37:52 +0000
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