Southeast Asian nations plan Schengen-style single visa for travelers

Key Takeaways

• Southeast Asian nations plan Schengen-style single visa for 2024-2025, easing regional travel across six countries.
• Thailand leads with longer visa-free stays, electronic arrival cards, and new Destination Thailand Visa for digital nomads.
• Vietnam introduces a proposed golden visa for 5-10 year stays, targeting retirees, remote workers, and long-term tourists.

In a major shift for global tourists and the travel industry, Southeast Asian nations—specifically Thailand 🇹🇭, Cambodia 🇰🇭, Malaysia 🇲🇾, Laos 🇱🇦, Vietnam 🇻🇳, and Myanmar 🇲🇲—are rolling out new visa programs and working towards a shared, Schengen-style single visa system for 2024 and 2025. This move aims to make the entire region much easier to visit, helping the area compete with other world-class tourist hubs and giving travelers a far smoother experience.

A Big Step: The Schengen-Style Single Visa

Thailand 🇹🇭 is leading efforts for a single visa system. The plan is simple: any tourist approved for this visa could enter six Southeast Asian nations with just one document, traveling between countries as easily as moving from one city to another within the same nation. The model is inspired by the European Schengen Area, which has helped turn Europe 🇪🇺 into a top travel zone by dropping border checks and allowing free movement among its member states.

This Southeast Asian push is now called “6 Countries, 1 Destination.” The goal is to turn the region into a single, connected destination, meaning tourists won’t have to worry about getting separate visas for each country or facing delays at each border. Cambodia 🇰🇭 has already given clear support to the plan, with other countries actively discussing issues like border security, how to share information about travelers, and which countries will start the pilot program.

How Will This Change Travel?

If the single visa plan goes forward, visiting Southeast Asia 🇹🇭🇰🇭🇲🇾🇱🇦🇻🇳🇲🇲 will become much easier for international travelers from around the world. Currently, tourists must research and apply for different visas for each country, gather specific documents, pay multiple fees, and sometimes wait days or weeks for approval for each border crossing. With the proposed system, all it might take is one application and one fee for all six countries.

This idea is not just about making it easier to cross borders. Leaders across these Southeast Asian nations say they want to:

• Coordinate major tourism festivals and holidays to attract visitors at key times.
• Run joint marketing campaigns, highlighting special offers like hotel discounts or package tours.
• Speed up the immigration process at border posts through better use of technology.
• Invest in stronger land, rail, air, and water connections for smoother travel between countries.
• Share knowledge and best practices about tourism and hospitality, which helps improve the experience for all guests.

By making the path for tourism more straightforward and appealing, the scheme hopes to increase the number of travelers, encourage them to stay longer, and prompt them to visit more places on a single trip. Thailand 🇹🇭 hopes these steps will bolster its status as the key aviation and logistics gateway for the region, while Malaysia 🇲🇾 is also working to raise its own profile with more connected, convenient travel options.

National Visa Changes to Support the Regional Plan

Alongside the single visa push, several countries are adjusting their own immigration rules and entry processes to help attract new types of travelers and make visits easier:

Thailand 🇹🇭 Stands Out With Many Changes

• Longer Visa-Free Stays: Starting July 2024, travelers from 93 countries can now stay for up to 60 days without a visa, instead of the previous 30 days. This change targets not just regular holidaymakers but also people like digital nomads—workers who use technology to work from anywhere—and families looking for extended vacations.
  – Destination Thailand Visa (DTV): This special visa offers stays of up to 180 days per entry, and it is valid for five years. It is especially meant for digital nomads, allowing them to live and work remotely in Thailand 🇹🇭 for longer stretches without repeated paperwork.
• Digital Arrival Card (TDAC): A new online-only arrival card is launching on May 1st, replacing the old paper-based forms. Travelers must complete the card before arrival, helping shorten border checks while still letting immigration officers spot travelers who might overstay or arrive under false documents.
• Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA): From June 2025, anyone entering under Thailand’s visa exemption scheme will also need to fill out an online ETA before arrival. More countries will be eligible for these exemptions, but every traveler must complete the new process, aligning with the move toward more digitized borders. Official updates about visa exemptions and ETAs can be reviewed through Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Vietnam 🇻🇳 Sets Sights on Long-Term Visitors

Vietnam 🇻🇳 has laid out proposals for a new “golden visa.” If approved, this would let long-term tourists, retirees, and remote workers stay for up to five or even ten years. By making it more attractive for higher-spending visitors who want to settle for months or years at a time, Vietnam 🇻🇳 is following the lead set by both Thailand 🇹🇭 and Malaysia 🇲🇾.

Cambodia 🇰🇭, Malaysia 🇲🇾, Laos 🇱🇦, Myanmar 🇲🇲 Also on Board

Each of these nations is involved in the joint single visa discussions, focusing on making their borders easier for regional visitors. Cambodia 🇰🇭 is an outspoken supporter, while Malaysia 🇲🇾, Laos 🇱🇦, and Myanmar 🇲🇲 are aligning procedures, entry protocols, and tourism calendars so the new model can work.

Quick Glance: Major Regional Visa Moves

Why Now? The Push for Change

Tourism is a huge economic driver in Southeast Asia. After the disruptions caused by the pandemic, many of these nations want to fully rebuild and strengthen their travel industries by creating a larger, shared market, drawing inspiration from proven success stories like the Schengen Area in Europe 🇪🇺. The new reforms hope to avoid the bureaucracy that can turn travelers away, while spreading out the benefits so that even less-visited countries and regions enjoy the boost.

Analysis from VisaVerge.com suggests that making movement easy with a Schengen-style single visa could transform the idea of a “Southeast Asia trip.” Instead of picking just one or two countries to visit because of difficult paperwork or time limits, visitors might now spend several weeks moving from sandy beaches in Thailand 🇹🇭 to ancient temples in Cambodia 🇰🇭, mountain treks in Laos 🇱🇦, delicious street food in Vietnam 🇻🇳, modern cities in Malaysia 🇲🇾, and vibrant local life in Myanmar 🇲🇲—all on one simple set of documents.

A Move Toward Digitizing Borders

Digital improvements are a major theme across these reforms:

• Thailand’s fully electronic arrival card means no more messy paperwork at airports.
• Immigration officers will have faster, more accurate access to information about travelers, helping prevent overstays and speeding up lines.
• The new ETA system brings Thailand 🇹🇭 in line with countries like Canada 🇨🇦, Australia 🇦🇺, and the United Kingdom 🇬🇧, which use online checks to clear visitors before they board their flight.
• For all tourists, these digital processes remove a lot of uncertainty and stress from the arrival experience.

However, there are some concerns among business owners and travelers, too. Some worry about data privacy with more personal information being handled online. Others want to be sure quicker border processes won’t compromise safety or allow for more irregular migration. The countries involved are working closely to set clear rules on data sharing, personal privacy, and coordinated border checks to address these issues.

Economic Benefits and Competition

By banding together, these Southeast Asian nations hope that more tourists will mean more hotels booked, more money spent in restaurants, shops, and cultural sites, and more local jobs in tourism and transport.

But there’s another layer: regional competition. Southeast Asia does not just want to attract more tourists compared to previous years—it wants to challenge other global tourism hotspots like Europe 🇪🇺, North America 🇺🇸, and Oceania. By offering a simpler, more welcoming visa system, they hope to make their region stand out to international travelers deciding where to spend their holidays.

Looking to the Future: What Should Travelers Expect?

Most of these big changes are planned for late 2024 through mid-2025. Rules, eligibility lists, and step-by-step guides for the Schengen-style single visa are still being drafted, and each country has its own timeline for rolling out new digital border tools or longer-stay visas.

Experts recommend that travelers keep a close watch on official updates, as practical details (like how to apply, what fees to pay, and what information to provide) may be different for each nationality at first. Even as the system rolls out, travelers should double-check entry requirements, as there may still be some differences or transitional rules before the process is completely unified.

Possible Challenges and Different Opinions

Not every expert agrees about how quickly the single visa will work or how smooth the rollout will be. Since the countries involved all control their own borders, each must agree on rules for sharing information and handling unusual cases. There is also the question of which passport holders can use the system in the early stages.

Some travelers and industry groups have welcomed the idea, saying it will spur longer, broader trips and help smaller destinations grow. Others want more details about security or are waiting to see how the digital forms work in practice. Balancing visitor freedom with safety will be key for long-term success.

Summary and Next Steps

• The Schengen-style single visa, led by Thailand 🇹🇭 and backed by five other Southeast Asian nations, aims to let tourists move between six countries with just one visa.
• Each country is also making its own visa changes, such as Thailand’s longer visa-free stays and electronic entry cards, Vietnam’s proposed golden visa, and national efforts to simplify travel.
• The combined effect should be more visitors, longer stays, and bigger benefits for local economies, as well as a more competitive stance in the global travel marketplace.
• As new policies are rolled out from late 2024 to 2025, travelers should follow updates from official sources and plan for changes in how they apply for permission to enter.
• For more information on current and future visa rules in Southeast Asia, travelers can visit the ASEAN official tourism website for the latest updates.

Making Southeast Asia into a truly connected, easy-to-visit region is a bold move—and if these countries succeed, it could reshape travel patterns for millions, offering more choices and fewer barriers on every trip.

Learn Today

Schengen-style single visa → A system allowing travelers to visit multiple countries with one visa, modeled after Europe’s Schengen Area.
Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) → An online-only entry card replacing paper forms for entering Thailand, streamlining border checks and reducing paperwork delays.
Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) → A required online pre-approval for travelers entering Thailand, introducing further digitization similar to systems in Canada and Australia.
Golden visa → A long-stay visa proposed by Vietnam, offering five to ten years’ residence for long-term tourists, retirees, and remote workers.
Digital nomads → Individuals who use technology to work remotely while living in different locations for extended periods of time.

This Article in a Nutshell

Southeast Asia’s upcoming Schengen-style single visa could reshape travel by enabling tourists to visit six countries with one document. Thailand leads reforms, offering digital arrival cards and new visas, while Vietnam’s proposed golden visa supports long-term stays. Regional cooperation aims to attract more tourists, boost economies, and streamline border processes.
— By VisaVerge.com

Read more:

• Italy Schengen Type C Invitation Visa: What You Need to Know
• Spain Schengen Family Visit Visa: Key Steps and Eligibility Criteria
• Spain Schengen Tourist Visa: Key requirements and how to apply
• Italy Schengen Type C Transport Visa opens doors for international transport workers
• Spain Transit Visa helps seamen travel to ships at Schengen ports