BANGKOK: Thai nationals are nonetheless required to acquire a Schengen visa when travelling to Europe, as Thailand isn’t presently a part of the European Journey Data and Authorisation System (ETIAS), the Overseas Ministry has clarified.
The clarification adopted the circulation of claims on journey pages suggesting that visa necessities for Schengen entry could be lifted by the top of 2025, to get replaced with an internet ETIAS utility course of.
In accordance with data obtained from the Thai Embassy in Brussels, the Ministry of Overseas Affairs has offered the next key factors:
Thai passport holders should proceed making use of for Schengen visas by means of the standard course of.
ETIAS is a pre-travel authorisation system for nationals of nations which have visa-free entry to the Schengen space. Thailand isn’t presently on that checklist and subsequently not eligible to make use of ETIAS.
Along with ETIAS, the European Union is growing an Entry/Exit System (EES), which is able to file biometric information equivalent to facial photos, fingerprints, and particulars of border crossings. This can exchange passport stamping for non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen zone for brief stays.
The EU expects to start testing the EES system from October 2025. ETIAS can be launched subsequently, as soon as EES is absolutely operational.
Travellers are suggested to contact the embassy or consulate of the EU nation they intend to enter first, to make sure they’ve probably the most correct and up-to-date data earlier than travelling. – The Nation/ANN
