Last week, Viet Nam News asked its readers
whether they supported an ASEAN single visa plan.
Here are
some of your comments:
Khánh Lương, Vietnamese
I have
travelled to many countries and I know exactly how important a visa is.
As a
Vietnamese, whenever I go overseas, the first thing I think of is how to get a
visa in time. Especially when I visit several different places, I must apply
for many visas at the same time. Lately, I went to some European nations using
only a Schengen visa. It has been very easy, convenient and safe. It is a
reason I absolutely support a single visa for ASEAN.
I do not
believe it will cause any problems regarding security and immigration
management. In the era of information, we can manage and control everything
with visa computer systems connected together. I am sure we will benefit from
this issue.
In
summary, from my experience and perspective, I would say this idea is realistic,
applicable and useful. All members will take advantage of this opportunity to
integrate and develop.
Aji Rokhadi, Indonesian, Singapore
ASEAN
members have a different set of living standards and border surveillance.
Today,
tourists from most developed countries do not have problems entering all ASEAN
countries. These are the tourists that have more spending power. Hence, it
makes no difference in terms of tourism revenue if ASEAN changes policy for a
single visa and abandons its current visa policy.
On the
other hand, given the gaps in living standards and foreign policies, a single
visa will definitely present problems in terms of maintaining security and
keeping illegal immigrants away. There are many more sensitive matters that
ASEAN has to deal with among its own members, like illegal fishing, terrorism,
weapons and fuel smuggling and so on. They can’t even be agreeable regarding
China’s presence in the South China Sea. Therefore, I guess so many issues have
to be addressed first before a single visa agreement can be applied.
Alice Rougerie, French
For me as
a tourist, I think that this kind of visa would help the region a lot. First,
these 10 countries would be more attractive because of less administrative
things to deal with before departure.
Each time
I visit a foreign country, I have two questions: are there any compulsory
vaccines? And then, are there visa restrictions? If one of these questions is
solved, then it could persuade me to travel in this region. We are always a bit
afraid of visa procedures and administrative fees when we leave Europe!
I also
think that this would promote tourism in some countries we didn’t think about
going before. Ten countries are covered by this visa, and knowing that, we may
discover other places, take advantage of the situation while travelling in one
country to visit another. And tour operators would definitely organise new
routes and new ways of travelling into this region. This will encourage
concerned countries to co-operate with each other in order to make the most of
the benefits tourism brings.
Talking
about security concerns, I don’t think this would worsen the situation. In
Europe, we have Schengen Area, which does not mean less security. We travel
easily but we still have control, especially now because of the terrorist
attacks. Each time there is a threat, countries are able to reinforce border
controls.
Nguyễn Thùy Linh, Vietnamese
It’s
quite a concern for ASEAN member countries when they will have to share data
when the ASEAN single visa takes effect. But I don’t think that ASEAN would
face a similar immigration situation as the EU, which consists of 28 member
countries, most of them developed. ASEAN countries won’t suffer from a big wave
of immigration as they are not ‘heaven like’ European countries.
I do
think the single visa scheme will bring other challenges to ASEAN countries.
Transnational crimes such as drug and human trafficking are a big concern once
people can move freely from one country to another.
In
addition, each ASEAN member has its own policy on visa exemptions. Countries
like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia have
visa exemptions for citizens from 100 nations while other countries like Việt
Nam only have visa exemptions for citizens from about 20 nations.
No one
can deny that the single visa would help promote tourism in ASEAN countries as
more and more tourists would join long holidays with more expenditure. The
opportunity of sharing tourists within ASEAN is possible. However, every
country should focus on solving issues relating to environmental pollution as
well as improve its competitiveness.
Jimmy Wilson, Australian, Melbourne
I really
do support a single visa because a lot of Asian countries require a visa to
enter and that is costing a fortune for a traveller like me. So I would love to
see a single visa happening as soon as possible. A single visa would encourage
the world to visit ASEAN member countries more often because the Asian people
are lovely and friendly and the costs are cheap compared to the western world .
So please make a single visa happen soon.
Andrew
Burden, Canadian, Hà Nội
I have
been saying for years that the visa process should be simple, fast and cheap.
At the same time, however, there are many undesirable and even dangerous people
travelling around Southeast Asia. How will 10 different countries manage this
new policy?
Recently
a Canadian man bought a last minute airplane ticket on his credit card for his
Thai wife to join him back home. Canada’s national airline, Air Canada, flagged
the last minute purchase and denied her flight.
If I
suddenly decide to fly from south Thailand to Burma and then on to Indonesia
(all Muslim areas), will that raise any suspicions? If I overstay in one
country will that affect my onward travel?
What
about costs, renewals and work permits? As a foreigner and tourist I can
envision many computer glitches and miscommunications. I once forgot to fill
out all the minor details on an arrival card - too tired - and was pulled aside
for secondary interrogation. Not a pleasant experience.
I predict
a lot of travel agents, photocopy shops and other greedy agents will magically
appear to solve and smooth out your travel plans. Yes, I support a 10 country
visa. Just don’t slow me down or try to get rich off me.
Ankit Dubey, a reader
I think
having a single visa system like the EU will not be safe, and as we have seen
in the past with what France and Brussels have been through we can’t take any
chances.
We know
that the terrorist who attacked in Brussels was actually a Muslim person of
France. I think it would be very dangerous.
We better
have our own country visa system and let it work like it does now, just visa
free or on arrival for ASEAN nationals. And also ASEAN should not give visas on
arrival or E-visas or visa free entry to people coming from terrorist hub
nations.
I think
being safe and keeping our region and our tourists safe should be the biggest
priority, and by opening doors for genuine tourists by a single visa, any
culprit could misuse this system and cause harm to our nations. So I say NO TO
A SINGLE VISA FOR ASEAN.
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