Thailand extends single entry visa for Arab patients to 90 days

BANGKOK, February 6 (TNA) - The Thai government has decided to extend stays in the Kingdom for visitors from six Arabian countries for medical purposes, from 30 to 90 days. Thai Public Health Minister Pradit Sintawanarong told reporters on Tuesday that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will publicly announce the measure on February 22 as part of her government's policy on promoting Thai medical services internationally to boost national income and to develop Thailand as a global medical hub in the future, saying that the longer stays will later expand to visitors from other countries. Pradit explained that the longer stays are available for people who seek medical treatments and each of them can bring along up to four followers, and that the extended stays are first eligible for people from six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. According to the public health minister, the GCC visitors are required to present appointment documents of their hospitals, financial statements and other relevant papers upon their arrivals in Thailand. Besides, the public health minister acknowledged, the Thai government will soon require foreign visitors to have health insurance before entering Thailand, in the same way that Thai people are required to do before visiting other countries. Official statistics showed that foreigners seeking medical treatments in Thailand reached over 2 million times in 2012, sixty per cent of the service seekers were tourists and patients who arrived specically for treatments, earning the Thai Kingdom some 121.66 billion baht. The United States has, meanwhile, certified 24 hospitals in Thailand for their international standards and 11 others are recognized for their specialized services for particular illnesses, including heart diseases, breast cancer, strokes and kidney diseases. (TNA)