Thailand to introduce e-visa in 2014

BANGKOK, August 28 (TNA) - Thailand plans to launch the electronic visa (e-visa) system in late 2014. Thai Deputy Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Nuttavudh Photisaro told journalists of the plan on Wednesday, acknowledging that his ministry has begun developing the e-visa system in accordance with the international standard. Nuttavudh said that existing visa labels will no longer be used when his ministry completes the development of the e-visa system and introduces the new service, expected by October 1, 2014. Nuttavudh, meanwhile, confirmed a probe from 2008 has found that 500 visa stickers were lost from the Thai Consulate-General in Laos' Savannakhet Province and information is being gathered with legal action to be taken secretly against those involved, noting that he went to the Thai Consulate-General in Savannakhet to study the matter himself. Earlier, Nuttavudh revealed, 300 visa stickers were lost from the Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital. Regarding the loss of 2,000 visa labels during airborne delivery to the Thai Embassy in The Hague, the Netherlands, Nuttavudh insisted that they have been already nullified and Germany-based Lufthansa Airlines has agreed to pay about 26,000 baht in compensation for the loss. According to the senior Thai official, the losses of visa labels were not unusual and reportedly happened in many countries. (TNA)