Maldivians heading to Thailand will get shorter welcome from next week.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has told travelers to take note of changes to Thai visa rules that take effect on 15 September, cutting the visa-on-arrival stay for Maldivian passport holders from 90 to 30 days.
The ministry said in a notice on Wednesday that Thailand gazetted the revised policy on 31 August, with enforcement beginning on the 15th.
Third days is not what Bangkok first had in mind. When the new framework was drawn up, the Maldives sat in the group of countries whose 90-day entitlement was to be slashed to 15: a fortnight, and no more. Thai authorities presented the tightening as a response to abuse of the visa-on-arrival channel and to crimes committed by foreign nationals.
The number doubled after a phone call. Foreign Minister Iruthisham Adam raised the matter directly with Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, and the 30-day allowance for Maldivians followed those discussions, according to the ministry.
The revision sits inside a much broader Thai rethink. In May, the Thai cabinet signed off on a substantial overhaul of visa policy that reduced the permitted stay for visitors from 93 countries to under 60 days, reversing part of the liberalization Bangkok used to chase tourist arrivals in recent years.
For Maldivians, Thailand is not a casual destination. Bangkok is a standing fixture for medical treatment, university admissions, wholesale buying and supplier meetings: trips where a stay can stretch past a month without anyone planning in that way.
From 15 September, those travelers will need to plan around a harder deadline, or apply for a visa in advance.