The move to have a single Asean visa is now in the pipeline but it may take some time before it is materialised, Thai ambassador Soonthorn Chaiyindeepum has said.
Similar to Schengen, Asean countries are planning to issue a visa to people outside the region that will allow them to apply once and travel from one Asean country to another.
“Now we have already started with two countries, Thailand and Cambodia; people can apply once and they can travel to these two countries,” the envoy told reporters at a press conference  at the Singapore embassy yesterday.
Chaiyindeepum, who also sits as the vice chairman of the Asean Committee in Doha, said the implementation would be extended and cover all Asean countries in the near future to entice more visitors from different countries around the world.
Citing that the Asean region was becoming more politically stable, Chaiyindeepum noted that attracting investments would be easier.
As it aims to become a single market, he added that investors saw economic interdependency as a benefit and an advantage.
“Eventually it will benefit us all, as well as investors; we have completed the Asean Community and we hope to complete the Asean Economic Community in 10 years,” the envoy said.
Currently, nationals of the Asean member countries do not require a visa to travel within the bloc.
He noted that Asean now had special arrangements for seven professions such as doctors, architects and accountants, among others who could work within the region.
Singaporean ambassador Wong Kwok Pun said that some were criticising the bloc for moving too slow on integration and using the European Union as a model.
“That is not our intention. We started out basically as five countries trying to find ways of working and co-operating together and that has moved to 10 countries,” he noted, stressing that they had brought down a lot of obstacles.
Echoing the statement of Chaiyindeepum, Pun said the bloc had given Asean nationals the chance to visit member countries without any visa, in a way, like GCC nationals.
“To the next stage, there is something they have to work on, so it is not the same idea as the EU but EU serves as a model,” he added.
“We are moving towards a common market;  the AEC is a vision for us to complete by 2025, so in 10 years time, we should have this AEC, we are working hard back home,” he said.