Free Thailand visa for Oman residents until February

Muscat: Residents of Oman can now get free of cost tourist visa for Thailand until the end of February 2017.
Speaking to the Times of Oman, a senior official of Thailand’s Embassy in Muscat said expatriates will not have to pay any money if their visa is issued by the Thailand Embassy in Muscat.
“Those who wish to apply for tourist visa at the Royal Thai Embassy in Muscat need to have a resident card in Oman,” the official stressed.
However, if they obtain a visa on arrival, then they will have to pay 50 per cent of the visa fee.
For December to February 2017, visa on arrival fee has already been reduced from 2,000 Thai bhat (OMR20) to 1,000 Thai bhat (OMR10) for applicants affiliated to nationalities entitled for visa on arrival at designated immigration checkpoints.
The citizens of Andorra, Bulgaria, Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan are entitled for visa on arrival in Thailand.
Multiple-entry for Omanis
Omanis, however, do not require a tourist visa to visit Thailand for a period of 30 days. “They can also apply for a multiple-entry visa with six months validity and entitlement to stay for a period of 60 days at a time. Those wishing to seek medical treatment in Thailand can apply for a 60-day medical tourist visa, which can be renewed up to six months, depending on supporting documents from hospitals,” the official said.
More than 72,000 Omani tourists visited Thailand between January and August, 2016. “As of 31 October, 2016, we had a total of 27,076,308 tourists from all over the world visiting Thailand this year,” the official added.
“Thailand is courting more tourists from all over the world and that is one of the reasons it is offering visa without any charges,” a leading travel agent said. Thailand recently welcomed its 30 millionth visitor for 2016, breaking tourism records.
“Thailand’s Luckiest Visitor – An Amazing, Smashing Success” was Ms. Huang Junyi who flew into Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport from Guangzhou, China on the auspicious day, December 5, 2016.