No change in visa policy

The Thai Embassy in Dhaka yesterday said there had been no change in the Thai visa policy towards Bangladesh.

In response to a query from The Daily Star regarding hassles over Thai visa, Press Officer Pacharapol Padermprach of the embassy also ruled out the allegations raised in some media reports that thousands of visa applications were pending with the embassy.

"There was no 20,000-30,000 passports accumulated at the Royal Thai Embassy. The figure was based purely on false speculation by sources from travel agencies," he claimed.

"During the visa processes, applicants can withdraw their passport anytime through Thai Visa Application Center (Thai VFS)."

On why issuing visa was taking much longer than before, Padermprach said, "Visa process is case specific meaning that each case is different, therefore, any delay (if any) depends on applicant's background, document submitted, and other factors."