On 15 September 2018, Mr. Prapan Disyatat, Deputy Director-General of the Department of East Asian Affairs, on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, attended the launching ceremony of the Cooperation on the Mutual Use of the Automatic Immigration Services between the Kingdom of Thailand and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) at Suvannabhumi Airport which was inaugurated by Police Lieutenant General Sutthipong Wongpin, Immigration Bureau Commissioner, Mr. Sirote Duangratana, General Manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, Mr. Pornlert Kanjananiyot, Chairman of Airline Operators Committee, Thailand, and Mr. Zhou Guangxu, Second Secretary of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China.

                 The ceremony was hosted by the Immigration Bureau of the Royal Thai Government, announcing that, effective from 15 September 2018, holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport, travelling by air, will be allowed to use automatic channels to enter the Kingdom of Thailand while holders of Thai ordinary passport can enroll to use the e-Channel services at Hong Kong International Airport (Chek Lap Kok) and other airports in Hong Kong. After the ceremony, the officiating party also welcomed 60 Hong Kong Chinese passengers who arrived from Hong Kong and also had an opportunity to use the automatic immigration processing service for the first time. The new arrangement of cooperation facilitates greater flow of people-to-people contacts. The automatic immigration service reduces the immigration processing time from 45 seconds to only 20 seconds.

                 Eligibility criteria and conditions for visitors who wish to use the automatic channel are available on the websites of the Immigration Bureau of Thailand and the Immigration Department of the Government of HKSAR. Holders of Thai ordinary passport are required to enroll for using the e-Channel service in Hong Kong before using the e-Channels for immigration clearance.

                 The cooperation on the mutual use of automatic immigration services is an important outcome of discussions between leaders and senior officials of the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Government of HKSAR. The launching ceremony marked another milestone to promote closer people-to-people linkages. The said cooperation of bilateral relationship is also in line with Thailand 4.0 policy and highly beneficial to the peoples of both sides. The Governments of Thailand and HKSAR signed the Agreement on Exemption of Visa Requirements in 1997 which enabled holders of valid passport of Thailand and holders of valid passport of HKSAR to stay in Thailand or Hong Kong not more than 30 days.