On 4 February 2025, Ms. Somrudee Poopornanake, Deputy Director-General of the Department of European Affairs had an online meeting with Mr. Krešimir Mikulić, Director and Head of Sector for Visas and Foreigners, and Mr. Mario Zeljko, Head of Division, Directorate-General for Consular Affairs of Croatia to exchange experiences and discuss ways to push forward Thailand’s request for visa-free access to the Schengen area for Thai ordinary passport holders.

The Deputy Director-General presented Thailand’s work plan in pushing forward Thailand’s request on the issue of Schengen visa exemptions. The Croatian side shared their best practices, in particular on reducing the visa refusal rate of Croatian nationals, garnering national efforts, and conducting outreach programs to citizens. They also expressed support for Thailand’s Schengen exemption request, including among EU institutions and respective EU Member States.

Achieving visa-free access to the Schengen area for Thai ordinary passport holders is part of the Government’s Thai passport empowerment policy and also a policy priority. The Schengen visa exemption will not only complement the Thai - EU Partnership Cooperation Agreement and Thai - EU FTA negotiations, but also contribute to more robust trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people ties between Thailand and the EU.