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s more people across the globe see Asia as an attractive place to visit, invest in and live, ASEAN members are working on resolving their differences to design a common visa framework to boost foreign visitors.

During their meeting held here later this the week, ASEAN leaders will declare the beginning of a process to design a common visa for non-ASEAN nationals, which will task foreign ministers and others relevant officials with quickly coming up with the new framework.

ASEAN member states, however, must first do their homework before moving ahead with their plan for a single visa for nationalities outside the regional grouping, observers have said.

While there were no problems, for example, between Thailand and Malaysia, between Thailand and Indonesia or between Malaysia and Singapore, all of which had committed to the 14-day visa free program, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam are not part of the program.

Earlier, University of Indonesia legal experts Hikmahanto Juwana said that while trying to copy the European Union’s Schengen visa arrangement format, ASEAN also had to make sure that each member had commonality concerning the nationalities that are granted free facilities visa on arrival.

“Singapore grants visas to Israeli citizens. Does that mean Indonesia also has to give it to Israel citizens after the application of the ASEAN single visa?” he said.

“The Indonesian government also has to think of [the possibility of losing] non-tax income [from visa fees] because it will be possible for tourists to apply for a visa through Singapore or other countries [in the region], but they actually are going to Indonesia,” he said, underlining the importance for the government to factor in national interests.

Hikmahanto said many people trying to enter France or the Netherlands applied for a visa with the Italian Embassy because the latter was more relaxed.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa acknowledged that the process for the establishment of a common visa would take time.

“There are still many different opinions [between ASEAN members] that need to be harmonized [by taking into account] security aspects and the impacts on the financial matters, among other things,” Marty said.

“But we have agreed that there will be a road map to further discuss this issue, which will involve all institutions, including the Foreign Ministry, the Immigration Office, the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, the Office of Coordinating Economic Minister and the Finance Ministry.”

The number of intra-ASEAN and extra-ASEAN tourist arrivals stood at 30.28 million in 2008, 30.85 million in 2009 and 31.88 million in 2010, according to data from the ASEAN Tourism Statistics
Database.

China, for instance, has wanted to see a 30 million to 40 million increase in tourist arrivals in the
region by 2015.