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Visa on Arrival — Thailand and Switzerland Diplomatic/Official Passport Holders

BhutanSpecial cases

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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Explore pathways in Bhutan Read the five questions ↓

What exactly is the official special programme/status and why does it exist?

Bhutan issues a visa on arrival to nationals of Thailand and Switzerland who hold Diplomatic or Official passports, under a bilateral agreement. It is an exception to the general rule in the Immigration Rules and Regulations 2023 that all foreigners intending to visit Bhutan must hold a valid e-Visa unless exempted by bilateral agreements.

See recorded sources

Which specific population, role, circumstance or historical/legal situation does it cover?

The route covers nationals of Thailand and nationals of Switzerland who hold a Diplomatic or an Official passport. Eligibility is stated by nationality and passport type alone, as set by bilateral agreement.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The sources do not say whether the holder must be travelling on official duty, on posting, or in any particular role; they condition only on nationality and passport type.
  • Nationals of Thailand and Switzerland who hold ordinary passports are not mentioned in the visa-on-arrival rule; reading the general e-visa requirement as covering them would be an inference and is not asserted here.
  • The bilateral agreements are not named or dated in the checked sources, so their current terms cannot be verified from them.

What circumstance, event, relationship, nomination, invitation or status activates access?

Access is triggered by arriving at a Bhutanese port of entry holding a Thai or Swiss Diplomatic or Official passport: the visa is issued on arrival rather than obtained beforehand. Admission into Bhutan is determined by immigration officers at the port of entry, and passports must have a minimum validity of six months from the intended date of departure from Bhutan.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The sources do not list the documents, forms or fees presented at the port of entry to obtain the visa on arrival.
  • The six-month passport validity rule is stated in the Department's General Information as a general requirement for entry and is not stated specifically for visa on arrival.
  • No event, nomination or invitation is named as activating the route; eligibility appears to attach to the passport itself, which the sources state but do not explain.

What sponsor, authority, nomination, certification, evidence or other step must occur before the status can be obtained?

The Immigration Rules require all foreigners intending to visit Bhutan to hold a valid e-Visa unless exempted by bilateral agreements, and Thai and Swiss Diplomatic or Official passport holders are made eligible for visa on arrival under such an agreement. No sponsor, nomination, certification or recommending authority is set out for them in the official sources; the non-tourist recommending-authority rule is written for visas and entry permits issued to non-tourists.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Reading Rule 65 (e-Visa unless exempted by bilateral agreements) together with Rule 70 (visa on arrival as per bilateral agreement) to conclude that no prior e-visa is needed is an inference: no single source states that these travellers are exempt from the prior e-visa.
  • The sources do not mention any prior notification by an embassy or by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade for diplomatic or official passport holders arriving under this route, and that silence is not evidence that none is required.
  • Whether Rule 75's recommending-authority requirement applies to a diplomatic or official passport holder arriving on a visa on arrival is not stated.

What immigration status and rights result, how long do they last, can family be included, and what happens if the special qualifying circumstance ends?

Nationals of Thailand and Switzerland holding Diplomatic or Official passports are eligible for a visa on arrival as per bilateral agreement, and a gratis visa may be issued to holders of Diplomatic and Official passports. Section 84 of the Immigration Act 2007 provides that a visa is issued for a maximum period of ninety days at the entry points for diplomatic and official/gratis visas, while the Immigration Rules and Regulations 2023 provide that an immigration officer at the port of entry endorses a visa for the actual duration of stay or thirty days, whichever is less. The official sources do not state which of these limits applies to this visa on arrival, whether family can be included, or what happens if the qualifying circumstance ends.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The official source does not state the complete answer to this question for this route.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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