The embassy is only closed to visitors, everything is online and by post, the COE is all done online, you print off your COE, mine took less than 24 hours, most people report getting it the same day.

25 minutes ago, federicoP said:

I am organizing myself for coming back to Thailand, and today I phoned the Thai embassy in Rome to get information for the non imm O-A visa.

They told me that the O-A visa they are issuing is for one year, multiple entries, but with a compulsory exit every three months.

It is the first time that I hear this, maybe I am a bit forgetful, can somebody confirm me if this is the common rule ?

Of course I am not worried about the need to take a short exit end re-entry every three months, but if every time I need to be quarantined.........????

 

By the way, about the same O-A subject, the one year of validity starts from the visa date or from the entry in the country ?
And, after getting the visa, after how long it is needed to enter in Thailand to avoid that the visa expires ?

 

Many thanks for any help

I have never heard of an O-A visa holder having to leave every 3 months, but it does seem to say this on the Thai Rome embassy website, i thought they might have mixed up the 3 month leaving with the 90 day(3 month) report to immigration you need to do.

4. Non-Immigrant O-A Long Stay Visa (Visa Validity 1 year / Period of Stay 3 months (multiple entries) / Fee of 175 Euro)

Required documents:

Tourist visa available 

https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/119247-requirements-for-certificate-of-entry-during-travel-restriction?page=5d6636cd15e39c3bd00072dd&menu=5f4b6eb3f6ae4b236972c562

It is confusing, i suspect but have no proof that people are buying this insurance as it is cheap and the embassy are issuing a COE as (perhaps they are  not aware) of its limitations, but if it gets you into Thailand............ 

13 hours ago, Thaiophil said:

 

Thailand remains on the list of 

Coronavirus (COVID-19): countries and territories exempt from advice against ‘all but essential’ international travel

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-countries-and-territories-exempt-from-advice-against-all-but-essential-international-travel

 

So UK insurance still available, but if the list changes before you fly the insurance would be invalidated
 

The other likely more expensive option is to get Thai health insurance. A list of providers can be found on the Thai Embassy website under the O-A visa guidance

 

It is worth bearing in mind that insurance will be checked by the airline at boarding, not just by the Thai Embassy for COE purposes. 

Thailand is NOT on the exempt list, YOUR LIink shows the message below   advises British nationals against all but essential international travel, Travel insurance won't be valid with warning

7 hours ago, Thaiophil said:

 

Thailand remains on the list of 

Coronavirus (COVID-19): countries and territories exempt from advice against ‘all but essential’ international travel

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-countries-and-territories-exempt-from-advice-against-all-but-essential-international-travel

 

So UK insurance still available, but if the list changes before you fly the insurance would be invalidated
 

The other likely more expensive option is to get Thai health insurance. A list of providers can be found on the Thai Embassy website under the O-A visa guidance

 

It is worth bearing in mind that insurance will be checked by the airline at boarding, not just by the Thai Embassy for COE purposes. 

Travel insurance will be sold to anyone, it is up to the individual to make sure they are covered which at the moment they are not due to the government warning about travel to Thailand, i am not sure if the Thai embassy actually check this, as travel insurance is usually 60-90 max per trip with a max 180 days a year so does not meet the requirement, i have been told by a number of people that they have have got to Thailand with ordinary travel insurance

Thailand is not on the safe travel list https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/travel-advice-help-and-support

It would be unlikely the you are covered on a travel insurance policy as i have just found out. What i can tell you is that the London embassy do not check(at the moment) the validity of the insurance, such as multi trip annual policies typically only cover 60-90 days per trip and usually 180ish days per year.

There is a report on another site that quotes a message from The London embassy(yesterday pm), that EXISTING non o retirement visa holders can apply for a COE. hopefully it's true 

It looks more like a third party website charging more than going straight to the gov.uk site, if you go to the gov.uk site as above and start an application DO NOT PAY, and see if the test  centre listed matches the one your wife went to

can you remember when booking did the site transfer you to the  gov.uk website?   

How to book the test?

You must use the official booking website to book the test. You will need to select your preferred test location from a list of available test centres. There is no difference in test difficulty between the test centres and we advise you to use the closest one.

How much does it cost to book the test?

The fee to take test is £50. This is the total fee you should be paying. If you are paying more than £50, you are probably using 3rd party providers to book the test on your behalf.

18 minutes ago, scorecard said:

And is this policy available to work permit holders, permanent residents and other categories of foreigners who are now allowed to join repatriation flights to Thailand?

Yes see here, you should be able to get cheaper in your home country and its not just repatriation flights there are currently 6-9 airlines flying from uk to Thailand

https://covid19.tgia.org/

1 hour ago, Kadilo said:

I applied for the COE as per discussion and attached my expired Visa, current valid extension of stay and re entry permit along with my Thai health insurance certificate. 
 

I applied at the weekend and all submitted ok and got my 6 digit ref number and when checked said it was I Rer consideration and being processed. Yesterday I checked again and got this on my screen see below)

 

I am not sure if that means it was rejected and wiped off the system or there has been an error somewhere. I have had no correspondence to say it was rejected. I emailed them for clarification and as yet, have had no response either way
 

Anyone else had any experience of this? 

 

 

There was an issue over the weekend, and data was lost, i saw on another forum, the same message, the advise was to register again (my info was partially dropped i had to redo on Monday)

23 hours ago, ruby1 said:

So why isn't royal Thailand embassy in London doing the same?

It's the MFA in Thailand that decides, i'm sure the London embassy has pointed this out, but hopefully it won't be long till the situation changes here

If  you get stuck try this, https://covid19.tgia.org it not based on age, again not cheap, there are lots of reports of embassy accepting travel insurance as long as it mentions covid-19 i would look around before buy here, i just looked 6400 baht for 90 days

2 hours ago, Brunolem said:

I live in an area (formerly) very red, and no one gives a damn.

 

The locals have more pressing matters to deal with, starting by saving their rice crop, and finding a job for the many who have lost theirs...

I guess they are just to thick realize the problems they have, are largely  to do with the government, that's the beauty of the Thai essan peasants do nothing, but send your family members to patong etc will solve the problem.

Can you submit the application without the file? as it must be known Irish citizens are considered settled as soon as they arrive in uk,  the only thing i can think would be to email the London embassy as there must be a work around.

You are probably doing nothing wrong, it is very slow i had same issues, make sure you use firefox or chrome browser, is the picture no more than 0.5mb( unlikely your picture is more than that) you will just need patience, took me a few hours kept getting various errors.

1 hour ago, Peeba boy said:

Hi mnop

i just clicked on to manage my booking.  It said in red letters. Your attention is needed.  Then it went on to say   This booking can be changed online.  Did u get same message

Yes for my flight in dec, recieved an email cancelling my booking a few days after seeing that message,

i agree, the visa seems to work, if you are living in Thailand permanently  and making lots of short trips out of country, but spending lots of time out the country and not being in the country on the anniversary seems a mystery as to what would happen

I have an O-X, due covid-19 i was unable to enter in April due  covid-19, should be entering next month, the embassy told me i would be stamped in for 5 year, and would have to show my documents ie money still in bank insurance, every year at immigration on anniversary  date printed on your o-x visa , but who knows what will actually happen, i'll need to check with immigration when i get to Thailand

Looks like something was attached to the outside and removed roughly (aircon), whatever it is needs patching up soon

9 hours ago, jackdd said:

In your first post there are pictures of letters of two German insurance policies, both stating minimum coverage 100k USD, so what exactly is the problem?

The problem i believe that it has to state covid-19 with a minimum.......... in the text as well. even though the policy says it covers everything, i'm having the same issue. pedantic to say the least 

Yes this a common problem, i am having it as well, maybe try a travel insurance policy in the uk they will state covid-19  minimum $100 000, as a last resort, try this is based on your country not age.  if you search around you should get cheaper, as a last resort try. https://covid19.tgia.org/