MarcIssan

On 8/31/2021 at 6:03 PM, bkk6060 said:

What Is a Fit-to-Fly Certificate?

COVID-19 Fit-To-Fly medical certificates certify that the holder of the travel health form has tested negative recently for COVID-19.

Fit-to-Fly medical certification generally requires travelers to show proof of negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test results up to 72 hours before departure. 

 

The U.S. requires the 72 hour rule.  An Antigen test is also accepted.  The place you get the test should provide you with a certificate of negative test.

Do not use any of the free test sites as they are more for your personal satisfaction. I found they do not issue the proper certificate (that satisfied Thailand) and just showing 'NEGATIVE' from the text you get from the testing site will not work.  The day I departed (Aug 5th) 18 people were denied and sent home because all they could show was a text from the testing agency.  Also, make sure your document says "RT-PCR" as the test type and nothing else.  At the testing center I got an RT-PCR test but their document said "COVID-19" test and I was denied a boarding pass.  It wasn't until after the testing site edited my file so I could download a new document with the proper wording would the airline provide my boarding pass and check my luggage. That delay cost me over an hour.

On 8/31/2021 at 10:54 PM, treetops said:

Where did you find out you need a COE or a Fit to Fly to enter the USA?  It sounds more like the Thai requirements and even these have dropped the Fit to Fly requirement.

As of April 2021 the Fit to Fly is no longer needed.  Check the Thai Embassy website.  You do, however, need to apply for the COE at https://coethailand.mfa.go.th/.  Read the directions and at the bottom of each document upload preview window, click 'SAVE' or your docs will be discarded when you exit the site.

On 8/28/2021 at 5:00 PM, skatewash said:

No kind of quarantine is needed on the US side.  The covid test (which can be rapid antigen) must be done three (3) days before your departure to the US.  It's an easy standard to meet than the one you need to meet when coming to Thailand which is 72 hours.  You don't have to count hours, just days.  For example, if you fly to the US on Friday, then you can get your test results anytime on Wednesday and it will be within the three (3) day time-frame.

I just went through all of that and travel to the USA was easy but the paperwork coming back was a huge issue for me. So let me explain.

For the return, my qualification was my marriage to a Thai national.  When applying for the COE I needed to upload a copy of my marriage certificate (which I never thought to bring), copies of both our U.S. passports plus my wife's Thai passport and her Thai ID card, Covid insurance valid through the end-date of my visa (for me that was 10 months) or a letter from my insurance provider stating specific covid coverage, and a 'written' PCR test within 72 hours of my departure, our ASQ hotel reservation confirmation, and a copy of our return flight reservation. 

A rapid test is not acceptable nor is a picture/text of a negative test on my telephone...it must be a printed document with specific information. 18 people were sent home at the check-in counter because they did a Rapid Test and only had a text showing 'negative' which is not acceptable.  All the free Covid tests, including the PCR tests, are not suggested for travel since no printable document is produced, the test results text does not conform to Thailand standards, and there is no guarantee the results will arrive by the departure date.  A Fit to Fly is no longer required as of April 2021.  I also uploaded our Covid vaccine cards.

The challenges I ran into included:

1-Asking my neighbor to enter my house in Thailand and search for our marriage certificate then send a photo for reproduction. Fortunately we gave him a key in case of emergencies.

2-Getting Blue Cross Medicare Advantage insurance company to write a letter of coverage that specifically stated "Unlimited Covid 19 benefits" internationally.  They were content copying and pasting vague and generic language from the handbook which  was denied by the Thai Embassy in Los Angeles.  He said "we don't what to think...we don't want to guess.. so the letter must say what we require or you cannot return to Thailand."  I requested the letter of coverage my first week in America and it took nearly 5 weeks to get what I needed. They only reply by physical mail and that takes 10-14 days to arrive.  In my case it took 2 requests which spanned 4+ weeks to receive a letter accepted by the Embassy. 

I thought about buying covid travel insurance but at my age it was around 120,000 bt for a full year, they required payment in full, and no refunds upon early cancellation.

3-I booked our ASQ hotel on Agoda for 88,000 bt.  I called the hotel to learn about any documents they need and if they had a vegetarian menu. They said DO NOT BOOK on Agoda since there are many documents to send in advance of receiving my paid-in-full reservation confirmation (which is also needed for the COE) and Agoda doesn't have the system in place to request them and they suggested I cancel with Agoda and rebook with them.  When I cancelled  with  Agoda, they stated I would get a ZERO refund!  ZERO!!  Really...<deleted>!! Upon checking with Agoda customer service (email request), they said it is up to the hotel and since the hotel offered zero refund they cannot do otherwise.  I called the hotel and they assured me they have not yet received my funds and this was all on Agoda.  Another call to Agoda..this time they said to call my bank to stop the charge.  I called the bank who said they cannot stop a charge that I authorized just because I changed my mind.  Checking on the Agoda site there  is no customer service telephone number listed anywhere and many of the complaint/request options link back to the same online request form or the FAQ.  So I Googled Agoda and found their HQ is in Singapore so I called them and to my relief they (eventually) gave me a full refund (after a full investigation) and I must say their service 'eventually' was pleasant and satisfying.  However I may not book again with them considering the trouble and the run-around I received early on.  Agoda is part of Hotels.com which also owns Kayak and a few others.

4-The COE website is pretty good but I had an issue that took a bit to sort out.  In the areas to upload documents there are certain limits applied.  For example, the number of documents allowed might be 5 and if I uploaded 6, one of them will not be saved.  The site will accept all 6 and show them in the preview window but when I actually saved them, only 5 got saved and the 6th was not.  Then I got denied due to the lack of THAT document.  I uploaded it again time and again but it was never saved because it was always #6 and the site doesn't pop up an alert of any kind.  Once I figured it out, my solution was to remove and re-arranged my uploads through the edit/update my information.  It was my fault but I would think the validation would be on the 'upload' telling me I am over my limit.  So my advice is to upload your docs, exit the system, then log in to view/edit your file to assure all the necessary uploads were saved.

5-More COE website issues.  I was required to enter my originating flight number departing America and my flight number entering Thailand if they were different.  My carrier was Japan Airlines.  My ticket showed a flight number of 707 so entered it. I was denied for invalid flight number or something (no further explanation was given). Then I edited it to include JAL707. It was denied again. I Googled Japan Airlines and found the ATA ticket designator is JL..so I changed my flights to JL707 ect and all was well. 

The website doesn't validate the ATA ticket designators against a table of values so when I entered it incorrectly and it was accepted, I thought all was well.  Since it takes 2-4 days for the Embassy to view my file each time I updated it, the days clicked by after every error I made.  It was only 1-2 days before we were set to depart that I finally got the COE and I started a full 2 weeks ahead of our departure.

The COE is very specific and they want what they want and when I called the embassy for certain exceptions (lack or marriage license) they were clear that "I may not qualify to return to Thailand" unless I provide exactly what they need.  They have no room for exceptions and they really didn't care if I returned or not!!

I hope that helps.  I vow not to travel to the USA again until all the covid restrictions and COE requirements subside.  The return to Thailand was costly, it wasted 2 weeks of my time, and the documents they require leave no room for exceptions or errors.  I'll pass up the hassle.

One more thing...the PCR test that we both got was the correct test however the certificate stated "Covid 19" test.  At the gate, they rejected the form since it did not specifically state RT-PCR.  I had to sort this out with the testing agency.  It took an hour for the check-in agent to arrive at that conclusion after saying a telephone call from them would do, then changed it to text from them would do, and lastly said only the proper written document would do.  

Ok so I called the testing agency and they edited my file to say RT-PCR. That took 30+ minutes!  Time is running out.  I logged into my account, downloaded the updated document, showed it to the check-in agent and they finally checked me in.  Then I went to the business office to get a printed copy since both JAL and Thailand immigration require only a printed document. I arrived 4 hours early and was first in line so the 90+ minute delay this caused me didn't disrupt my return flight. BUT if I arrived 3 hours ahead I would have been 30th in line or so.  At the rate of check-in, it would have been 90+ minutes in queue and this 90+ minute delay would have certainly caused me to miss the flight.  As it was we were at the gate with only 10-15 minutes to spare!

On 8/13/2021 at 10:47 PM, Dale59 said:

Given that I already know the outcome before it starts I find it more amusing than anything else. It really doesn’t happen often. A handful of times in 11 years. This one was just a doozy. But yeah I get that a lot of guys wouldn’t put up with it. For me the benefits outweigh the few temper tantrums. My first wife was American and was worse. 

Yeah my wife used to get that way at times but only in the car as we headed out for a few days away. One time as we approached Korat I calmly asked her to find GPS directions to the nearest bus station and responded to her inquiry as to "Why?" and said that she obviously didn't like where I was going or how I was driving so my plan is to drop her off at the bus station with 500 bt and she can continue the 4 days on her own while I do the same.  I said we can meet up again back at our house in 5 days ...or not...depends on if she decides to return.  That ended that!

1 hour ago, ronster said:

When is someone going to tell those in charge that you can still get covid even after you have been vaccinated !! 
Are they thinking if they vaccinate everyone that covid will magically disappear ? 
Utterly farcical and as much point as looking for unicorn teeth !!

I don't agree.  The rated efficacy of each vaccine is the % reduction in the rate of infection after the required number of doses.  The vaccine prevents infection by a certain tested percentage AND it prevents serious consequences in those who do get infected.  Also, it is more difficult for Covid to morph into another variant in a person who has been vaccinated than it is in an easy target of one who has not been vaccinated.  If 100% of the population were vaccinated, the theory is Covid will stop morphing and will weaken to become one of the Covid variants similar to the ones that cause the common cold.  Yes we will never be rid of Covid 19 but if we protect the people from serious illness and cause a weakening of the disease..we win.

1 hour ago, PMinThailand said:

I admire the patience of Thai people!

Patience??  They have a lifetime of being told what to do by the varying powers that control the country.  Freedom of speech hasn't really been exercised here and organized protests have been quashed whenever it grows to a point of concern.  All most do is murmur discontent within small groups and are aware they could 'disappear' if their voices get too loud.