KhaoYai

Bringing this into perspective: Thailand was placed on the UK's Red List on 30 August and will be removed on 11 October - so those poor Thai's were prevented from travelling to the UK for just 6 weeks. Must have taken a Mammoth effort by Anutin to change that????. I doubt the UK Ambassador will have passed Anutin's requests on. Doubtless Thailand's vaccination programme is finally gathering pace but the UK would not have been taking too much notice of the claimed 47 million vaccinations as the majority of them would be single doses. Having had some discussions with 2 UK MP's regarding travel between the UK and Thailand, I'm convinced that soemthing's going on between the 2 countries and its nothing to do with Covid 19. I believe the decisions made are very much political rather than health based. The West is very concerned about the rise of Chinese influence across S.E. Asia and will no doubt be seeking to retain 'friends'. Given that other countries with far lower infection rates and better vaccination progress were added to the Red List far earlier, it is very strange that it took until 30 August for Thailand to join them. Nothing to do with Anutin - pure propaganda!

Wait a moment, I read that they gave private hospitals permission to sell Pfizer vaccines but are you saying they are selling AZ too? If the hospitals are making a profit, that would go some way to explaining the slow progress with the Thai produced AZ product. AZ's policy is to supply their vaccine on a 'not for profit' basis whilst the situation remains a Pandemic. I have long suspected that the slow production of the AZ vaccine in Thailand is the result of contractual issues rather than physical production. I would think a partner company, supplying hospitals who are making a profit would lead to exactly those type of issues.

Who's embarrassed?

You were lucky and he might as well give that a go but we tried it and were sent packing.

The UK and China are not exactly on good terms at the moment + the Chinese vaccines have been shown to be much less effective than others. I can't see this position lasting forever but I'd be very surprised if they changed their stance for quite some time. Mind you, I didn't think Thailand had a cat in hell's chance of getting off the red list until at least 60% of the population was vaccinated - who knows what happens behind closed doors?

A few excerpts - see the full text for clarification. Proof of vaccination You must be able to prove that you’ve been fully vaccinated under a vaccination programme with approved proof of certification. There are several ways to prove vaccination status: the NHS COVID pass if you live in England the EU Digital COVID Certificate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination card for US residents a vaccine certificate Vaccine certificates only If you use a vaccine certificate as proof, it must be issued by a national or state-level public health authority, be in English, French or Spanish, and include as a minimum: your forename and surname(s) your date of birth vaccine brand and manufacturer date of vaccination for every dose country or territory of vaccination and/or certificate issuer Countries with an approved proof of vaccination and examples of proof required List of countries and territories with approved proof of vaccination for travel to England and examples of proof of vaccination. If you were vaccinated in a country or territory that is not on this list, or with a vaccine that is not listed, you must follow the rules for people who do not qualify as fully vaccinated. If you have been in a red list country or territory in the 10 days before you arrive in England, you must follow the red list rules. You must do this whether you qualify as fully vaccinated or not. Thailand Will be added to this list of countries and territories with approved proof of vaccination 4am Monday 11 October. If you arrive in England before that date you must follow the rules for people who are not fully vaccinated. If you arrive after that, you can use a vaccine certificate to prove your vaccination status. This country is currently on the red list. If you have been in a red list country or territory in the 10 days before you arrive in England, you must follow the red list rules https://www.gov.uk/guidance/countries-with-approved-covid-19-vaccination-programmes-and-proof-of-vaccination?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=284b62fe-1f4f-418b-83dd-cc4d76a316ea&utm_content=immediately

Flooding?

Barrow is wrong. Where 2 doses of a vaccine are required for a full course, you can: mix 2 different types of vaccine from the above list, for example Oxford/AstraZeneca and Moderna have the 2 vaccinations under 2 different approved programmes, for example Australia and Japan, UK and USA, France and Canada https://www.gov.uk/guidance/countries-with-approved-covid-19-vaccination-programmes-and-proof-of-vaccination?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=284b62fe-1f4f-418b-83dd-cc4d76a316ea&utm_content=immediately

Where 2 doses of a vaccine are required for a full course, you can: mix 2 different types of vaccine from the above list, for example Oxford/AstraZeneca and Moderna have the 2 vaccinations under 2 different approved programmes, for example Australia and Japan, UK and USA, France and Canada https://www.gov.uk/guidance/countries-with-approved-covid-19-vaccination-programmes-and-proof-of-vaccination?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=284b62fe-1f4f-418b-83dd-cc4d76a316ea&utm_content=immediately

Oh I have got it - I have a home in Thailand but I wouldn't consider myself as a 'tourist'.

Jeez....... it was a pun!

Fully aware of that - just got my wife's NHS Pass. I was being sarcastic in relation to Thailand requiring a ticket to get the cert.

Unless its related to a trade deal, I doubt the UK will ever approve the Chinese vaccines.

I would agree but I doubt many 'tourists' have a house 500m away.

No doubt they will also stipulate that the certificate only applies to the travel on the ticket and a new cert needs to be obtained for any subsequent travel. Much the same as they do with confirmations of address which only apply to one particular use - writen on it!

'Tourists' would have to pay for accommodation in any case.

You cannot usually choose which vaccine is given in the UK. You can ask which one is available and if they will give you it but you cannot choose on a whim.

I think he meant 'doused' not aroused ????.

Yes, you can get vaccinated immediately but you will have to wait 8 weeks between jabs as things stand at the moment. That applies to both British citizens and foreign nationals visiting the UK. The UK doesn't discriminate when it comes to vaccinations - even illegal immigrants can be vaccinated, no questions asked. If you want to be able to prove your vaccination status, you will need to have an NHS number - again that does not depend on your nationality. Case in point: My wife (Thai) visited me in the UK this year and had her first vaccination (without an NHS number) on 1 August. I then registered her with my GP as a temporary resident and she had her NHS number within 2 weeks. She then downloaded the NHS Application to her phone and we got in touch with the vaccination centre she had her jab at and asked them to update her details to the NHS using her NHS number. Within 2 days, proof of her vaccination was registered and appeared on the NHS Application. She had her second vaccination on 2 October which was also registered against her NHS number within 24 hours. You can access your vaccination certificates without the NHS App on your phone - you can ask for a paper version by post but you will need an NHS number.

Update to this: Despite days of phone calls and being assured by the ground staff at Manchester Airport that as a Thai citizen, going in to quarantine on arrival, my wife would not need a negative PCR test result to be able to fly home - we arrived at the airport this afternoon and she was asked to provide one at check-in. Just as well I'd ignored the airport's announcements that only those actually travelling should enter the terminal buildings. After 15 minutes of arguing, the staff making phone calls and checking websites, my wife was issued with a boarding pass. If I hadn't accompanied her to check-in, I think I'd have got a phone call asking to be picked up. Anyone in the same position needs to make sure the ground staff look at the rules for: A. Thai Citizens travelling on a Thai Passport. and B. They need to ignore the first set of rules on their Traveldoc website and apply only those from the second bullet point down. The set of rules on the first bullet point are only applicable to those entering under one of the Sandbox Schemes. All other Thai citizens come under the rules from the second bullet point down which state that an RT-PCR test is advised. Traveldoc could easily recify this situation by clearly distinguishing between the 2 types of entry - I'm not writing to them again, they made ammendments after my first e-mail but never actually replied to me. I can't be sure on this but some Thai's who have both UK and Thai passports leave the UK on their UK passport. I would strongly advise against that at the moment because I believe they would then come under the rules for foreigners which are different.

Unfortunately though, its a game that us 'ordinary people' never win. Whereas those with the ability to hide their money and pay substantially less tax seem to be able to do so with ease. Parent/Holding Companies are set up in low or zero tax locations and send forward management charges to their subsidiaries elsewhere, swallowing up much or all their profits. The profit ends up in the tax haven - thus no or reduced tax. A system set up by and for the rich - try doing that on PAYE. The whole system is set up to make sure the majority of us have no choice but to pay our taxes. Quite often offce cleaners end up paying more tax than the directors who's offices they clean!

There's a lot more to it than just offshore 'tax havens' - lots of dodgy dealings are being brought to light. Boris is getting a grilling over some donations - 1/2 a mill£ a 'kind hearted' businessman gave the Tories and of course didn't want or get anything in return. The Ukraine PM found to have a couple of undeclared villas - etc. etc. etc. No doubt more will emerge about further dodgy dealings in Thailand but as with the UK, nothing will come of it. Big news for a few days then slowly it goes away.

Jeez I'm a pervert then. Dating - I liken it to buying a car, if you want to have a good time without any cares, you buy the newest most sporty model you can afford. However, if you're looking for something for long journeys etc, perhaps something more practical is better.

Thailand will have to get its vaxxed % up quite a lot before its removed from the UK's Red List.

A couple of important points: Although they know the Traveldoc site is unreliable, you will still have to comply with the actual requirements. My enquiries were only with the ground staff at Manchester Airport - operated on behalf of KLM by Stobart Aviation. Different staff at other airports may have their own interpretation of the rules.