10years

Of course it makes sense to get a e-visa online rather than spend a good part of a day trekking to Laksi. And I personally dread any dealings with immigration. But pre-pandemic you could get a TV in 15 minutes. Now you have to have 15 days. In my case I decided on the spur of the moment on a late Friday to go to Thailand on the following Tuesday. That's one working day to get a visa. So I had no choice but to board the plane w/o a visa. I flew on Philippine Airlines. My return flight was a month and a half away, but got no grief. On PAL and JAL, you can book a return flight within 30 days, then when you're here in LOS, change the return flight to a later date. Some airlines aren't charging any change fees. On my arrival card, where it asks the duration of your visit, I put 30 days. The IO said to me, oh, you didn't get a visa. I see, you're only staying 30 days, then stamped me in. But as I passed him, I told him I would have to get an extension since I had no time to get a visa.

Just decided late Friday to make a trip to Thailand. Plane leaves tomorrow (Tuesday). No time to get a e-tourist visa. Hopefully immigration will let me in visa-exempt. I plan to stay more than a month, so will need to get an extension. I will be staying mainly in Bangkok, but will make a side trip to Pattaya at about the 30-day mark. I'm wondering if I should get the extension while I'm still in Bangkok, or when I'm in Pattaya. Can you apply for an extension right after entering the country, or do you have to wait a certain number of days? If I'm only staying in Pattaya a short time, can I still get an extension while there? As far as immigration offices are concerned, is Bangkok or Pattaya (Jomtien?) preferable? And can you get an extension at Bumrungrad Hospital?

I just got my second Thailand Pass using Thai Social Security. ???? My plastic card also expired during the pandemic. All you have to do is go to your SSO district office and order a new one. They told me it'll take a month, which is a vast improvement over 3 months in the past. But they'll charge you 10 baht and give you a receipt for the fee. I uploaded a pic of my old card to TP. To get your QR code, you don't need to download any app. Just go to ssoconnect.mywallet.co, enter your social security number (as one number, no slashes, dashes or blanks) and local phone number and tap Send. Take a snap or pic of the resulting QR code and upload that. You should also set up an account on the SSO website. Remember that wherever it asks for your national ID number, use your SSO ID number. Once you have your online account, one of the choices is verification of your current status. Take a snap or pic of that on the day you submit your application for a TP and upload that.

Great news! Just a few questions. Was there a wait to be tested? And how long until the result comes out? Does this testing center operate 24/7? TIA

Just got a phone call from JAL to inform me of boarding procedures. Really nice of them cause I was worried about potential problems at the airport. Neither Thailand nor the carrier require a PCR Covid-19 test. All I have to show at check-in, besides my passport, is the Thailand Pass. Asked if I have to print it out and she said preparing a hardcopy was much better. No need to show a hotel reservation. Getting the T&G hotel reservation was easy. Getting the TP was surprisingly easy. Now it looks like flying to Thailand will be a breeze.

I wouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly. It's clear that a Thailand Pass application can be approved in less than an hour. If it isn't, it probably means that TP has to wait for something. TP has changed its SOP. It now needs to get confirmation of a paid, nonrefundable T&G reservation directly from your hotel. I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of the delays are due to the hotels. If your TP application is stuck in limbo, you should check with your hotel that they have really submitted the required information to TP. If they said they did, ask them for the date they did. And it won't hurt to ask them to resend the confirmation to TP. In the OP's case, it sounds like the hotel is to blame, not TP. Also, when you submit your materials to TP, they will send back a code. Use that code to verify that your application is in processing. For those who got a quick QR code, did you provide your details to your hotel before filling out the TP online form?

Someone recommended printing 3 copies of all your documents before flying to Thailand. I fail to understand why so many copies are needed. Isn’t one per document enough? Also, which documents need paper copies? Note: I will be arriving next month. I will be using JAL. What documents do they check at the departure and transit (Narita) airports? Do they need to see your proof of insurance and hotel booking, even though those are already covered by the TP QR code? Anyone experience any problems at check-in or boarding? Does JAL do things differently?

Finally bit the bullet and booked my first trip to Bangkok in more than 2 years! Registered for Thailand Pass on a Tuesday night at about 8:30 and got the QR email about 8:30 on Thursday night. Maneuvering through the TP site was a lot smoother than I was led to believe. Thought it would be clunky and glitchy, but no big surprises or hiccups. Some people recommend preparing all your jpegs before applying, but I found it clearer to do the scanning and jpegs as I went along, because the site shows exactly what they want. For example, they want only the bottom half of the passport and they want it to be perfectly flat. That meant I couldn’t use the pic I took of my passport. I had to scan it. The site also tells you if the jpeg is too big. There is an easy way to downsize a pic that takes the guesswork out of it. Double click on a pic to bring it up in the Windows Photos app. Click on the icon with 3 dots. Click on Resize. It will give you 3 preset choices. Click on Best for viewing. The US just has a cardboard vaccination card. But you can get a QR code through the VAMS website. VAMS is a service of the US’ CDC, so it’s free and ultra legit. For insurance, I didn’t see any place to input the Social Security Office alternative. So I loaded pics of my SSO ID card, the eligibility page from my account on the SSO website and the SSO Connect QR code. I was worried about the card as it’s more than 2 years old but it turned out not to be a problem. Seems like TPs don’t get approved as fast as before because they need to get a confirmation of your reservation directly from your T&G hotel. Note: If you book through Agoda, they can check your reservation online without having to communicate with your hotel. That could speed things up. Actually I learned about the approval before receiving the email with the QR code. I got a email from my T&G hotel providing details on my airport transportation and hotel reservation. So out of curiosity I checked the status of my application on the TP website and it said approved. Since I'll be arriving next month, no need for a pre-boarding PCR test. You can't believe how much of a relief that is. The entry process is already stressful, but that means that once you get the TP approval, you're done. One less headache to fret about.

SSO Connect e-card There's no need to download the Mywallet app. Just use the website. It's very simple. Open the ssoconnect.mywallet.co webpage. There are two boxes to fill in. In the upper box, type your 13-digit social security number. This serves as your national ID number. You don't need to own a house or wife. Note: don't add any hyphens or spaces. In the lower box, type your phone number. I assume it has to be a Thai number and the number is associated with your SSO account. Press the blue "send" button. On the next page that appears, press the orange "accept" button. On the following page, click the button for Android or iPhone. On the following page, press the left button. This will bring up the last page with the QR code. Scan the QR code, go to the website, download the pass.pkpass file and open the file with any wallet app to get your card.

The old paper cards were also good for only two years. They also had the name of your designated medical facility (hospital). Do the new plastic cards also list your hospital?

What I was curious about is can someone scan your QR code and view your vaccination history without having to input a PIN code or your password?

VAMS I posted this on another thread but check if your state uses VAMS (vams.cdc.gov). Many do. This online appointment system is as kosher as it gets as it's run by none other than the CDC. And it's perfectly free. The landing page offers access via two portals. One is for recipients who have set up an account and registered a password. The other is a guest portal. You can access your vaccination record via either portal. Once you pull up your record, there is a link to generate a QR code. You have to create a PIN code for anyone to use the QR code. As for other states with records online, there are apps that can generate a QR code for that web page. Question: For the MyChart QR code, does it require a PIN code to use?

Trial runs Has anyone tried a trial run? It seems that you can complete the flight info without actually buying a ticket, but what about insurance and the test-and-go hotel? I'm taking a wait-and-see stance in case the Thailand Plus scheme gets easier, but in the meantime would like to ascertain whether my vaccination card and Thai social security insurance pass muster.

Has anyone tried submitting only the info for the second vaccination? Don't understand the need for details on the first vaccination. After all, you can't get your second shot until you get your first. Similarly, what about just the booster?

Please keep us. posted. I also want to know what that QR code is good for and how long it's valid.

That might be the least of your problems: Visa application system is temporary unavailable due to system maintenance. The system will resume on 18 November 2021 and the processing time might take longer than usual. Sorry for any inconvenience.

For anyone with questions about SSO, please collect a yellow booklet from any SSO branch. It’s free and in good English. SSO used to issue paper cards in Thai. They were also good for 2 years. If you needed a copy or replacement, the SSO branch would print one out on the spot for free. Now Thais only need to show the hospital their ID card. Aliens are now provided a plastic card in Thai. A replacement card costs B10 and takes 60 days. I had to get one myself. In case you change your address, be sure the address for mailing the card gets updated. The SSO used to mail you a blue letter verifying receipt of your monthly contribution, but now they send SMS messages. There are 3 sections. Two are for Voluntarily Insured Person. S33 is for employees, 39 for retirees and 40 for the self-employed. Note that when you leave a company, your 33 terminates. Your coverage does not automatically continue and can’t be extended. You must apply for 39 and be approved. 39 has the same benefits as 33 except unemployment insurance. The monthly contribution is B432 but the government occasionally lowers it to relieve the burden on people during trying times. There are many payment channels, including 7-Eleven. To qualify for 39 you only need to pay in to 33 for 12 months. For ThaiPass, to show proof, you can open an online account on the SSO’s website. When you log in, the first page that comes up is your eligibility status. Another page will show your contribution record. There are a couple phone apps that will produce a SSO Connect QR code. But you don’t have to download an app. On your browser, open ssoconnect.mywallet.co. Enter your 13-digit SSO number and Thai cellphone number, then click send. On the resulting page, click the orange button at the bottom. Choose Android or iPhone. Click on the left Mywallet button. If anyone knows how to use the QR code, please post here.

Don't worry. Scanning the QR code doesn't work. You have to type in the number into Mor Chana. Then you'll be able to see the same info.

MFA Spokesman Tanee Sangrat: "On health insurance for foreign travelers, I clarify: 1. Foreigners in Thailand can use their Social Security as health insurance (designated hospitals.) Use of SSO card as proof will b proposed in CCSA Op Ctr; 2. Travelers can provide proof of either Thai or non-Thai insurance."

Wow. Just found out that JAL offers free covid coverage for 31 days as follows: "JAL has teamed up with Allianz Travel to provide all customers traveling on JAL international flights complimentary cover for medical, testing and quarantine expenses incurred as a result of testing positive for COVID-19 during their travel." Has anyone used this to satisfy COE requirements?

Ok, thanks.

If that's the case, where can a 70+ year-old US citizen apply for the new $50,000 policy? Also, it seems to me that premiums should have come down cause we're talking about fully vaccinated visitors here.

Has anyone managed to snare a COE by citing coverage under Thailand's Social Security scheme in lieu of buying a separate (and expensive) insurance policy? If so, what kind of documentation was needed to submit?