Flying to Thailand to reconnect with wife.

[ubonjoe]

44 minutes ago, nchuckle said:

Sorry,perhaps I’m missing something ,Joe,but clicking on that thread and the link posted just takes me to a US application form for non o . I’ve searched on that cannot find any separate list of conditions of which we spoke. I have a non o (retirement) but married to Thai ,with renrtry permit all valid until late January.

It is not just a application for a non-o visa and one is not needed if you have one already.  It is the preliminary steps to apply for entry to the the country.  If you select non-o you see this,

I see no mention of insurance in the infographic.

It is required for non-b visas and etc if you select it.

 

[richard_smith237]

15 hours ago, torturedsole said:

15 hours ago, MiKT said:

My wife has a 10 year UK visa. When can she fly to England to visit our daughter)?

As an aside, have you ever considered settlement for your Thai wife.  Obviously one doesn't have to remain here permanently once settled but does provide a world of opportunity.   

My Wife also has the 10 year visit Visa. Applying for the spouse Visa is only worth while if a family are planning to live in the UK (it costs about £1500, there is also a health service Surcharge (£400 per year)

If I’m not mistaken someone on a Spouse Visa has to remain in the UK for a specific amount of time. 

 

 

If I am not mistaken, it may be possible for your Wife to travel to the UK (as she is already holding a visa), entry is down to the discretion of the Immigration Officer upon arrival. 

 

Eva Air and Qatar Airways seem to have flights. 

 

[i84teen]

Matrix - ITA Software by Google.pdf

18 hours ago, MiKT said:

My wife has a 10 year UK visa. When can she fly to England to visit our daughter)?

Yes, she can fly anytime now on any number of airlines including Qatar, KLM, Quantas, ANA, Korean Air, Sing Air, Lufthansa, Air France, Suisse, Cathay, etc.

 

See attached Cathay booking details and take to any travel agent and you are good to go. all the other above airlines offer flights as well.

Edited June 21, 2020 by i84teen

[Sheryl]

You will not be given a visa or visa exempt entry on arrival (which is what you likely mean) at  Suvanabhumi, this are not being issued, neither are tourist visas. For which reason you would almost certainly be denied entry onto the flight if in fact the flight is operational.

 

The only way to come here is on a repatriation flight, you would have to first get a non O visa to visit your wife and then coordinate the flight plan with Thai Embassy.

 

And no, no one can join you in quarantine.

[DJ54]

Read yesterday that USA will be one of the last countries to allowed in

various countries due to high number of infected. Could be as late as September according to article. ... might check on line at Embassy for

updates. 

 

Another shining star... Cambodia is requiring a deposit of $3,000 USD tied

to visa... possible health checks.. 

[unheard]

2 hours ago, DJ54 said:

Read yesterday that USA will be one of the last countries to allowed in

various countries due to high number of infected. Could be as late as September according to article.

The way it goes the US nationals or anyone else outside of agreed travel bubbles might not get an opportunity to get into Thailand this year without a quarantine.

Edited June 21, 2020 by unheard

[KhaoYai]

OP, you are being given a lot of conflicting advice here.  I have been looking into this for quite some time and from what I have learned - the information Ubon Joe has posted is closest to the mark.

 

It is now possible for those who are married to a Thai (and those with PR) to be granted permission to enter Thailand. You have to obtain a Certificate of Entry (COE) from a Thai Embassy or Consulate. There are various conditions that need to be met in order to be granted a COE.  You will need proof of your marriage, a copy of your wife's passport, and you must agree to be quarantined on arrival and, this is where the information I've seen differs from that of Ubon Joe - you also need insurance that covers you for Covid 19 to the amount of $100,000 US. You also need a 'fit to fly certificate. I don't know if there are special arrangements for US citizens regarding insurance but I haven't seen any. I'm from the UK and its still required.

 

The quarantine must be spent at a Thai hotel listed by Thai Immigration (not cheap). As far as I can see, your biggest problems are that you need to find an Embassy/Consulate that is open and an airline that is actually flying - not just advertising flights.

 

Watching the live arrivals/departures at Suvarnabhumi every day its clear that international flights are coming and going - however, I haven't seen any of the American airlines on those lists yet.

 

Some Embassies/Consulates say they have not been given this advice from Thailand yet and others are as usual applying their own rules as to the list of requirements.  I'd suggest you rely on the information your local Embassy/Consulate gives you when they open. For the moment, just relax in the news that you are now allowed to enter provided that you comply with the conditions.

 

The following confirms the requirements for UK citizens and was issued before those with family/spouses in Thailand were added:

 

non-Thai nationals with work permits or who have already been granted permission from Thai government agencies to work in Thailand, where there is an urgent need to travel – in which case (if you are in the UK) you should email the Royal Thai Embassy at [email protected] to explain your circumstances at least 10 working days before your proposed date of travel. To travel to Thailand as a work permit holder you will require a Certificate of Entry issued by the Royal Thai Embassy or the Royal Thai Consulate-General in your country of departure, a fit-to-fly health certificate (issued no more than 72 hours before travelling), a completed Declaration Form obtained from the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate General in your country of departure, and proof of health insurance covering all medical expenditure up to USD 100,000 minimum while in Thailand. Upon entry into Thailand, you will be subject to a 14-day state quarantine at a Thai government-designated facility at your own expense. If suspected of carrying COVID-19, you may be denied entry into the country

 

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/entry-requirements

 

There's a report on the new entry categories here:

 

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2020/06/19/foreign-spouses-access-to-thailand-as-ministry-releases-entry-criteria/?fbclid=IwAR2RX2dBe3H105Vc7eYDztNf5WW3ebzvYW4iT1ir5lh7RvS8_XZMlsfDhRM

Edited June 21, 2020 by KhaoYai

[drbeach]

On 6/21/2020 at 9:24 PM, i84teen said:

Matrix - ITA Software by Google.pdf 64.4 kB · 4 downloads

Yes, she can fly anytime now on any number of airlines including Qatar, KLM, Quantas, ANA, Korean Air, Sing Air, Lufthansa, Air France, Suisse, Cathay, etc.

 

See attached Cathay booking details and take to any travel agent and you are good to go. all the other above airlines offer flights as well.

Qantas isn't flying to Bangkok again, or anywhere other than NZ until at least late October. Their last flights to Bangkok, aside from maybe one or two repatriation flights to Australia (though most of the more recent ones were operated by THAI) were operated in late March.

Edited June 22, 2020 by drbeach

[xn47140]

Asked the Thai Embassy in Berlin about the rules for entry to Thailand if married to a Thai. Here's the answer translated with Google:

 

"we received a new order from Thailand on Friday. People who are married to a Thai citizen can apply for a special permit to enter Thailand. The following documents must be sent in advance to the Thai embassy by email:

- Copy of the passport (first page with the photo)

- Copy of the passport (first page with the photo) of the Thai spouse

- Copy of visa and re-entry permit for Thailand

- Copy of the marriage certificate - Medical certificate for a negative test for Covid-19

- Fit-to-Fly airworthiness certificate

- Proof of overseas health insurance that includes treatment for COVID-19 in Thailand equivalent to at least $ 100,000

- Copy of the flight confirmation

- Proof of confirmed quarantine stay (hotel booking):

 

When entering the Kingdom, non-Thai nationals must undergo a 14-day quarantine at a state quarantine facility at their own expense. The quarantine may only take place in the following hotels:

1. Mövenpick Wellnes BDMS Resort Hotel

2. Qiu Hotel Sukhumvit

3. The Idle Residence

4. Grand Richmond Hotel

5. Royal Benja Hotel

6. Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel

7. Grande Centerpoint Hotel Sukhumvit

 

At www.hsscovid.com you will find the hotels selected for quarantine and further information

 

- The completed declaration form The documents will be forwarded to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs for approval. In the event of approval, the Thai embassy will contact the applicant. The applicant speaks personally to the embassy within 72 hours before the flight date and submits the following documents:

 

- Medical certificate for a negative test on Covid-19 (not older than 72 hours before departure)

- Fit-to-Fly certificate of fitness to fly (not older than 72 hours before departure)

 

The Thai embassy then issues a certificate of entry. You can also apply for a special permit to enter Thailand at the Consulate General in Frankfurt and the Consulate General in Munich. Please note that the medical certificate and the airworthiness certificate must be submitted twice. In the event of approval, these two certificates, issued within 72 hours before the flight date, must be submitted again in person to the embassy.

 

We recommend that you submit the application to a consulate in your area, based on the short-term personal consultation before the departure date.

 

Best regards Visa section of the Royal Thai Embassy Lepsiusstr. 64-66 12163 Berlin Tel. 030 79481117 (telephone information Mon - Fri from 2.30 p.m. - 5.00 p.m.) Fax 030 79481118 [email protected]"

[Claudio54]

Thanks for all the advises, but my number one concern is the quarantine. I am applying online for the visa, but I am concerned about the quarantine. If I am granted 30 days with multiple re-entry visa, I am forced to spend half of the allotted time alone in a hotel room (because it seems that my wife will not be allowed to be with me), then I probably go stir crazy and waste half of my time doing absolutely nothing. Also, my wife has been in Thailand for 6 months, building our new house. I'm supposed to be there when the monks come to bless the new house before it gets inhabited, so why am I not allowed to spend the quarantine there? In the US, they allow quarantine at home. Why do you have to go on quarantine if you test negative prior to arrival? It is required before you board the flight. Assuming that everybody must be negative on the flight, why is there the need for quarantine?

[richard_smith237]

5 hours ago, xn47140 said:

Asked the Thai Embassy in Berlin about the rules for entry to Thailand if married to a Thai. Here's the answer translated with Google:

 

"we received a new order from Thailand on Friday. People who are married to a Thai citizen can apply for a special permit to enter Thailand. The following documents must be sent in advance to the Thai embassy by email:

- Copy of the passport (first page with the photo)

- Copy of the passport (first page with the photo) of the Thai spouse

- Copy of visa and re-entry permit for Thailand

- Copy of the marriage certificate - Medical certificate for a negative test for Covid-19

- Fit-to-Fly airworthiness certificate

- Proof of overseas health insurance that includes treatment for COVID-19 in Thailand equivalent to at least $ 100,000

- Copy of the flight confirmation

- Proof of confirmed quarantine stay (hotel booking):

 

When entering the Kingdom, non-Thai nationals must undergo a 14-day quarantine at a state quarantine facility at their own expense. The quarantine may only take place in the following hotels:

1. Mövenpick Wellnes BDMS Resort Hotel

2. Qiu Hotel Sukhumvit

3. The Idle Residence

4. Grand Richmond Hotel

5. Royal Benja Hotel

6. Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel

7. Grande Centerpoint Hotel Sukhumvit

 

At www.hsscovid.com you will find the hotels selected for quarantine and further information

 

- The completed declaration form The documents will be forwarded to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs for approval. In the event of approval, the Thai embassy will contact the applicant. The applicant speaks personally to the embassy within 72 hours before the flight date and submits the following documents:

 

- Medical certificate for a negative test on Covid-19 (not older than 72 hours before departure)

- Fit-to-Fly certificate of fitness to fly (not older than 72 hours before departure)

 

The Thai embassy then issues a certificate of entry. You can also apply for a special permit to enter Thailand at the Consulate General in Frankfurt and the Consulate General in Munich. Please note that the medical certificate and the airworthiness certificate must be submitted twice. In the event of approval, these two certificates, issued within 72 hours before the flight date, must be submitted again in person to the embassy.

 

We recommend that you submit the application to a consulate in your area, based on the short-term personal consultation before the departure date.

 

Best regards Visa section of the Royal Thai Embassy Lepsiusstr. 64-66 12163 Berlin Tel. 030 79481117 (telephone information Mon - Fri from 2.30 p.m. - 5.00 p.m.) Fax 030 79481118 [email protected]"

Thanks for the information...

 

I’m curious about the fit to fly and Covid-19 Negative certification. 

 

How would also that time out when we have no idea what flight we can take. 

How long is the Embassy taking to authorise travel to Thailand for a foreigner. 

 

i.e. 

 

Obtain a Fit to Fly Certificate and Covid-19 Negative Certificate at Midday on 24th.

I have to be on a flight before Midday on 27th.

 

How long does the Embassy take to approve the documents? Do embassy require the ‘certificates’ or is that simply to show at checkin upon departure (thus can be obtained once permission to fly is approved) ?

 

 

There is still a significant absence of clarity:

 

Additionally: I don’t mind so much paying the THB50,000 for Quarantine, but as soon as that figure starts to approach THB150,000, well, I just don’t want to be paying that. 

 

Thus: how can we guarantee that we are not going to get stung upon arrival for the ‘expensive’ quarantine option?

 

 

[unheard]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

How would also that time out when we have no idea what flight we can take. 

How long is the Embassy taking to authorise travel to Thailand for a foreigner.

Yeah, that would be nice to know.

But don't think we'll get those details until someone actually goes through the whole process and posts a report.

[ubonjoe]

8 hours ago, Claudio54 said:

I am applying online for the visa, but I am concerned about the quarantine. If I am granted 30 days with multiple re-entry visa, I am forced to spend half of the allotted time alone in a hotel room (because it seems that my wife will not be allowed to be with me), then I probably go stir crazy and waste half of my time doing absolutely nothing.

You will get a 90 day entry if you have a non-o visa. The only visa that only allows a 30 day entry is a transit visa.

[MiKT]

On 6/21/2020 at 6:23 PM, richard_smith237 said:

My Wife also has the 10 year visit Visa. Applying for the spouse Visa is only worth while if a family are planning to live in the UK (it costs about £1500, there is also a health service Surcharge (£400 per year)

If I’m not mistaken someone on a Spouse Visa has to remain in the UK for a specific amount of time. 

 

 

If I am not mistaken, it may be possible for your Wife to travel to the UK (as she is already holding a visa), entry is down to the discretion of the Immigration Officer upon arrival. 

 

Eva Air and Qatar Airways seem to have flights. 

 

Thanks for nice replies and (as always) useful info from Ubonjoe.

 

Just to clear things up, after a lot of buggering about here in Thailand, we found out that (at that time - pre 2006) you could adopt a Thai child here, but they would not be awarded UK citizenship. So in 2006, we obtained a settlement visa for my wife (+ a visa for the only one of my three Thai daughters still under the age of 18) and went to the UK to live.

 

My wife got all the papers for the citizenship exam and hired a tutor (what a pain in the ass that exam is, who the hell, except the obvious few, needs to know all about the Welsh parliament) and we (after a huge amount of a hard work) managed to complete all the adoption formalities. Finally, after a high court appearance (with a very nice Judge) my daughter was formally adopted and obtained a UK birth certificate - followed quickly by a UK passport.

 

However, after nearly 3 years in the UK with several trips home, it became apparent that my wife would never settle permanently in the UK and we came home; although my daughter remained in the UK and has lived there ever since. 

 

So my wife gave up on obtaining UK citizenship for herself and we got her a 10 year visa with no hassles. Now she goes to the UK to stay with our daughter, or her sister, for up-to 6 months every year and is currently on her second 10 year visa, which suits us all perfectly. Of course I can stay in the UK at any time, its the on-going never ending hassle because I want to live here that is the problem.

 

Also, incredibly,  we still have problems obtaining UK visitor visa's for her sisters. Last time we applied a couple of years ago one daughter was refused a visa because she had not visited the UK enough and by the same immigration officer on the same day, the other daughter was refused a visa because she had visited the UK too many times. 

My on-going saga of trying to right this wrong and the unbelievable cock-ups by the appeal judges, which has soured my previously unshakable faith in British justice, has been aired on TV before and is too long to go into here.  

 

Anyway

 

My original query was simply to find out if she was able to fly to the UK now and if she needed to carry out any special entry formalities.

Seems all is clear now and she will go in a couple of weeks.

 

Thanks again to all and I hope that it will be easer; and safer, for us all to travel anywhere asap.

[richard_smith237]

56 minutes ago, MiKT said:

Thanks for nice replies and (as always) useful info from Ubonjoe.

 

Just to clear things up, after a lot of buggering about here in Thailand, we found out that (at that time - pre 2006) you could adopt a Thai child here, but they would not be awarded UK citizenship. So in 2006, we obtained a settlement visa for my wife (+ a visa for the only one of my three Thai daughters still under the age of 18) and went to the UK to live.

 

My wife got all the papers for the citizenship exam and hired a tutor (what a pain in the ass that exam is, who the hell, except the obvious few, needs to know all about the Welsh parliament) and we (after a huge amount of a hard work) managed to complete all the adoption formalities. Finally, after a high court appearance (with a very nice Judge) my daughter was formally adopted and obtained a UK birth certificate - followed quickly by a UK passport.

 

However, after nearly 3 years in the UK with several trips home, it became apparent that my wife would never settle permanently in the UK and we came home; although my daughter remained in the UK and has lived there ever since. 

 

So my wife gave up on obtaining UK citizenship for herself and we got her a 10 year visa with no hassles. Now she goes to the UK to stay with our daughter, or her sister, for up-to 6 months every year and is currently on her second 10 year visa, which suits us all perfectly. Of course I can stay in the UK at any time, its the on-going never ending hassle because I want to live here that is the problem.

 

Also, incredibly,  we still have problems obtaining UK visitor visa's for her sisters. Last time we applied a couple of years ago one daughter was refused a visa because she had not visited the UK enough and by the same immigration officer on the same day, the other daughter was refused a visa because she had visited the UK too many times. 

My on-going saga of trying to right this wrong and the unbelievable cock-ups by the appeal judges, which has soured my previously unshakable faith in British justice, has been aired on TV before and is too long to go into here.  

 

Anyway

 

My original query was simply to find out if she was able to fly to the UK now and if she needed to carry out any special entry formalities.

Seems all is clear now and she will go in a couple of weeks.

 

Thanks again to all and I hope that it will be easer; and safer, for us all to travel anywhere asap.

Best of luck, I hope it all works out and your wife has a trouble free trip to the UK. 

Edited June 24, 2020 by richard_smith237