Repatriation for Thai partners

[Pedrogaz]

I have been separated from my Thai partner for 3 months now. I am in Thailand and she is in Japan. She has to finish up some business at the end of August and then wishes to return. She has the return portion of her original JAL flight that can be extended for up to a year or we can apply for a refund.

 

She has been to the Thai embassy but says the are useless and give out little of no useful information.

 

My question is can she fly back on her original JAL ticket at some later date. JAL don't charge anything for this. What documentation will she need for this? 

IF she elects to try to try to get on a repatriation flight, are these flights free of charge, or will she have to pay for the flight? Does she need less documentation for a repatriation flight. To be honest I am alarmed at the Hugh number of COVID cases that are emerging from Thais and farang's in quarantine.

 

Thanks

[lopburi3]

The only option at this time is reparation flights using Embassy as pax flights are still not allowed into Thailand.  Yes it has to be paid for and upon arrival there will be 2 weeks in quarantine.  Have not seen any report of covid transmission in Thai reparation quarantine.  The covid has been picked up prior or during travel.  If she waits for normal flights what will be required is not known at this time.

[rimmae2]

I find it hard to believe the statement in your 2nd para and I doubt if the Embassy staff would be so happy to hear this.

 

There have been many repatriation flights from Tokyo inlcuding one three days ago which included many non Thai Nationals as well as of course Thais. Thais take priority and as you can see from below now and recently many non-Thais have been and are returning to Bangkok. I know Thai and Japanese Citizens who have returned from Japan.

 

It should not be very difficult for your wife to receive approval for a flight from Tokyo and the longer she leaves it there may be a chance that there are no further repatriation flights. 

 

"Weekly repatriation flight by Royal Thai Embassy, Tokyo on 7 August 2020 carrying 145 non-Thai nationals with Certificates of Entry into Thailand. They comprise, 132 Japanese, 5 Americans, 3 Indians, 2 Koreans & one each from Bolivia, China & Russia."

[Nigel Garvie]

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

The only option at this time is reparation flights using Embassy as pax flights are still not allowed into Thailand.  Yes it has to be paid for and upon arrival there will be 2 weeks in quarantine.  Have not seen any report of covid transmission in Thai reparation quarantine.  The covid has been picked up prior or during travel.  If she waits for normal flights what will be required is not known at this time.

Thanks, lopburi3 and Petrogas for raising this issue.

 

My Thai partner and I have been back in Scotland for 6 weeks, but she has to return to CM for work etc soon. Her KLM return flight was cancelled, and we are also told the only option is a repatriation flight. Endless attempts to contact the Thai embassy in London have failed. The phone menu options just lead you in circles, clearly like so many of them in business this was written by a sadist.

 

If anyone can offer any help or advice about how we should tackle this (Whilst we still retain some sanity!) I/we would be very grateful.

[Wars]

2 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

My question is can she fly back on her original JAL ticket at some later date. JAL don't charge anything for this. What documentation will she need for this? 

I think you should be able to use that original ticket if they use JAL as repatriation flight. Because I flew in from the USA using an Open Korean air ticket since my flight was cancelled months ago. They were able to apply it for the repatriation flight. I would keep the ticket opened if anything because the repatriation flights are more expensive than normal if they let you use the old ticket to cover the costs it'd save you money. I'm sure theres flights coming in from Japan as well because the USA embassy lists Japan airlines for 2 dates and I'm sure they'll make a stop in Japan before going to Thailand. Thats what happened on my Korean air flight a lot of Koreans got on in Seoul during the layover.

 

Arriving in Thailand on 18 August 2020 –Japan Airlines/American Airlines

Arriving in Thailand on 25 August 2020 –Japan Airlines/American Airlines

[Pedrogaz]

Thanks all for the replies and suggestions. Her current flight is booked for the 22nd of August, but it has been cancelled and we must change it to another day, but have no guarantee that any new flight will fly as scheduled.

 

The problem at the embassy is hundreds of people every day and a lack of information (according to my partner). We have over our long relationship had numerous problems with the embassy in Tokyo (we live partly in Tokyo and partly in Thailand). They seem to cut from the same cloth as our good folks in the land office and amper.

[rimmae2]

Check website, social media, other Thais in Japan contact Ambassador, etc, etc. Here below is an announcement. There are and will be flights and Thai Nationals have priority, as they should do. Maybe a person who is registered for this flight does not obtain COE and space is available. If as many non Thais as in my earlier post obtained COE and travelled to Bangkok (one being a colleague) then it may suggest that there are Thais in Japan who want to remain as they have business there.

 

http://site.thaiembassy.jp/en/news/announcement/9228/

[sometimewoodworker]

On 8/10/2020 at 1:32 PM, rimmae2 said:

I find it hard to believe the statement in your 2nd para and I doubt if the Embassy staff would be so happy to hear this.

Having had contact with the Tokyo embassy consular section for many years in its 3 locations, both for myself and Thai friends, I find it much more believable than you do.
 

Some of the staff are helpful others not so much. I don’t think that most of the staff would care about the opinions of non staff.

[Bender Rodriguez]

On 8/10/2020 at 12:52 PM, Pedrogaz said:

my Thai partner for 3 months now. I am in Thailand and she is in Japan.

curious what kind of "job" she does in japan

[ratcatcher]

2 minutes ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

curious what kind of "job" she does in japan

I imagine she's training as a Geisha girl?  What does it matter?

[jimmycabs]

On 8/10/2020 at 9:01 AM, Nigel Garvie said:

Thanks, lopburi3 and Petrogas for raising this issue.

 

My Thai partner and I have been back in Scotland for 6 weeks, but she has to return to CM for work etc soon. Her KLM return flight was cancelled, and we are also told the only option is a repatriation flight. Endless attempts to contact the Thai embassy in London have failed. The phone menu options just lead you in circles, clearly like so many of them in business this was written by a sadist.

 

If anyone can offer any help or advice about how we should tackle this (Whilst we still retain some sanity!) I/we would be very grateful.

To register for a repatriation flight , you must complete the registration online, from a link on their website. Go to Thaiembassy.org, scroll down and choose the Uk as your country, there Will be two links, left is for English, right is for Thai, when you get to the homepage, on the news feed on the right hand side there will be a link to repatriation flights, giving full details of how to register and requirements for the embassy. There were three flights released for August which are all fully booked, the flights are made up of , 300 Thais and 50 Europeans. They will release more flights in September, with Thai airways, the cost is £698 one way.

The requirements for Thais are less exhaustive than Europeans travelling, on arrival they will be required to spend two weeks in state quarantine. My mate who was on last Sunday’s flight told me he asked some Thais on the flight where they would be spending their quarantine time, and none had been told where they were going. Hope this is of some help, good luck ????

 

[AlbionBob]

Yes, Jimmy is correct.  Having registered at Thai Embassy, and submitting all her details, my wife and her daughter got accepted for the Eva Airways flight on 19 July from Heathrow to Bangkok.  Two days prior they had to attend the Embassy for a (basic) medical and to obtain the necessary documentation.  Long queues outside the embassy and long queues at Heathrow to check in !  They had no idea where they were quarantining, but on arrival were bussed to North Pattaya.  Had to separate and had two weeks on their own.  Hotel comfortable but food very basic.   They were happy to survive and have now settled back in their home country.  When I get to see them again I have no idea, probably sometime next year......

[georgey]

On 8/10/2020 at 9:01 AM, Nigel Garvie said:

Thanks, lopburi3 and Petrogas for raising this issue.

 

My Thai partner and I have been back in Scotland for 6 weeks, but she has to return to CM for work etc soon. Her KLM return flight was cancelled, and we are also told the only option is a repatriation flight. Endless attempts to contact the Thai embassy in London have failed. The phone menu options just lead you in circles, clearly like so many of them in business this was written by a sadist.

 

If anyone can offer any help or advice about how we should tackle this (Whilst we still retain some sanity!) I/we would be very grateful.

My (Thai) wife & I are also "stuck" in Scotland (though for the purposes of this discussion, I think Scotland is no different to the rest of the UK, particularly as most, or maybe all, repat flights leave from LHR), & have been for 5 months now. My wife originally (sometime last month) attempted to register & join a queue to get on a flight; this drew a blank, & according to Facebook posts, no-one knew how many were in the queue, or what their position was; eventually the embassy gave up on this approach & announced that they would be open for new online registrations/flight bookings at 9am on 31/7. This of course led to a huge number of people trying to get into the system at the same time, & its inevitable crashing. However, it came back to life, & she was confirmed, the same day, on the TG flight from LHR - BKK on 23rd of this month. You need to register via https://thaiembassy.sociallab.co.th/ , & this will lead to your being given a link to set up a password in a process which appears to be v convoluted & frustrating, but which may eventually get you where you want to be. She's going back partly because her permission to stay (180 days) runs out next month. Being Thai, she doesn't need the virus test (presumably so that if she was carrying the disease, she'd be able to infect others on the flight) or insurance, & the fit-to-fly cert. is v. easy to arrange (can be done on a phone call (so you have to wonder about the point of it), the one we'll be using costing £80).

The embassy appears to rely on Facebook for the spread of information (or rumours), which strikes me as being strangely (or hugely, maybe) informal & unprofessional, as well as potentially misleading. My wife has yet to receive any request for payment, or any follow-up confirmation, since the initial communication of 31/7; we would, of course, have expected something more comprehensive soon after that date, in part because we have to arrange domestic flights & other little details. As you say, there is absolutely no hope of getting through on the phone, so we'll just have to wait.

I haven't yet tried to register, but will do soon. I had been hoping that, if I waited long enough, I'd be able to use the return leg of my (Emirates) flight, but I think, unfortunately, that will have to go in the bin. If you'd like to know how I get on with this & all the associated requirements, I'd be happy to share with you.

[Max69xl]

On 8/10/2020 at 3:01 PM, Nigel Garvie said:

Thanks, lopburi3 and Petrogas for raising this issue.

 

My Thai partner and I have been back in Scotland for 6 weeks, but she has to return to CM for work etc soon. Her KLM return flight was cancelled, and we are also told the only option is a repatriation flight. Endless attempts to contact the Thai embassy in London have failed. The phone menu options just lead you in circles, clearly like so many of them in business this was written by a sadist.

 

If anyone can offer any help or advice about how we should tackle this (Whilst we still retain some sanity!) I/we would be very grateful.

The only way is through the Thai embassy in London. Keep calling or emailing them. 

[roquefort]

5 hours ago, georgey said:

My (Thai) wife & I are also "stuck" in Scotland (though for the purposes of this discussion, I think Scotland is no different to the rest of the UK, particularly as most, or maybe all, repat flights leave from LHR), & have been for 5 months now. My wife originally (sometime last month) attempted to register & join a queue to get on a flight; this drew a blank, & according to Facebook posts, no-one knew how many were in the queue, or what their position was; eventually the embassy gave up on this approach & announced that they would be open for new online registrations/flight bookings at 9am on 31/7. This of course led to a huge number of people trying to get into the system at the same time, & its inevitable crashing. However, it came back to life, & she was confirmed, the same day, on the TG flight from LHR - BKK on 23rd of this month. You need to register via https://thaiembassy.sociallab.co.th/ , & this will lead to your being given a link to set up a password in a process which appears to be v convoluted & frustrating, but which may eventually get you where you want to be. She's going back partly because her permission to stay (180 days) runs out next month. Being Thai, she doesn't need the virus test (presumably so that if she was carrying the disease, she'd be able to infect others on the flight) or insurance, & the fit-to-fly cert. is v. easy to arrange (can be done on a phone call (so you have to wonder about the point of it), the one we'll be using costing £80).

The embassy appears to rely on Facebook for the spread of information (or rumours), which strikes me as being strangely (or hugely, maybe) informal & unprofessional, as well as potentially misleading. My wife has yet to receive any request for payment, or any follow-up confirmation, since the initial communication of 31/7; we would, of course, have expected something more comprehensive soon after that date, in part because we have to arrange domestic flights & other little details. As you say, there is absolutely no hope of getting through on the phone, so we'll just have to wait.

I haven't yet tried to register, but will do soon. I had been hoping that, if I waited long enough, I'd be able to use the return leg of my (Emirates) flight, but I think, unfortunately, that will have to go in the bin. If you'd like to know how I get on with this & all the associated requirements, I'd be happy to share with you.

Yes Georgey, I would be interested to know how you get on. My wife got a repatriation flight back in June, it went quite smoothly then although I expect demand is higher now. I'm stuck in UK wondering when I might be able to join her, so I may register with the embassy soon. Please PM me with any useful info.

[Nigel Garvie]

8 hours ago, jimmycabs said:

To register for a repatriation flight , you must complete the registration online, from a link on their website. Go to Thaiembassy.org, scroll down and choose the Uk as your country, there Will be two links, left is for English, right is for Thai, when you get to the homepage, on the news feed on the right hand side there will be a link to repatriation flights, giving full details of how to register and requirements for the embassy. There were three flights released for August which are all fully booked, the flights are made up of , 300 Thais and 50 Europeans. They will release more flights in September, with Thai airways, the cost is £698 one way.

The requirements for Thais are less exhaustive than Europeans travelling, on arrival they will be required to spend two weeks in state quarantine. My mate who was on last Sunday’s flight told me he asked some Thais on the flight where they would be spending their quarantine time, and none had been told where they were going. Hope this is of some help, good luck ????

 

Many thanks Jimmy and others who have given their helpful advice. Much appreciated.