Thailand Elite Members Quarantine (TEMQ) Program

[David Bond]

Has anyone in the USA, applied and been accepted for Thailand Elite Members Quarantine (TEMQ) Program? Has anyone used this program been issued a COE? If so please advise.

[ubonjoe]

Not sure they are doing them yet. The embassy website states this.

"For Thailand Privilege Card holders, please contact Thailand Privilege Card Co., Ltd. (Thailand Elite) directly to request for an authorization. At this stage, without an authorization from Thailand, the Royal Thai Embassy can’t issue COE for Elite card holders."

Source: https://thaiembdc.org/visas/

Also no reports I have seen of anybody getting to the point of having a COE yet.

[Matzzon]

Guess it´s just going to be 14 days for you guys as for all others, when and if they finally will activate the program.

[FlyingThai]

On top of that you mentioned before that you don't even have the visa in your passport yet so you have to request TE to send the visa label to your local consulate.

[Pedrogaz]

'Has anyone in the USA, applied and been accepted for Thailand Elite Members Quarantine (TEMQ) Program? Has anyone used this program been issued a COE? If so please advise.'

 

 

Is this Elite thing any good? It seems to be a 5 year visa masquerading as a 10 year visa at an extortionate price. Presumably most holders are workers from US/EU/Chinese companies where the company pays for the elite visa, and I can perhaps see the benefit if you fly in and out twice a month, and even then it is insanely expensive. What benefits have you have from having Elite status?

[FlyingThai]

13 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

 

Is this Elite thing any good? It seems to be a 5 year visa masquerading as a 10 year visa at an extortionate price. Presumably most holders are workers from US/EU/Chinese companies where the company pays for the elite visa, and I can perhaps see the benefit if you fly in and out twice a month, and even then it is insanely expensive. What benefits have you have from having Elite status?

Not sure what you're talking about here. For one the visa has a specific expiry date so there is no "masquerading" of anything. Why would a foreign company pay for an Elite Visa for their employees to stay in Thailand? You can't run an (in)official office here where you have employees doing work without a required work permit.

 

The benefits are listed on their website, easy to find.

[kekalot]

26 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

'Has anyone in the USA, applied and been accepted for Thailand Elite Members Quarantine (TEMQ) Program? Has anyone used this program been issued a COE? If so please advise.'

 

 

Is this Elite thing any good? It seems to be a 5 year visa masquerading as a 10 year visa at an extortionate price. Presumably most holders are workers from US/EU/Chinese companies where the company pays for the elite visa, and I can perhaps see the benefit if you fly in and out twice a month, and even then it is insanely expensive. What benefits have you have from having Elite status?

I got the 20 years one for 1,000,000 baht.

I am too young for retirement visa and not interested in getting married.

 

I get the benefit of NOT having to dance around multiple entry tourist visas (6 months + 3 months if you get last entry at the end) then going to Myanmar (or other border) every 3 months to get another entry then go apply for extensions every 2 months

also do not have to go home which never costed me less than 50,000 baht, about 25 hours of flights and airports, then a 13 hours train (after a long wait for it) in my case

 

then I don't have to stay home for 2-3 weeks while applying for a visa that can be declined (and then stuck, like right now)

 

1 million baht was a bit of money of course but if I did this visa BS for 20 years with a trip home every 9 months (26 trips in 20 years) would already add up to more than 1 million (1.3 million for 26x 50,000)

 

and that is without any extension fees, any trains, no border run prices.. headaches, wasting 5 days per trip which adds up.

 

the 26 trips required 3 days to get home and 2 days to come back, this adds up to 130 days spent in airports, trains, airplanes (not even joking)

 

all I do now is 90 days reports which take 3-5 minutes every 3 months and one extension per year if I didn't get out of the country

Edited August 31, 2020 by kekalot

[FlyingThai]

23 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Not sure they are doing them yet. The embassy website states this.

"For Thailand Privilege Card holders, please contact Thailand Privilege Card Co., Ltd. (Thailand Elite) directly to request for an authorization. At this stage, without an authorization from Thailand, the Royal Thai Embassy can’t issue COE for Elite card holders."

Source: https://thaiembdc.org/visas/

Also no reports I have seen of anybody getting to the point of having a COE yet.

 

That's nothing unexpected. Thailand Elite has already informed members that they have to contact TE directly where they will then process the request and deal directly with MFA which in turn call upon the embassy to issue the COE.

 

The embassy on it's own can do nothing for TE visa holders, it all has to go through the liaison.

[David Bond]

back to original question,  Has anyone in the USA, applied and been accepted for Thailand Elite Members Quarantine (TEMQ) Program? Has anyone used this program been issued a COE? If so please advise. Please stay on topic in reference to this specific question.

[leicesterguyuk]

23 hours ago, FlyingThai said:

On top of that you mentioned before that you don't even have the visa in your passport yet so you have to request TE to send the visa label to your local consulate.

The part about requesting the visa label be sent by TE to your local embassy for new members, has this been confirmed anywhere officially? I've seen this mentioned on other threads but haven't seen any official confirmation about this. If not, there seems no process in place for new members. 

[FlyingThai]

3 hours ago, leicesterguyuk said:

The part about requesting the visa label be sent by TE to your local embassy for new members, has this been confirmed anywhere officially? I've seen this mentioned on other threads but haven't seen any official confirmation about this. If not, there seems no process in place for new members. 

No. This has been communicated via email by TE to members who inquired about that. Last word was they're in the process of handling the logistics. I don't get why all major embassies don't have a stack of these in their drawer to begin with considering it's a government program. Do they really need to send out these labels one by one like it's a diamond.

[Captain Monday]

1 hour ago, FlyingThai said:

No. This has been communicated via email by TE to members who inquired about that. Last word was they're in the process of handling the logistics. I don't get why all major embassies don't have a stack of these in their drawer to begin with considering it's a government program. Do they really need to send out these labels one by one like it's a diamond.

I do wonder why they could not just issue an new member authorization letter acceptable for issuance of COE but, at this point Thailand Elite staff are not allowed entry to the arrival area as COE state quarantine and ASQ arrival passengers are considered as possibly infested with the SARS coV-2 virus thus handling by the minimum number of trained arrival personnel and officials, in PPE and minimizing contact,  before being whisked off to quarantine facilities by dedicated transport is required.

 

As I understand the PE visa is not sponsored and until coV-2 has not been handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I had never heard of a member getting their visa at a consul or Embassy abroad. So for most members much easier to affix visa in BKK or airport upon arrival where it was affixed in my passport, in a matter of minutes. Until this unprecedented and onerous COE entry process the likes I have never heard of for any country including tour of North Korea or visa to Iran for Americans no point in consular intermediary, requiring appointments and hassle.

[ubonjoe]

10 hours ago, David Bond said:

back to original question,  Has anyone in the USA, applied and been accepted for Thailand Elite Members Quarantine (TEMQ) Program? Has anyone used this program been issued a COE? If so please advise. Please stay on topic in reference to this specific question.

As I wrote before I doubt anybody has been able to apply for the COE yet. The info I posted previously is still the only mention of Thai Elite on the webpage I posted a link to before.

[FlyingThai]

9 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

I do wonder why they could not just issue an new member authorization letter acceptable for issuance of COE but, at this point Thailand Elite staff are not allowed entry to the arrival area as COE state quarantine and ASQ arrival passengers are considered as possibly infested with the SARS coV-2 virus thus handling by the minimum number of trained arrival personnel and officials, in PPE and minimizing contact ...

Not sure how many Elite members are usually arriving per day but aside from regulatory reasons it probably won't make sense to have a specific employee at BKK who indeed would be possibly exposed to C-19.

 

Developing a new process with Authorization letters etc is IMHO more burdensome on the entire system than just shipping a few TE visa labels by mail / diplomatic mail to each Embassy. But again TIT and I stopped asking myself questions relation to anything logical a long time ago.

[leicesterguyuk]

12 hours ago, FlyingThai said:

No. This has been communicated via email by TE to members who inquired about that. Last word was they're in the process of handling the logistics. I don't get why all major embassies don't have a stack of these in their drawer to begin with considering it's a government program. Do they really need to send out these labels one by one like it's a diamond.

So much conflicting info surrounding this. My email from Thai Elite said there is no process for new members (no mention of posting out the stickers) at all yet. 

 

I guess embassies don't have a stack as they have never issued these visas before. So I think they probably will be sent out one by one yes, gawd knows how long that might take considering the limited flights. 

[FlyingThai]

5 minutes ago, leicesterguyuk said:

So much conflicting info surrounding this. My email from Thai Elite said there is no process for new members (no mention of posting out the stickers) at all yet. 

 

I guess embassies don't have a stack as they have never issued these visas before. So I think they probably will be sent out one by one yes, gawd knows how long that might take considering the limited flights. 

Another reason to stay away from paying for any TE Visa at this point (if abroad) until there is clarity that it gives you a definitive path back into the Kingdom.

[leicesterguyuk]

9 minutes ago, FlyingThai said:

Another reason to stay away from paying for any TE Visa at this point (if abroad) until there is clarity that it gives you a definitive path back into the Kingdom.

My thoughts entirely. I've not been approved yet, I applied around 2 1/2 weeks ago. 

 

I'm hoping for some clarity before the end of September so I can pay and get the extra 6 months, and I imagine TE will be hoping for the same too from a lot of recently approved potential new members! 

[FlyingThai]

52 minutes ago, leicesterguyuk said:

My thoughts entirely. I've not been approved yet, I applied around 2 1/2 weeks ago. 

 

I'm hoping for some clarity before the end of September so I can pay and get the extra 6 months, and I imagine TE will be hoping for the same too from a lot of recently approved potential new members! 

My gut feeling is that this promotion will be extended and as others wrote here even existing members received these extra 6 months extension on their membership.

 

Plus I wouldn't be coerced by this promotion to pay in September under any circumstances unless they can guarantee me an entry in the next few months (unlikely). This wait and see period alone renders the 6 month bonus useless.

[leicesterguyuk]

2 minutes ago, FlyingThai said:

My gut feeling is that this promotion will be extended and as others wrote here even existing members received these extra 6 months extension on their membership.

 

Plus I wouldn't be coerced by this promotion to pay in September under any circumstances unless they can guarantee me an entry in the next few months (unlikely). This wait and see period alone renders the 6 month bonus useless.

Well I won't be paying until I at least have some clarity over how to get the visa sticker attached. 

 

In terms of a guarantee regarding a return date, I doubt that will be possible unfortunately. That's more to do with the embassy and flight availability. Could also return under the Phuket model ????

[CANSIAM]

3 hours ago, leicesterguyuk said:

So much conflicting info surrounding this. My email from Thai Elite said there is no process for new members (no mention of posting out the stickers) at all yet. 

 

I guess embassies don't have a stack as they have never issued these visas before. So I think they probably will be sent out one by one yes, gawd knows how long that might take considering the limited flights. 

And my email from Thai elite agent stating "new members that are accepted, visa would be sent to your Thai embassies abroad and allowed entry shortly following their ASQ program" My embassy here has no information regarding Elite Visa yet as of a few days ago. There's no communication obviously, seems kind of dangerous to dump that kind of money just yet !  

[leicesterguyuk]

30 minutes ago, CANSIAM said:

And my email from Thai elite agent stating "new members that are accepted, visa would be sent to your Thai embassies abroad and allowed entry shortly following their ASQ program" My embassy here has no information regarding Elite Visa yet as of a few days ago. There's no communication obviously, seems kind of dangerous to dump that kind of money just yet !  

Agreed. 

 

Fingers crossed for some further official information soon. I wish Thai Elite would post these updates on their website. 

[ubonjoe]

On 8/30/2020 at 10:54 AM, ubonjoe said:

Not sure they are doing them yet. The embassy website states this.

Slight change to the info here (mostly bigger to get peoples attention apparently). https://thaiembdc.org/visas/

"For Thailand Privilege Cardholders, please contact Thailand Privilege Card Co., Ltd. (Thailand Elite) directly to request for authorization. At this stage, without authorization from Thailand, the Royal Thai Embassy can’t issue COE for Elite cardholders."

[David Bond]

I was advised even if you get the visa from abroad, which is not possible, Thai Elite Visa stated they are not allowing new members in regardless,  so below  is the direct quote, so for now new members, this visa is useless if you are outside Thailand, I recommend applying for the visa, but do not pay!

 

"However, we would like to inform you about the priority of this TEMQ program. According to the proposal that we have presented to the government, we must first bring back our members who have been stuck outside of Thailand since the outbreak of the pandemic. Therefore, new members who have not had Thailand Elite Visa affixed in the passport yet will need to be put on hold for further allowance. However, our management team is doing their best to bring back all of our members regardless of Elite visa possession."

[cogalar]

On 9/10/2020 at 6:23 PM, David Bond said:

I was advised even if you get the visa from abroad, which is not possible, Thai Elite Visa stated they are not allowing new members in regardless,  so below  is the direct quote, so for now new members, this visa is useless if you are outside Thailand, I recommend applying for the visa, but do not pay!

 

"However, we would like to inform you about the priority of this TEMQ program. According to the proposal that we have presented to the government, we must first bring back our members who have been stuck outside of Thailand since the outbreak of the pandemic. Therefore, new members who have not had Thailand Elite Visa affixed in the passport yet will need to be put on hold for further allowance. However, our management team is doing their best to bring back all of our members regardless of Elite visa possession."

I've had some different information.  I spoke with the Thai Embassy in Doha (where I am currently) who at first didn't seem to know anything about the Thailand Elite visa, but with subsequent follow up confirmed that they would be able to affix the visa in my passport if it was sent over from Thailand. 

 

The then did say that even with a Thai Elite visa affixed in my passport, currently they were only issuing CoE's to Nationals, those with work permits and Non O's until they have official word from Thailand.  So basically they wouldn't issue a CoE whether the Elite visa was an old one or new at this moment in time.

 

I am however going to be following this up further as with the initial confusion regarding affixing the visa, it may be possible they can issue the CoE if they have the relevant information.

 

For now I wouldn't be laying any money out without the Embassy telling me they'd consider a CoE (considering flight availability and repatriation priorities etc.).

[David Bond]

Has anyone in the USA, applied and been accepted for Thailand Elite Members Quarantine (TEMQ) Program? Has anyone used this program been issued a COE? If so please advise. Its been almost a month now? Has anyone had their visa affix in the USA?

I have received no word from Thai-elite that new members can enter yet, seems like all the focus on the special visa. The elite visa is useless if you are outside the country.