Initial STV Application Instruction from Thailand Longstay Company

[Dan O]

I spoke with and received some initial application information for the New STV Visa from the Thailand Longstay Company and thought I would post it here for anyone wanting a little more information. Please understand this Visa has not been finalized for the guidelines and requirements for approval yet nor have the final list of countries that would be accepted been determined. There is some pricing information and a little more detail included in the email from Thailand Longstay Company, again all still pending final approval and enactment. 

 

Application Procedure for Special Tourist Visa (STV)

1.      A foreign applicant must e-mail Thailand Longstay Company ([email protected]) to submit his/her intention to apply for the Special Tourist Visa (STV). In the e-mail, please provide the following information of all the applicants:

•    Photo of the passport that the applicant will use for entry into Thailand

•    Current Location/Residence (City & Country)

•    Nearest Thai Embassy/Consulate to the Applicant

2.      The company will send the photo of the passport to the Thai Immigration Bureau to check the applicant’s criminal record

3.      After receiving approval from the Thai Immigration Bureau, the applicant will have to pay the application fee and the company will send the applicant the STV Visa application form and the company will correspond with the applicant regarding:

•    the 15 days ASQ/ALSQ quarantine accommodation options

•    accommodation options and requirements after the 15 days quarantine (minimum stay of 15 days) [Total minimum stay of 30 days including the 15 day quarantine]

•    Options for chartered flights

•    Medical and Travel Insurance options with minimum coverage for medical expense of 100,000USD including Covid-19 medical treatment. The insurance must cover for at least 90 days.

            Once all payments have been made for all the above items and the applicant must send        all of the documents to [email protected]

4.      The company will submit on behalf of the applicant, the STV visa application from and all required documents to the Department of Consular Affairs, Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs to apply for the CoE (Certificate of Entry) and the STV Visa

5.      A Fit to Fly Certificate & Medical Certificate for General Passengers https://ddc.moph.go.th/viralpneumonia/file/g_form/general02.pdfhttps://ddc.moph.go.th/viralpneumonia/file/guidelines/G23.pdf The Fit to Fly Medical Certificate must states that the applicant does not have covid-19 and these certificates must be issued at least 72 hours before the flight departure. 

6.      Once arrived in Thailand, every STV visa holder must follow the public health and safety measure set by the Thai Ministry of Public Health. If the STV visa holder has been tested positive for covid-19 at the airport, the STV visa holder will immediately be sent to the approved hospital. If the STV visa holder has been tested negative for covid-19 at the airport, the STV visa holder will pass through immigration.

7.      STV visa holder will then go under the 15 day quarantine at his/her paid ASQ/ALSQ accommodation. If the STV visa holder is tested negative for covid-19  after the 15 day quarantine, the STV visa holder will be allowed to leave and go stay at his or her chosen accommodation

 

Application Service Fee and Payment Terms & Conditions:

- 10,000 THB excluding 7% VAT per applicant

- This includes the service fee and the applicant can access special promotion and packages from our partnered hotels, insurance providers and other businesses.

- This fee does not include the airplane ticket, 15 days ASQ/ALSQ quarantine accommodation nor accommodation after the 15 days quarantine, medical and travel Insurance.

- The applicant will also have to pay the 2,000 THB visa fee at the Embassy/Consulate

- This fee is non-refundable.

- Thailand Longstay Company is not the Department of Consular Affairs and the company is not liable for any decision made by the Department of Consular Affairs.   

[alianware]

I am still confused about this 72 hours medical certificate and fit to fly. 

So, as i understand :

1. Contact the company via email

2. Fill the form and send the hotel booking, flight ticket, and insurance proof via email.

3. Wait until CEO confirm and after that go to health test covig19 in origin country and wait some day until the result comes out.

4. Go to embasy in origin country to show covig result and get from CEO paper

5. Ready to fly

 

Is this correct ?? 

And what is this 10000 bath application fee for ? I am not interested in special promotion or package. 

 

Thanks.

Edited September 23, 2020 by alianware

[Dan O]

28 minutes ago, alianware said:

I am still confused about this 72 hours medical certificate and fit to fly. 

So, as i understand :

1. Contact the company via email

2. Fill the form and send the hotel booking, flight ticket, and insurance proof via email.

3. Wait until CEO confirm and adter that go to health test covig19 and wait some day until the result comes out.

4. Go to embasy in origin country to show covig result and get from CEO paper

5. Ready to fly

 

Is this correct ?? 

And what is this 10000 bath application fee for ? I am not interested in special promotion or package. 

 

Thanks.

The way I was told is you do the items from #1 : pic of passport, and name, home location , and closest embassy. Longstay company sends that for initial approval or denial, based on your information and country location.

 

If accepted that just allows you to receive the application for the STV. After they receive the application it is again submitted for semi-approval, (its not final at this point but very promising) and they supply you with the flight, ASQ info, insurance info etc.  After you choose the hotel, flight, insurance etc, and pay for those you send those documents back to Long stay Company. They then get another level of confirmation that you are on track with document process and send your info to embassy for COE and Visa to be issued.

 

At this point you need to get the Fit to Fly and Covid test within 3 days of departure, they are a little vague here because the final regs have not yet been approved.   

 

The 10,000 baht fee is the Longstay Company fee. You still have to pay for the Visa direct thru the Embassy. you have no option here from what they told me as the STV visa is only available thru approved Travel Agencies which Longstay is one and there may be others.  

 

Again, all of this is the beginning point info and parts or all may change or be added after the final rule is approved and published. 

Edited September 23, 2020 by Dan O

[tabbycat]

Sounds like far too much trouble. This will not go well and I expect the STV to quietly become obsolete whenever Thailand does a soft reopening of their borders next year 

Edited September 24, 2020 by tabbycat

[ehgnyc]

If any rich tourist really does take part in this, they are going to be very disappointed. They will not be arriving in the happy fun Thailand they're imagining. I'm on Samui. It's a ghost town. It's not going to be hard to keep the tourists in their resorts because there are few other places to go, and those are barely hanging on. And even the most insensitive tourist will not be able to miss that the locals are sad and frightened. Not a good look.

[Dan O]

13 minutes ago, tabbycat said:

Sounds like far too much trouble. This will not go well and I expect the STV to quietly become obsolete whenever Thailand does a soft reopening of their borders next year 

It doesn't really appear too difficult as they have outlined it so far, although more expensive than pre-covid times.  The guidelines will surely change before it gets a final approval.  it's not geared to short term tourist intentionally, nor is it geared toward anyone inside Thailand currently. I think it's part of there process to get to a soft opening. They have to start somewhere in generating some type of manageable tourism to come and also be able to show they can control their process. If they can't feel they have control over tourist coming into the country safely there won't be any soft open for quite some time. 

[tabbycat]

9 minutes ago, Dan O said:

It doesn't really appear too difficult as they have outlined it so far, although more expensive than pre-covid times.  The guidelines will surely change before it gets a final approval.  it's not geared to short term tourist intentionally, nor is it geared toward anyone inside Thailand currently. I think it's part of there process to get to a soft opening. They have to start somewhere in generating some type of manageable tourism to come and also be able to show they can control their process. If they can't feel they have control over tourist coming into the country safely there won't be any soft open for quite some time. 

You hear any news about foreigners being able to stay and quarantine in their own homes if they can provide evidence, for example, home ownership documents? They had announced this in the initial infamous infographic that we saw across the media but it seems that they have quietly removed that option and are forcing everyone to stay in ASQ, which is going to be a dealbreaker for anyone else in this kind of situation.
 

Forcing homeowners to pay the equivalent of a months worth of rent++ to stay for 14 days in some obscure hotel rather than their own home is not going to go down well with anyone

[Dan O]

10 minutes ago, ehgnyc said:

If any rich tourist really does take part in this, they are going to be very disappointed. They will not be arriving in the happy fun Thailand they're imagining. I'm on Samui. It's a ghost town. It's not going to be hard to keep the tourists in their resorts because there are few other places to go, and those are barely hanging on. And even the most insensitive tourist will not be able to miss that the locals are sad and frightened. Not a good look.

I can appreciate your feelings as I have several Thai friends that live on Samui and I've spoken to them about their situation. It's kind the chicken or the egg problem. Not much open because of no tourist and not much for tourist to do initially since not much is open. You have to start somewhere in getting tourist to come, generate some income to allow people to start opening in a very controlled way that the locals start feeling more comfortable and less fearful.

 

The STV isn't intended for the 2 week holiday tourist but more toward people that visit longer term and are normally a little outside the 2 week tourist mentality so they wouldn't be looking for that quick fun and party atmosphere as much.

 

It's certainly not perfect but for those that have other needs or reasons to be in Thailand it helps start that process. Hopefully with a good start that is  successful they will expand the numbers that can come in as they have stated is their intent. After a couple months hopefully we'll start seeing the vaccines come thru the testing and start to become available and that changes the whole game

[ehgnyc]

1 minute ago, Dan O said:

I can appreciate your feelings as I have several Thai friends that live on Samui and I've spoken to them about their situation. It's kind the chicken or the egg problem. Not much open because of no tourist and not much for tourist to do initially since not much is open. You have to start somewhere in getting tourist to come, generate some income to allow people to start opening in a very controlled way that the locals start feeling more comfortable and less fearful.

 

The STV isn't intended for the 2 week holiday tourist but more toward people that visit longer term and are normally a little outside the 2 week tourist mentality so they wouldn't be looking for that quick fun and party atmosphere as much.

 

It's certainly not perfect but for those that have other needs or reasons to be in Thailand it helps start that process. Hopefully with a good start that is  successful they will expand the numbers that can come in as they have stated is their intent. After a couple months hopefully we'll start seeing the vaccines come thru the testing and start to become available and that changes the whole game

Sorry, but my point was they shouldn't have made the ones here leave. They really were keeping some places going--and not just the noodle shops, but nice restaurants.

[Farangstyle]

Well if this visa gets me home to Thailand to see the wife and allows me to stay in Thailand for 90 days to start with then Im all for it.

Some simply cannot afford the cost to quarantine in a hotel on a pension unfortunately. I have been forced to stay in Australia for the past 7 months and have just been granted an exemption so i can finally leave Australia and would jump through fire to get back home to Thailand and the wife.

After all its the place I call home.

Now to wait and see how many times i need to jump through the hoops to get home.????

Edited September 24, 2020 by Farangstyle

[Dan O]

1 minute ago, tabbycat said:

You hear any news about foreigners being able to stay and quarantine in their own homes if they can provide evidence, for example, home ownership documents? They had announced this in the initial infamous infographic that we saw across the media but it seems that they have quietly removed that option and are forcing everyone to stay in ASQ, which is going to be a dealbreaker for anyone else in this kind of situation.
 

Forcing homeowners to pay the equivalent of a months worth of rent++ to stay for 14 days in some obscure hotel rather than their own home is not going to go down well with anyone

There's bad information and media references to anyone that wants to talk about the program creates a lot of suspect information.  What I've listed came straight from the Thailand Longstay Company as of yesterday although they clearly acknowledge that the guidance is still being worked thru, may change and will not be final until formal approval and publication. At least they are helping with this visa process.

 

No home stays since those proved ineffective with the early on returnees as many did not honor the quarantine and killed it. They are only reference everyone goes to either state quarantine if your Thai and returning or all others only to ASQ. There are more ASQ hotels coming available as part of this plan so hopefully their will be some moderate rates and not just the top end facilities, (my opinion) 

[Pattaya Spotter]

30 minutes ago, ehgnyc said:

If any rich tourist really does take part in this, they are going to be very disappointed. They will not be arriving in the happy fun Thailand they're imagining. I'm on Samui. It's a ghost town. It's not going to be hard to keep the tourists in their resorts because there are few other places to go, and those are barely hanging on. And even the most insensitive tourist will not be able to miss that the locals are sad and frightened. Not a good look.

It's the same in Pattaya...empty resorts, beaches, shops, and restos can be nice and at the same time depressing.

[Dan O]

4 minutes ago, ehgnyc said:

Sorry, but my point was they shouldn't have made the ones here leave. They really were keeping some places going--and not just the noodle shops, but nice restaurants.

I don't dispute that and it sucks on one hand but is understandable in some context on the other.  The Virus has create a very uneven and convoluted situation everywhere on all levels.   

 

My thread here isn't about that issue or any other issues internal to tourist or residents in Thailand. I was offering info for those that may be interested in getting back in. 

[madmen]

10 minutes ago, tabbycat said:

You hear any news about foreigners being able to stay and quarantine in their own homes if they can provide evidence, for example, home ownership documents? They had announced this in the initial infamous infographic that we saw across the media but it seems that they have quietly removed that option and are forcing everyone to stay in ASQ, which is going to be a dealbreaker for anyone else in this kind of situation.
 

Forcing homeowners to pay the equivalent of a months worth of rent++ to stay for 14 days in some obscure hotel rather than their own home is not going to go down well with anyone

Pretty clear it dawned on them that self quarantine is useless as it would involve the BIB doing the rounds and that will never happen so  they scrapped it 

[Pattaya Spotter]

6 minutes ago, Farangstyle said:

Well if this visa gets me home to Thailand to see the wife and allows me to stay in Thailand for 90 days to start with then Im all for it.

Some seem to moan about the cost but they are normally single or don't enjoy the company of their wife or simply cannot afford it on a pension unfortunately. I have been forced to stay in Australia for the past 7 months and have just been granted an exemption so i can finally leave Australia and would jump through fire to get back home to Thailand and the wife.

After all its the place I call home.

Now to wait and see how many times i need to jump through the hoops to get home.????

Good luck getting back to your family...Thailand needs people like you.

[tabbycat]

Ah, I thought the entire point of those GPS tracker bands they make you wear was so that you could stay at your own home.
 

No point wearing one if you’re in a hotel as the keycard you receive is only good for one use - you enter the room on day 0 and you simply can’t leave, and staff at reception would call the authorities should they see you leaving the hotel as well. 
 

same in countries like Singapore for instance - if you’re entering from ‘safe’ countries you quarantine at home and have to keep your wristband on + kee location on your phone at all times. If you’re in a hotel there’s no need for it 

 

anyways let’s wait for more information

Edited September 24, 2020 by tabbycat

[Pattaya Spotter]

15 minutes ago, tabbycat said:

You hear any news about foreigners being able to stay and quarantine in their own homes if they can provide evidence, for example, home ownership documents? They had announced this in the initial infamous infographic that we saw across the media but it seems that they have quietly removed that option and are forcing everyone to stay in ASQ, which is going to be a dealbreaker for anyone else in this kind of situation.
 

Forcing homeowners to pay the equivalent of a months worth of rent++ to stay for 14 days in some obscure hotel rather than their own home is not going to go down well with anyone

Why would this ever be allowed...as it's certain there will be some number who will break quarantine and defeat the whole purpose.

[Farangstyle]

No doubt this process will change as all things Thai Government seem to do but this was forwarded to my by a Thai friend yesterday.

[tabbycat]

4 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Why would this ever be allowed...as it's certain there will be some number who will break quarantine and defeat the whole purpose.

Maybe they shouldn’t have even mentioned it on the infographic they put out at first then. I’m only asking about this because THEY said it would be possible. 

[Dan O]

7 minutes ago, Farangstyle said:

Well if this visa gets me home to Thailand to see the wife and allows me to stay in Thailand for 90 days to start with then Im all for it.

Some seem to moan about the cost but they are normally single or don't enjoy the company of their wife or simply cannot afford it on a pension unfortunately. I have been forced to stay in Australia for the past 7 months and have just been granted an exemption so i can finally leave Australia and would jump through fire to get back home to Thailand and the wife.

After all its the place I call home.

Now to wait and see how many times i need to jump through the hoops to get home.????

I hear you on that. I'm not married but have a long term GF and her daughter there along with the family farm we have been working for quite a while. I'm in America since coming back for personal issues here in February and then all SH*T hit the fan the week I got back here. I will probably not be allowed in when it opens but I've already sent the initially information to see what if anything I may be able to do.  If I were you I would start the process with the first email. No money involved and once the final guidelines are made they will be able to tell you if you can qualify and if you do you'll already be in the list. 

[Dan O]

6 minutes ago, Farangstyle said:

No doubt this process will change as all things Thai Government seem to do but this was forwarded to my by a Thai friend yesterday.

That was the first Draft and is not completely accurate but nothing has been finalized yet. What I posted is more recent and from the Longstay Company handling at least part of this Visa process. It too is not the final guideline but has contact info to start the process while the guidelines are nailed down and finalized. 

[Shannoblic]

2.      The company will send the photo of the passport to the Thai Immigration Bureau to check the applicant’s criminal record

3.      After receiving approval from the Thai Immigration Bureau, the applicant will have to pay the application fee and the company will send the applicant the STV Visa application form and the company will correspond with the applicant regarding:

 

Analyzing the wording very carefully from a 'legal' standpoint I would like to point out that item 3 on the OP's list actually interprets as after approval from Thai Immigration Bureau ONLY on the applicants criminal record.   It does NOT indicate any other approval.

 

In other words - once you have been 'police' cleared you can go ahead with an application and this company require you at that point to pay up the money.  That is BEFORE your application is processed in any way.  That is a real gamble,  Caveat Emptor.

 

[Phuketshrew]

I think that they could have come up with a more imaginative and appealing name for this. STV sounds like some sexually transmitted virus one might catch whilst in Thailand.

[Pattaya Spotter]

19 minutes ago, tabbycat said:

Maybe they shouldn’t have even mentioned it on the infographic they put out at first then. I’m only asking about this because THEY said it would be possible. 

But they withdrew it right...because it was wrong.

[Pattaya Spotter]

15 minutes ago, Dan O said:

That was the first Draft and is not completely accurate but nothing has been finalized yet. What I posted is more recent and from the Longstay Company handling at least part of this Visa process. It too is not the final guideline but has contact info to start the process while the guidelines are nailed down and finalized. 

Bangkok Post infographic...no-no.

[userabcd]

3 minutes ago, Phuketshrew said:

I think that they could have come up with a more imaginative and appealing name for this. STV sounds like some sexually transmitted virus one might catch whilst in Thailand.

Only if ones mind thinks like that.

[Dan O]

17 minutes ago, Shannoblic said:

2.      The company will send the photo of the passport to the Thai Immigration Bureau to check the applicant’s criminal record

3.      After receiving approval from the Thai Immigration Bureau, the applicant will have to pay the application fee and the company will send the applicant the STV Visa application form and the company will correspond with the applicant regarding:

 

Analyzing the wording very carefully from a 'legal' standpoint I would like to point out that item 3 on the OP's list actually interprets as after approval from Thai Immigration Bureau ONLY on the applicants criminal record.   It does NOT indicate any other approval.

 

In other words - once you have been 'police' cleared you can go ahead with an application and this company require you at that point to pay up the money.  That is BEFORE your application is processed in any way.  That is a real gamble,  Caveat Emptor.

 

It's just like all visas, fee is collected when you apply and there is no guarantee of receiving approval.

 

That fee is not for the visa but for the service of coordinating the information and processing paperwork and acting as an intermediary. If you reach this point without being denied and you do all your documents correctly there shouldn't be any issues but there is no guarantee.

 

If you don't qualify due to your country of origin, over quota or if there is some other issue in Thailand that prevents your qualification you will be denied before you ever get a chance to receive the application, or any of the other information about transport, insurance ASQ etc. you are not committed to move forward and pay unless you choose your service and make those arrangements, at least as it's written currently 

Edited September 24, 2020 by Dan O

[alianware]

36 minutes ago, Dan O said:

There's bad information and media references to anyone that wants to talk about the program creates a lot of suspect information.  What I've listed came straight from the Thailand Longstay Company as of yesterday although they clearly acknowledge that the guidance is still being worked thru, may change and will not be final until formal approval and publication. At least they are helping with this visa process.

 

No home stays since those proved ineffective with the early on returnees as many did not honor the quarantine and killed it. They are only reference everyone goes to either state quarantine if your Thai and returning or all others only to ASQ. There are more ASQ hotels coming available as part of this plan so hopefully their will be some moderate rates and not just the top end facilities, (my opinion) 

Their intention is so clear to monople hotel to boost up the economy with one side policy. How many hotels do they have in Thailand ? A lot !. And which hotel they choose ? The one with the big price. 

 

I think the problem is that they believe that only people who would spend much money for hotel, those would be the one who could boost the economy.

Honestly , i think they are wrong, because most people who doesn't prioritize expensive hotels give money more and travel more. And these people combined are more than single rich tourists. They need more western tourists for their economy.

[KeeTua]

 3.      After receiving approval from the Thai Immigration Bureau, the applicant will have to pay the application fee and the company will send the applicant the STV Visa application form and the company will correspond with the applicant regarding:

-accommodation options and requirements after the 15 days quarantine (minimum stay of 15 days) [Total minimum stay of 30 days including the 15 day quarantine]
------------------------
It looks like after a 15 day quarantine a tourist will not be allowed to roam freely around the country. They must stay in reserved accommodation and its possible that the accommodations allowed are going to be restricted too. Doesn't look like much fun for a typical tourist.

And curious how they will enforce a minimum stay of 30 days. I don't think that could possibly be legal.

[theoldgit]

53 minutes ago, Farangstyle said:

Well if this visa gets me home to Thailand to see the wife and allows me to stay in Thailand for 90 days to start with then Im all for it.

Some simply cannot afford the cost to quarantine in a hotel on a pension unfortunately. I have been forced to stay in Australia for the past 7 months and have just been granted an exemption so i can finally leave Australia and would jump through fire to get back home to Thailand and the wife.

After all its the place I call home.

Now to wait and see how many times i need to jump through the hoops to get home.????

 

Surely you can already apply to return to Thailand on tha basis that you're married to a Thai national, a number of posters on the forum have navigated the hoops and done so.

 

https://canberra.thaiembassy.org/application-for-certificate-of-entry-coe-for-non-thai-nationals/