Elite visa problems

[kingofthemountain]

1 hour ago, KoreaElte said:

There seem to be some updates. Apparently the Thailand Elite members who applied late August are getting approvals now.

All is not smooth yet

from a comment on another source

 

''For those considering a new Elite card to be able to travel to Thailand, there is a catch-22 that lurks in the shadows! in order to get a COE for travel with an Elite card, and assuming that you also have the additional authorization form, the Elite visa stamp must be stamped in your passport when you apply for a COE (was told so by Thai consulate in US). However for the new members, the Elite visa is stamped to your passport after arrival in Thailand. So, good luck!''

[simon43]

... You should be treated as a VIP ...

 

Well, I used to be treated as such when I first had a 5-year Elite visa ????  But as the years went by, I personally found the Elite service got worse and worse, and the 'perks' reduced, until I finally had enough!  Rather than renew my Elite visa or jump through hoops for other visas, I left Thailand after 15 years or so and happily settled in Laos.  Their financial loss, not mine.....

[Farma]

6 hours ago, KoreaElte said:

There seem to be some updates. Apparently the Thailand Elite members who applied late August are getting approvals now.

Yes I applied mid august and received my approval letter a few days ago. What I found strange was the letter says my application was approved with approval on 8th September but the approval letter was dated and emailed to me a month later.

[KoreaElte]

On 10/10/2020 at 7:44 PM, Farma said:

Yes I applied mid august and received my approval letter a few days ago. What I found strange was the letter says my application was approved with approval on 8th September but the approval letter was dated and emailed to me a month later.

Wait are you talking about approval of Thailand Elite Visa / membership ? I was referring to Certificate of Entry pre-approval from the MFA for existing members trying to get back.

[rimpsstar]

On 10/10/2020 at 7:23 AM, kingofthemountain said:

All is not smooth yet

from a comment on another source

 

''For those considering a new Elite card to be able to travel to Thailand, there is a catch-22 that lurks in the shadows! in order to get a COE for travel with an Elite card, and assuming that you also have the additional authorization form, the Elite visa stamp must be stamped in your passport when you apply for a COE (was told so by Thai consulate in US). However for the new members, the Elite visa is stamped to your passport after arrival in Thailand. So, good luck!''

This "source" is incorrect or misinformed.

 

They are affixing the Elite Visa stamps into the passport at the overseas embassy. You then begin the COE process. I have just had this done.

 

[KoreaElte]

3 hours ago, rimpsstar said:

This "source" is incorrect or misinformed.

 

They are affixing the Elite Visa stamps into the passport at the overseas embassy. You then begin the COE process. I have just had this done.

 

This is another one of those YMMV situations as there are many Thai consulates and embassies who will NOT do it. The new member is then told by TPC that they need to have it affixed at Suvarnabhumi at first entry.

 

 

[KoreaElte]

Update on the first batch of Thailand Elite members who applied for the TEM-Q process.

 

Last Friday a lot of us received confirmation from Thailand Elite that we are good to go. Today, Monday we all run to the Thai Embassy responsible for our repatriation flights and some of us got processed right away and now have a Certificate of Entry in hand (London Embassy for example) a good number of us are being told by the embassy that this is the first they heard of this and we are not approved and we cannot apply for a Certificate of Entry. Situation is still messy as hell.

 

[BradFinch]

If you get approved or actually enter Thailand on an Elite visa, or if you have firsthand knowledge of someone who did, please post as much info as possible so we can get a better statistical picture of all the relevant variables. Of course there are really several major steps here:

 

1. Get an Elite membership if you don't already have one. This is actually unrelated to the topic of this thread, which is about Elite visas.

 

2. Get approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

3. Get the Certificate of Entry of from the Embassy. Typically, this would be done in one's country of citizenship, but in some cases it might occur via a foreign embassy. Both cases are interesting. For instance, is there some (dis)advantage to being a Japanese citizen in the UK, or a UK citizen in Japan? Does it matter if you're a citizen of the country in which you applied, as opposed to merely a resident or tourist?

 

4. Actually arrive in Thailand. This isn't necessarily guaranteed because obviously it depends on obtaining the relevant medical clearances within a tight time window.

 

 

Edited October 12, 2020 by BradFinch

[Peeba boy]

I have my visa now also COE flight booked for 25 October  I will keep you posted

[BradFinch]

Glad to hear it! What country are you from (citizenship and residence if different), if you don't mind?

Edited October 12, 2020 by BradFinch

[Peeba boy]

I am from U.K. born and bred

[BradFinch]

Thanks for the report. Assuming that you also took off from the UK, then that's encouraging, considering that the country seems to be having a second wave and has had a high caseload for months now. It indicates that the Thai government is indeed confident in their ability to keep virus importation down to a negligible level. That should in fact be possible under the current testing and quarantine protocol. They could also make all countries essentially equal-risk merely by making the number of quarantine days depend on its overall infection rate in the country of origin. Granted, with 15 nights and 3 tests, the importation risk probably already low enough that this is unnecessary, regardless of the country of origin.

Edited October 13, 2020 by BradFinch

[Kelsall]

17 hours ago, Peeba boy said:

I have my visa now also COE flight booked for 25 October  I will keep you posted

Congratulations and please keep us up to date.

[DrJack54]

24 minutes ago, Kelsall said:

Congratulations and please keep us up to date.

How many entries to Thailand are you aware of from TE? Any figures on this?

[Peeba boy]

I am not aware of any yet. I received my elite visa in London on 29 September then received my COE on 12 October 

[Kelsall]

11 minutes ago, Peeba boy said:

I am not aware of any yet. I received my elite visa in London on 29 September then received my COE on 12 October 

Several have recently been approved for COE and are telling their stories in the Thailand Elite Members - Stuck outside Thailand FB group.

[KoreaElte]

11 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

How many entries to Thailand are you aware of from TE? Any figures on this?

There seem to be CCSA meetings ~twice a month where they report stats.

These guys have something on it if you scroll to the bottom: https://temq.net/timeline/

 

Apparently as of September 15 it was still pretty much a joke and TEM-Q entries as well as COE issued could be counted on one hand.
By October 1 TEM-Q gained some traction and 49 COE were issued. Those people are likely doing ASQ right now. Also hundreds of members are now told they are good to go ahead and approach the embassy for a COE. Based on all that I expect that we will see a good increase in arrivals when they update the stats sometime this week.

[Rancid]

On 10/4/2020 at 5:05 PM, dbrenn said:

Australia has designated repatriation flights that are announced on the Thai Embassy Facebook pages. You book with TG by following these links - the TG website shows no flights available. Seems that Facebook has more up-to-date information than their website. 

See that Thai airways out of Australia is unbookable on their website until December, then you can actually book flights. Also that there are limited flights on Singapore airlines from Oz to Bangkok with long stopovers between flights, again as get to December the frequency increasing. They are also $200 cheaper than Thai.

 

Also getting permission to leave Australia, this can be done if you can prove you are definitely going away for more than 3 months. Compassionate grounds are more difficult.

[terryp]

can anyone who has received the CoE via a UK application ..did you have to travel to the Thai Embassy in London to physically receive the CoE....or did you submit/apply via the online app then get the CoE as a download from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs... also now when booking the quarantine hotel is this now down to the applicant or are Thailand Elite still working as the middle man....I am getting nowhere with TE the email answers are very basic and many times in what appears to be Google translated English.

If you have gone thro the process and are now waiting to dept from the UK on a NON repatriation or private Jet I would appreciate any tips (please PM me)

 

Here is a perfect example of a TE answer as to why they keep Incorrectly saying a COVID free/fit to fly test are required at the start of application:

 

Covid-test would be matching while COE retrieving process would take 3 to 7 days depends on each Royal Thai Embassy in each area as well,

 

Lastly, for clarifying the information about 30 days process would be the TEM-Q confirmation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and for retrieving COE would be approximately 3 to 7 days depends on each the Royal Embassy. 

[Peeba boy]

You will receive the COE for you to download through the app Uk. They will confirm that you have been accepted for the COE. You book your flight and ASQ yourself send these details back to the embassy via the app.  1 day after doing this I received my COE via the app which I then printed off

[dbrenn]

21 hours ago, Rancid said:

See that Thai airways out of Australia is unbookable on their website until December, then you can actually book flights. Also that there are limited flights on Singapore airlines from Oz to Bangkok with long stopovers between flights, again as get to December the frequency increasing. They are also $200 cheaper than Thai.

 

Also getting permission to leave Australia, this can be done if you can prove you are definitely going away for more than 3 months. Compassionate grounds are more difficult.

Indeed, but I think that you misread my post.

[KoreaElte]

It seems now almost all that recently applied for TEM-Q have been pre-approved and most are in the process of getting their COE. I have heard from some people still being told "you are not on the list" at the embassy or consulate even a week after being told they are good to go but for the most part it seems the teething problems are actually being resolved. For a while I thought this whole process is dead in the water or fake news but it seems they really are working it out.

 

Some news report today also claims that over 500 TPC members who applied for TEM-Q are now approved. A huge jump in numbers vs Sept 15 and Oct 1. ????

[Kelsall]

30 minutes ago, KoreaElte said:

It seems now almost all that recently applied for TEM-Q have been pre-approved and most are in the process of getting their COE. I have heard from some people still being told "you are not on the list" at the embassy or consulate even a week after being told they are good to go but for the most part it seems the teething problems are actually being resolved. For a while I thought this whole process is dead in the water or fake news but it seems they really are working it out.

 

Some news report today also claims that over 500 TPC members who applied for TEM-Q are now approved. A huge jump in numbers vs Sept 15 and Oct 1. ????

Elite Visa now definitely living up to its name.

Edited October 16, 2020 by Kelsall