1 hour ago, Kaopad999 said:

He's always stirring things up. 

professional whiner, Olympic status..

How about British people who have been in Laos since COVID started? Laos is a low risk country you would think. Could the Brits there go to the Thai embassy in Vientiane and get an STV? Or would their passport bar them?

2 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Still have to do 14d quaranten, so why does it matter where you're from? 

perhaps they're concerned by the apparent lack of regard of others as demonstrated by incidents of refusal to follow health guidelines.. 

6 minutes ago, Guderian said:

The list of safe countries will basically be their neighbours in East and South-east Asia: China, Hong Kong (same same, as Chairman Xi will tell you, lol), Taiwan (sorry, but Chairman Xi says no way!), Japan, South Korea, Singapore and perhaps Malaysia. That basically covers four out of the five countries that send most tourists here, hopefully even the idiot Tourism Minister isn't going to suggest allowing Indians in at present, and that's enough to revitalise the industry. Not the Gogo Bars in Pattaya and Patpong, of course, or other farang-centric places, but they're way down the list of priorities I should think. 

 

Another thought occurred to me: there have been numerous posts from disgruntled condo and house owners who are stuck in their home countries and feel that property ownership should entitle them to priority in returning here. Dream on, folk, the whole idea is to stimulate the tourism industry, in other words, hotels, bars, restaurants and tourist attractions. Since people who own their home here are unlikely to spend anything in hotels or on tourist attractions, and will probably eat and drink at home a lot, I don't see them being any sort of a priority to be allowed back in. I might be wrong, but that's my take on matters.

 

A little simplistic, Guderian. As a half timer, when in Hua Hin, I eat out every night with my partner, bar every now and then, golf couple of times weekly. I shop for all sorts of things, buy petrol. Much like a tourist without the accommodation. Plus I stay for months at a time and assist my partner slowly renovate her house in the village.

Not sure I classify as disgruntled, more like bemused that Thailand, like so many countries, is taking so long to enable people with skin in the game (property and partner) to return with the appropriate precautions. Safe processes do exist (e.g. Germany, Singapore https://7news.com.au/travel/singapore-to-allow-entry-from-australia-c-1356866) even if many countries have relaxed their borders too much.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

While the STV may not be currently available to British nationals, Thai media reported over the weeked that there has been lots of interest in the new visa from elsewhere.

I do not think so 

 

2 minutes ago, Spock said:

I reckon I have all the details that I need that China is not a country to be trusted and which has several elements to it that are thoroughly dislikeable. I am not paid for holding unflattering opinions of China as a country. Don't see why other posters would be either.

The Chinese Communist Party is really bad imo. They don't let people choose their own government - who represents them. They arrest people for criticising the CCP. Political freedom is not allowed. Freedom of expression, assembly and association is not allowed. These are basic human rights in most countries, but not in China. 

 

They brainwash the kids at school with propaganda about being obedient. They don't teach independent critical thinking in school. They don't allow teaching of multiple perspectives of history or anything about human rights.

 

That's why Chinese people cannot integrate anywhere in the world. They don't know how to interact with other people. When they go to other places they can only form enclaves of Chinese. It's pretty sad. That's why the CCP is bad imo. As well as those that defend it.

48 minutes ago, hashmodha said:

"Despite all this paperwork spokesman Natthaphanu Noppakhun said interest worldwide was rife"....

.oh my word! a Thai spokesman uses words like'Rife'!!!!......or was it rooof wrooof!????????!

Yes, he’s right, people are having a good laugh worldwide ! 

2 hours ago, webfact said:

 

Despite all this paperwork spokesman Natthaphanu Noppakhun said interest worldwide was rife

???????????????????????????????? !

2 hours ago, fxe1200 said:

swap their beaches with those in Thailand.

yes indeed:-

Beach on Tonga, then beach in Pattaya:-

47 minutes ago, Guderian said:

 

 

Another thought occurred to me: there have been numerous posts from disgruntled condo and house owners who are stuck in their home countries and feel that property ownership should entitle them to priority in returning here. Dream on, folk, the whole idea is to stimulate the tourism industry, in other words, hotels, bars, restaurants and tourist attractions. Since people who own their home here are unlikely to spend anything in hotels or on tourist attractions, and will probably eat and drink at home a lot, I don't see them being any sort of a priority to be allowed back in. I might be wrong, but that's my take on matters.

Actually condo owners do not need to show their bank accounts for STV as all other people need to show minimum 500 K balance for 6 months,,

https://www.thaiembassy.ch/Content/Embassy/57.html#visa2

3 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Still have to do 14d quaranten, so why does it matter where you're from? 

i suppose it reduces he risk on top anyway , double security check unless you are Chinese I guess ????

Edited October 5, 20205 yr by david555

I’ve never heard so much disingenuous BS in all my life. This is all about kowtowing to their Chinese masters. Don’t fool yourself about UK not being allowed, this applies to everyone not sanctioned by Beijing.

9 minutes ago, thaitero said:

Actually condo owners do not need to show their bank accounts for STV as all other people need to show minimum 500 K balance for 6 months,,

https://www.thaiembassy.ch/Content/Embassy/57.html#visa2

Could meant this for those who ARE  buying a condo .... might be not for those have already .....

Hope I am wrong for those ones , but it looks really only for new tourists ….. new money to Thailand , not the one already in their banks / pockets 

 

Complicated list from that embassy ????

2 minutes ago, david555 said:

Could meant this for those who ARE  buying a condo .... might be not for those have already .....

Hope I am wrong for those ones , but it looks really only for new tourists ….. new money to Thailand , not the one already in their banks / pockets 

 

Complicated list from that embassy ????

No, very clear IMO

 

Quote

7.  Accommodation reservation:

       (a) In case the applicant/ immediate family member owns a condominium, please submit

            - Confirmation of applicant/ immediate family member’s complete property ownership

            - No financial/ bank statement required.

 

Dumb and dumber. 

A simple plan. A non antigen test 72 hours before the flight. And Thailand ups their game, and invests in some modern technology, and provides on the spot antigen testing at Suvarnabhumi or elsewhere. It is easy. You pass two different tests, using two different methodologies, and you are covid free.
 
Welcome. No health insurance required. No groveling at a consulate. No quarantine. Welcome to Thailand. Have a great trip. And thanks so much for bringing a bundle of cash. Our people really need it. 
 
No panic. No fear mongering. Double testing. You are safe. We are safe. Life is good. 

 

Abbott has received FDA emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 antigen it is pricing at $5 that delivers results in 15 minutes. Other companies including BD and Quidel already sell antigen tests but Abbott’s scale led some analysts to identify its entry to the market as a potential game-changer. Abbott plans to ship 50 million kits a month starting in October, making mass testing more feasible.

 

The (COTU) center of the universe) attitude continues. One would hope there would have been  room for personal growth, with this disaster here. That the ministers might develop some common sense and humility. This is what you get when you choose a cabinet of only wealthy people, who have no talent or experience in their appointed fields. Cronyism often leads to mediocrity, or worse. And who suffers? The little guy. And who is the little guy here? The average household income nationwide here was 27,000 baht in 2017. And it has been falling, ever since. And now? 

 

I doubt if we will see 20 million tourists here again, in our lifetimes. The industry will likely die a slow death. Things change and Thailand did not get with the program, and do what it needed to do. Many other more progressive nations did. The army has been moving the nation backwards, long before Covid. 
 

Edited October 5, 20205 yr by spidermike007

3 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Still have to do 14d quaranten, so why does it matter where you're from? 

It doesn't.  Sheer stupidity.   

3 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Still have to do 14d quaranten, so why does it matter where you're from? 

Possibly because of talk of lowering the quarantine time in the near future to make travel more acceptable to more people.

No worries, I dont fancy walking about with a GPS wristband and putting money into the pockets of the rich families that own the quarantine hotels anyway. 

1 hour ago, GeorgeCross said:

just guessing but lets say they take in 10K tourists from high risk countries and 30% test positive..

 

this happens daily until all quarantine hospital beds are full (because they cannot clear to fly back)

 

now lets say they take in 10K patients from low risk countries and 0.05% test positive

 

the latter would be a far more sustainable model

 

or its a a big conspiracy to allow china to cheaply buy up thailand!

Only the vulnerable require to be hospitalised, healthy people recover in 4/5 days.

Despite all the tough requirements, there are still so many applicants, is Thailand really heaven on earth?

 

There are more than few thousand countries in the world and people want to go to Thailand and stay long-term?

I would start the ball rolling with allowing current (as at March 20, 2020) Retirement visa/extension 

holders entry on condition,

The monies are still in place in a Thai bank used for the visa/extension

Insurance policies as required (This will become a permanent requirement soon anyway)

14 day quarantine

Pre booking of hotel or advice of lease/own condo.

These people know Thailand, & would just slip into the way of life as before & help the economy with

little fuss/advice/policing or control required

For those who still don't understand the reasons why it is the Chinese who are allowed in first, before all others, and who still doubt the influence of the Chinese government to Thai politics under Prayut, just have a look to this article published February 25:

 

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2020/02/25/opposition-attacks-prayuts-ties-to-china-in-debate-day-2/

 

From the article:
 

“Ekkapob, the Future Forward MP, also said Prayut allowed China to bypass competing bids from other nations and snap up the lucrative high-speed rail project even before its environmental impact was fully assessed.  

...
Prayut knows what’s happening, but he doesn’t dare do anything because as he said, we are like an ant compared to the lion,” he said, referring to Prayut’s remark to Chinese premier Li Keqiang in November."

 

Is it in the interest of Thailand to "bypass competing bids from other nations" on the highspeed train projects? And, if someone acts like Prayut did in these multi-billion-dollar projects, to be financed with Chinese loans, is it so unlikely that there is an agenda behind the current destruction of the Thai tourism industry, by keeping the borders closed, creating this ridiculous STV-scheme to appease to people, and letting in a handfull of Chinese billionaires first?

2 hours ago, Kaopad999 said:

He's always stirring things up. 

Yep , the truth can be an inconvenience to those who wish to conceal or twist it.

24 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Dumb and dumber. 

A simple plan. A non antigen test 72 hours before the flight. And Thailand ups their game, and invests in some modern technology, and provides on the spot antigen testing at Suvarnabhumi or elsewhere. It is easy. You pass two different tests, using two different methodologies, and you are covid free.

No, you're not Covid-free then, for multiple reasons:

 

1. What would be needed is a PCR test which checks whether you currently have the virus. An antigen test checks whether you have had covid in the past and have developed antibodies. Having antibodies btw currently is no guarantee that you can't get and spread covid again, especially if it was a light case of covid.

 

2. A covid test doesn't work like a metal detector. Testing is very important, but only proves that you don't have enough viruses (yet?) so that a test can detect them. You might already be a carrier, but the virus could still be in the process of hijacking enough of your cells to multiply, so that you actually only become a spreader the next day (or even later). Covid has an incubation period of on average (!) 6 to 7 days, most people show signs of infection (and test positive) within 14 days (there are even cases with longer incubation periods though). That's the reason for quarantine which almost everywhere globally is 14 days and it's why you need a test at the beginning and at the end of quarantine to reasonably show that you're covid free.

 

3. Tests, especially the one with quick results test false negative in about 10% of all cases.

 

Case in point for all this: The US president. He was only surrounded by people that got tested everyday. He still got Covid. Before the rose garden event for the Supreme court nomination every guest got tested, but then unfortunateely received the recommendation that they can take their masks off, eben thoughbit was a group of more than 150 people. As a result, a relevant number of participants caught the virus, based on current understanding. Testing is important, but not self-sufficient.

Edited October 5, 20205 yr by pentagara

Like it or not, UK passport holders travelling from the UK are going to get locked out of Thailand for quite some time. Same can be said for other European countries, USA etc. 

2 hours ago, anchadian said:

They must also have local accident and health insurance to the tune of 400,000 baht inpatient and 40,000 baht outpatient.

 

And a policy for Covid-19 insurance in the sum of at least $US 100,000.

_______________________________________

 

So all these 100+ Chinese arriving on an AirAsia charter flight on Thursday will be able to produce the above?

CCP sponsored...no problem.

What is the Difference, Low Risk or High Risk ?

EVERYONE has to Quarantine for 2 weeks Anyway.

It's foolish to block affluent countries from visiting

here, but granting the Chinese the first privilege.

I remember when they were NOT wanted due to their

Thrifty spending habits.

37 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Abbott has received FDA emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 antigen it is pricing at $5 that delivers results in 15 minutes. Other companies including BD and Quidel already sell antigen tests but Abbott’s scale led some analysts to identify its entry to the market as a potential game-changer. Abbott plans to ship 50 million kits a month starting in October, making mass testing more feasible

PS. The test that was used for the rose garden event in the US president's case was the Abbott rapid test. 'Rapid' currently comes at the price of a relevant number of false negatives. The test is still valuable, but it should not be the only means of protection. For that, the test has simply too many holes. You also wouldn't say: Checking every 10th person for guns is sufficient at an event with the president. Unfortunately it isn't.

Edited October 5, 20205 yr by pentagara

3 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Still have to do 14d quaranten, so why does it matter where you're from? 

Probably because the authorities don't want to be stuck with a bunch of positives cases appearing during the quarantine and having to deal with them. 

1 hour ago, thaitero said:

Actually condo owners do not need to show their bank accounts for STV as all other people need to show minimum 500 K balance for 6 months,,

https://www.thaiembassy.ch/Content/Embassy/57.html#visa2

Clicked on that link but stopped reading after this 

 

> Effective from 2 October 2020 until 30 September 2020 <<