Extension of tourists visas from 30 to 45 days set for Cabinet approval

[nrasmussen]

12 hours ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

If some South American countries get into Thailand for 90 days with not visa, why just them?

  How are they so special?  I am jealous.

Geezer

 

 

That's due to bilateral agreements. Nothing new.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 12/11/2020 at 4:52 PM, webfact said:

Those from 56 countries (P30) who can stay up to 30 days.

So what? As long as quarantine is required and the baht is too high ( actually other currencies are too low ) few are going to come anyway.

 

On 12/11/2020 at 4:52 PM, webfact said:

Nationals of Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Chile who can stay up to 90 days visa free.

If they made that for all countries currently on 30 day visa exempt they might get some response, but have to make it back to back permitted, like it used to be in the 90s. Then they might be cooking with gas.

[thaibeachlovers]

9 minutes ago, nrasmussen said:

 

That's due to bilateral agreements. Nothing new.

NZ used to have the same agreement. Cross the border to Malaya ( no visa required ) and cross back for another 90 days, indefinitely. BRILLIANT

[shortstop]

7 hours ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

COE, ASQ hotel, insurance (min 100k covid cover), flight, covid test and fit to fly document up to 72 hours before flight, lots of money and patience..

... and stress.

 

If you still need toto deal with an embassy/consulate what is the advantage of 45 day stamp instead of 60 day tourist visa?   Assuming the person will extend an extra 30 days then is it 75 days instead of 90 days but 1900 baht cheaper?

 

Unless someone had a specific commitment back home say on the 80th day, you would think that anyone willing to quarantine would much rather have the extra 15 days for just 1900 baht.  Or am I missing something?

 

I know a few people who would be willing to put up with the discomfort and expense of quarantine but just don't want to deal with uncertainty of Immigration examining the fine print of an insurance policy, or a flight delay changing the 3 day window and perhaps being knocked back at the airport after spending a good deal of money probably non-refundable.

[KhaoYai]

9 hours ago, possum1931 said:

Home quarantine in UK? I thought there was no quarantine in UK, has it changed again?

The list of countries changes all the time depending on the situation in that country.  At the moment there's no quarantine if you travel to the UK from Thailand. The Canary Islands were removed from the 'safe list' yesterday.

[KhaoYai]

4 hours ago, shortstop said:

and perhaps being knocked back at the airport after spending a good deal of money probably non-refundable.

Have you heard of people being denied entry because of their insurance at the airport?  The only ones I've heard of had it refused when applying for COE.

[KhaoYai]

One of the problems with these attempts to get more tourists in is the Certificate of Entry (COE) itself. Its dated and if you don't fly on that date, you have to re-apply or persuade the embassy to change it.

 

Due to the situation, airlines are constantly cancelling flights or changing flight times.

 

Just contacting some embassies to try to get a change can be difficult. I think they need to change the system - check your eligibility, insurance, ASQ booking and other documents, issue a  COE based on the original date but make the actual flight date flexible. It would then be up and at your own risk to you to make sure that your ASQ, Fit to Fly and Covid test were all OK - if they're not, you're turned around at the airport.

 

Currently, if your flight is on a Saturday for example and the airline change it to Sunday (possibly just a few hours), your Fit to Fly and Covid tests could still be OK but you are very likley to be denied boarding because the COE date is wrong and there is no way of contacting an embassy on a weekend.

[Blumpie]

10 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

One of the problems with these attempts to get more tourists in is the Certificate of Entry (COE) itself. Its dated and if you don't fly on that date, you have to re-apply or persuade the embassy to change it.

 

Due to the situation, airlines are constantly cancelling flights or changing flight times.

 

Just contacting some embassies to try to get a change can be difficult. I think they need to change the system - check your eligibility, insurance, ASQ booking and other documents, issue a  COE based on the original date but make the actual flight date flexible. It would then be up and at your own risk to you to make sure that your ASQ, Fit to Fly and Covid test were all OK - if they're not, you're turned around at the airport.

 

Currently, if your flight is on a Saturday for example and the airline change it to Sunday (possibly just a few hours), your Fit to Fly and Covid tests could still be OK but you are very likley to be denied boarding because the COE date is wrong and there is no way of contacting an embassy on a weekend.

Yep.

It's a logistical nightmare and I again assert that you need to be dropped on your head many times to go on a vacation to Thailand right now.  Not to mention it's big big $$$.  

[chaihot]

On 12/10/2020 at 11:34 PM, Walker88 said:

Out of curiosity, of the 39 million tourists to Thailand in 2019, how many stayed more than 2 weeks?

That would be an interesting statistic.  

[Traubert]

On 12/11/2020 at 7:51 PM, soi3eddie said:

 

Seem's to me that they are running out of ideas and starting to mildly panic as the economic devastation sets in. Whilst what they really need to do is get the quarantine requirement down to no more than 5 days. That would be the tipping point for many wishing to visit. After all if you've spent a day (or 2 days from North America) getting here than 2 of those quarantine 5 days would be welcome to catch up on sleep and relax. My mother is booked to visit from UK mid January for 18 days - BA haven't yet cancelled the flight - but the last thing she wants to do is quarantine. She might be pursuaded to do 5 days but not longer. 

 

What use is 5 days quarantine? It's not supposed to be a 'rest period.'

 

With a disease that has a 10-14 day incubation period it's suicidal.

Edited December 13, 2020 by Traubert

[Rimmer]

Troll post removed

[lovethai123]

7 hours ago, Traubert said:

With a disease that has a 10-14 day incubation period it's suicidal.

I always wonder where did this thought 14 day incubation period come from?

 

Any research on this? Not questioning you particularly but I can't stop wondering about this 14 day period. 

 

Update:

 

I found this article online and this seems to have some weight. Usually by incubation period I think they mean about symptoms and getting sick. But there are loads of people everywhere who never have any symptoms throughout the "positive" period.

 

Everyone is trying to be on the safe side and recommending 14 days quarantine.

 

https://www.breakthroughs.com/foundations-science/14-Day-Quarantine-Incubation-Period

Edited December 13, 2020 by lovethai123

[KhaoYai]

Wrong thread

Edited December 15, 2020 by KhaoYai

[Danderman123]

So, what happened to the Cabinet approval of the 45 day Visa Exemption?

[PingRoundTheWorld]

On 12/12/2020 at 1:58 PM, shortstop said:

Unless someone had a specific commitment back home say on the 80th day, you would think that anyone willing to quarantine would much rather have the extra 15 days for just 1900 baht.  Or am I missing something?

Tourist visa in my country: you have to go to embassy twice (once to apply, once to pick up passport) and you get 60+30 days

Current visa exempt: you get 30+60, but you don't have to go to embassy at all

 

In the current situation if it's 60 vs 90 days I think most people will opt for the visa, however if exempt is amended to 45 days and it's 75 vs 90 days I think a lot of people will choose to avoid the visa and hassle that goes with it.

 

May be different in countries where mail-in applications are available, but even there I think a lot of people will just give up on those extra 15 days and go for the visa exempt option as there's less paperwork and not much wait involved - just book flights/ASQ/insurance, apply for COE (2-3 days max), and you're on your way.

 

I guess it really comes down to individual priorities (travel ASAP exempt vs wait and hassle for visa but stay longer). Either way it's good to have options!

[shortstop]

On 12/12/2020 at 6:22 PM, KhaoYai said:

Have you heard of people being denied entry because of their insurance at the airport? 

I don't know anyone who has been denied boarding at an airport or denied entry into Thailand because of insurance.   But one guy I now well who got in said they were checking his paperwork multiple times before entry.  He didn't say they were specifically looking at insurance.