Return to Thailand O Marriage

[kynikoi]

Does anyone know if insurance is required for people living in Thailand and returning from abroad?

 

Do you need to file paperwork with the embassy or consulate?

Still the same it was a year ago?

Please no mention about Phuket or Pattaya.

Thank you

[Upnotover]

Yes you will need COE, COVID insurance, -ve PCR test and 14 day ASQ.  Not much changed.  See the Thai Embassy website in your country for all the detail.

[Mitkof Island]

It is nothing short of a living hell trying to return for the last year. Sadly I do not see these requirements changing until the Thai government gets its act together with vaccines. Because they were so arrogant with their foreigner quarantine scam for those married and have a family in Thailand they seem to have forgotten about you and thousands of others. They have also ignored those who have been vaccinated like myself. My advice is just wait it out likely 2022 now at earliest if ever.

[skatewash]

Not much has changed from a year ago.  You don't need the Fit-to-Fly certificate anymore, though.

Neither Phuket nor Pattaya were mentioned in this reply, but it wasn't easy. ????

[kynikoi]

I mention Phuket and Pattaya because they think they can open under different rules than what dictators dictate. While they might accept. I wouldn't want to buy a ticket and rock up at airport without quarantine booked and paperwork in hand. Think that will end badly.

Sorry MitK.

I know someone flying in from UK and has both shots. He's doing two weeks and paperwork. TR visa to see son here.

So, despite O extension, reentry permit it's same old rubbish??

The hotel quarantine is never going away. That's corruption money for someone. It will get shortened maybe in time with both shots but won't disappear. I'd also venture when tourist numbers rise and quarantine hotels get booked out the whole thing will become more a joke than it is now. Fake nurses taking fake swabs, not running tests...like that.

I really need to leave but I really need to not be in quarantine two weeks on return due to work.

[sirineou]

It was not difficult, Just time consuming and expensive. 

If you have money and time to throw at it . you can do it, I just did.

As mentioned , you need to visit the website of the embassy that serves the area of the country  you will go to, what you need is listed there. 

-you will need a good printer and plenty of ink because they will be asking for documents to email to them. and when they email certificates back to you, you will need to print them, (make at least two copies, on your way back you will have to produce them at every transit point and it's easy to lose)

There are a few FB support groups, where you can post questions and get answers from people going through the process.

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/275821990252759/?multi_permalinks=533829997785289

[richard_smith237]

Putting your paranoia aside for a moment.... 

 

The CoE process remains the same as it has for the past 10 months - Quarantine is for 15 nights at ASQ in Bangkok or ALQ (Alternate Location Quarantine). 

 

You wanted no mention of Pattaya or Phuket, but there is a significant factor for anyone wishing to return to Thailand and that is the potential for a vaccinated individual undergo the Sandbox island quarantine for 7 days which obvious a lot faster and much cheaper.

 

There is a CCSA meeting in a couple of days - its looking as though the SandBox model will officially be approved then (not sure though). 

 

 

 

[kynikoi]

3 hours ago, sirineou said:

It was not difficult, Just time consuming and expensive. 

If you have money and time to throw at it . you can do it, I just did.

As mentioned , you need to visit the website of the embassy that serves the area of the country  you will go to, what you need is listed there. 

-you will need a good printer and plenty of ink because they will be asking for documents to email to them. and when they email certificates back to you, you will need to print them, (make at least two copies, on your way back you will have to produce them at every transit point and it's easy to lose)

There are a few FB support groups, where you can post questions and get answers from people going through the process.

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/275821990252759/?multi_permalinks=533829997785289

 

Sincerely appreciate that.

 

I've already soured on the idea. Again.

 

As the wife needs to go as well it's too much wasted money. I truly mean wasted.

 

Anyone else know a country where entry so onerous? Just curious.

[kynikoi]

2 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Putting your paranoia aside for a moment.... 

 

The CoE process remains the same as it has for the past 10 months - Quarantine is for 15 nights at ASQ in Bangkok or ALQ (Alternate Location Quarantine). 

 

You wanted no mention of Pattaya or Phuket, but there is a significant factor for anyone wishing to return to Thailand and that is the potential for a vaccinated individual undergo the Sandbox island quarantine for 7 days which obvious a lot faster and much cheaper.

 

There is a CCSA meeting in a couple of days - its looking as though the SandBox model will officially be approved then (not sure though). 

 

 

 

 

Except I'd asked you not to mention the two. But you had to anyway. Agenda much?

 

Will guarantee with covid raging around the country if you want to leave the island it will take another seven days on Phuket and another test. Why bother??!!

Edited May 30, 2021 by kynikoi

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, sirineou said:

It was not difficult, Just time consuming and expensive. 

If you have money and time to throw at it . you can do it, I just did.

As mentioned , you need to visit the website of the embassy that serves the area of the country  you will go to, what you need is listed there. 

-you will need a good printer and plenty of ink because they will be asking for documents to email to them. and when they email certificates back to you, you will need to print them, (make at least two copies, on your way back you will have to produce them at every transit point and it's easy to lose)

There are a few FB support groups, where you can post questions and get answers from people going through the process.

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/275821990252759/?multi_permalinks=533829997785289

 

I had all my documents in place since my 1st CoE application last year. 

 

This year in March my 2nd CoE application  took 3hrs from registration to receiving the CoE (and most of that was because I didn’t check my e-mail).

 

So... About 10 mins to register and submit the initial documents. 

Received pre-authorisation 10 mins later, logged in with the 6 digit pin code (receive with pre-auth) and submitted ASQ booking and flight ticket - checked e-mail a few hours later and saw the CoE. 

 

There was some confusion about the 10 day (when quarantine was reduced), but I circumnavigated that by holding a two ASQ bookings (one for 10 days one for 15 days - fully refundable on agoda).

 

 

[kynikoi]

1 minute ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

I had all my documents in place since my 1st CoE application last year. 

 

This year in March my 2nd CoE application  took 3hrs from registration to receiving the CoE (and most of that was because I didn’t check my e-mail).

 

So... About 10 mins to register and submit the initial documents. 

Received pre-authorisation 10 mins later, logged in with the 6 digit pin code (receive with pre-auth) and submitted ASQ booking and flight ticket - checked e-mail a few hours later and saw the CoE. 

 

There was some confusion about the 10 day (when quarantine was reduced), but I circumnavigated that by holding a two ASQ bookings (one for 10 days one for 15 days - fully refundable on agoda).

 

 

 

I'm happy for you.

 

I don't have documents in place

 

Your list makes my head swim.

 

No idea why anyone would bother with Phuket in coming 5 months but whatever.

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, kynikoi said:

 

I'm happy for you.

 

I don't have documents in place

 

Your list makes my head swim.

 

If you struggle with that list, perhaps you should wait until the emergency decree has ended - travel just seems too difficult for you. 

 

 

2 minutes ago, kynikoi said:

No idea why anyone would bother with Phuket in coming 5 months but whatever.

 

 

Really, even after its been explained to you a couple of times  ???

 

7 Days: Free to travel around Phuket Island (15,000 baht hotel + Covid-19 test + Flight to BKK = ±20,000 baht)

15 Days: Can’t leave a hotel room (45,000 to 60,000 baht)

 

 

That surely gives you some idea why... Its a no brainer !

 

And... even IF in your worse case scenario (quoted above) that the authorities insisted in an additional 7 days, then 14 days on Phuket would still be better than 15 locked in a hotel room in Bangkok. 

 

 

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, kynikoi said:

 

Sincerely appreciate that.

 

I've already soured on the idea. Again.

 

As the wife needs to go as well it's too much wasted money. I truly mean wasted.

 

 

 

Anyone else know a country where entry so onerous? Just curious.

I also did it with my wife, and it was a bit more complicated for us because her Thai passport was expired, and the appointment to renew passports was backlogged for three months ( we were stuck in the US for two years).  But also not a problem, the Embassy is aware for the problem and issues temporary travel documents,  Wife did not want to use American passport because then she would had needed covid insurance an PRC test, that as a Thai national did not need. 

Cant say enough good things about the Washington DC embassy stuff, they were extremely competent, professional, and helpful. 

Traveling with the wife, there was a discount for the second person in the room, and being that my wife is also my best friend, It helped pass the quarantine time. 

The situation is very fluid right now, If you would leave for abroad in the next few weeks, by the time you return all of the above hurdles might me eliminated or reduced. We are planning a trip to Greece end of August for a month we are hopping that by the time we return this whole thing would be a bad memory. 

Good luck

[kynikoi]

1 minute ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

If you struggle with that list, perhaps you should wait until the emergency decree has ended - travel just seems too difficult for you. 

 

 

 

 

Really, even after its been explained to you a couple of times  ???

 

7 Days: Free to travel around Phuket Island (15,000 baht hotel + Covid-19 test + Flight to BKK = ±20,000 baht)

15 Days: Can’t leave a hotel room (45,000 to 60,000 baht)

 

 

That surely gives you some idea why... Its a no brainer !

 

And... even IF in your worse case scenario (quoted above) that the authorities insisted in an additional 7 days, then 14 days on Phuket would still be better than 15 locked in a hotel room in Bangkok. 

 

 

 

OR in the case of myself I just don't leave (I'm OP)

 

OR in the case of a tourist they go to the Caribbean.

 

It's a solution in search of a problem in one huge respect. The hassle if the paperwork, the cost of the quarantine, the uncertainty of the travel, the vagueness of the sandbox program. You'd have to be a monkey's uncle to chance all that to come to Thailand.

[kynikoi]

3 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Cant say enough good things about the Washington DC embassy stuff, they were extremely competent, professional, and helpful. 

 

Interesting. I had a two unpleasant experiences with them regarding getting TRs many years back.

 

Still, the scales tipping toward not going.

 

The reason I'm honestly asking this is because my friend's father had to quarantine with two shots I don't see this ending for years so I'd thought I'd go now or later. Same hassle regardless of being vaccinated which is insane.

[sirineou]

18 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

I had all my documents in place since my 1st CoE application last year. 

 

This year in March my 2nd CoE application  took 3hrs from registration to receiving the CoE (and most of that was because I didn’t check my e-mail).

 

So... About 10 mins to register and submit the initial documents. 

Received pre-authorisation 10 mins later, logged in with the 6 digit pin code (receive with pre-auth) and submitted ASQ booking and flight ticket - checked e-mail a few hours later and saw the CoE. 

 

There was some confusion about the 10 day (when quarantine was reduced), but I circumnavigated that by holding a two ASQ bookings (one for 10 days one for 15 days - fully refundable on agoda).

 

 

 Yea, it wasn't difficult at all. , just a bit time consuming for us. 

For us a bit more complicated because first I had to apply for a Non Im type 0 visa, (we had been away for over two years) and wife had to apply for emergent  travel document, because her  Thai passport was expired. So we had to send documents back and forth and mail them our passports and 

In the end we had a complication where the quarantine was changed from 7-days to 14-days for those traveling after may 6th or later and we were traveling may 6th LOL. so we had to change our airline ticket from traveling  with Qatar air, west to east and losing a day, to traveling East to west with Korean air and gaining a day. (we were in Florida , so same distance either way). The embassy was very supportive and helped us change our COE in less than a day.  So that was no problem also.

 

[kynikoi]

Just now, sirineou said:

 Yea, it wasn't difficult at all. , just a bit time consuming for us. 

For us a bit more complicated because first I had to apply for a Non Im type 0 visa, (we had been away for over two years) and wife had to apply for emergent  travel document, because her  Thai passport was expired. So we had to send documents back and forth and mail them our passports and 

In the end we had a complication where the quarantine was changed from 7-days to 14-days for those traveling after may 6th or later and we were traveling may 6th LOL. so we had to change our airline ticket from traveling  with Qatar air, west to east and losing a day, to traveling East to west with Korean air and gaining a day. (we were in Florida , so same distance either way). The embassy was very supportive and helped us change our COE in less than a day.  So that was no problem also.

 

 

Man, that sounds like a lot of cash. +2

[sirineou]

9 minutes ago, kynikoi said:

 

Interesting. I had a two unpleasant experiences with them regarding getting TRs many years back.

 

Still, the scales tipping toward not going.

 

The reason I'm honestly asking this is because my friend's father had to quarantine with two shots I don't see this ending for years so I'd thought I'd go now or later. Same hassle regardless of being vaccinated which is insane.

I would not be too desponded over that, Europe is opening to vaccinated tourists, and if that goes well, and also the other thing you did not want mentioned , goes well, I think the "Unmentionable"  LOL, will be implemented Thailand wide.

[sirineou]

7 minutes ago, kynikoi said:

 

Man, that sounds like a lot of cash. +2

It was not so bad. We had purchased cancelation insurance when  we originally purchased out tickets through CheapO  Air. , I kid you not ,that's their name and it is a major, perhaps the  biggest Airfare website in the US. 

So our original ticket price was credited back to our credit card in less than a week. minuses a small processing fee

If you are traveling now days with all the variables involved I highly recommend the insurance.

It paid off for us.