Certificate of Entry and Thai Tourist visa.

[fgmr]

I am in the UK and hoping I can return to Thailand as soon as both UK and Thai Governments allow entry. However at present I am bemused, confused and rapidly becoming traumatised.

I have had both AZ jabs. Yes , I will take another pcr or whatever Covid test when I Know that I can meet all other documents required by Thai Immigration Office. Therein lies monkey puzzle.

I am confused because I do not understand why a separate Certificate allowing entry to the country is required. Why not include these requirements in the Visa Application and make them mandatory for all countries? Do I need a CofE as a tourist from UK. Presumably this requirement has arisen because of the pandemic and therefore all that should be required is validation of having received the necessary jabs within the defined timescales and negative test results.

Some Ministers within the Royal Thai Government and Regional Authorities are pleading for the return of foreign tourists while there appear to be no steps being taken to ease the bureaucracy involved.

fgmr

 

 

[jackdd]

Everybody needs the COE, even people who don't apply for a visa (Thai citizens, Visa exempt entry).

The COE is processed by the MFA in Thailand. The Visa is processed by your embassy.

Two different departments involved, thus two different processes.

[HashBrownHarry]

3 hours ago, jackdd said:

Everybody needs the COE, even people who don't apply for a visa (Thai citizens, Visa exempt entry).

The COE is processed by the MFA in Thailand. The Visa is processed by your embassy.

Two different departments involved, thus two different processes.

CoE is processed by Thai Embassy in whatever country you're travelling from.

[HashBrownHarry]

2 minutes ago, Heng said:

Can you get a COE in Thailand before going abroad?  One less thing to worry about later.

No.

 

The CoE requires ( depending on your visa type ) insurance docs / visa docs / confirmation of ASQ hotel booking / Flight itenary

[Poet]

3 hours ago, fgmr said:

Some Ministers within the Royal Thai Government and Regional Authorities are pleading for the return of foreign tourists while there appear to be no steps being taken to ease the bureaucracy involved.

Just takes a little time for any bureaucracy to catch up with reality.

My hunch is that the requirements will be dropped entirely as soon as the major countries introduce vaccine passports. EU are launching theirs in July.

The Phuket Sandbox was always intended to be an intermediary step, to satisfy the fears of the public after idiots such as Anutin had spent a year whipping them up.

Once you have millions of verifiably vaccinated potential visitors from countries with extremely low active case levels, there is no longer any argument for impeding their entry. At a certain point, probably July, there will be a race between many tourist destination countries to recognize the new lower threat profile and drop any extraneous requirements.

Just to be clear, the new requirement will be that you turn up with your passport and a vaccine certificate proving that you are now fully-inoculated. No COE, no test, no regional restrictions, no special insurance.

 

[asiam110]

37 minutes ago, Poet said:

Just takes a little time for any bureaucracy to catch up with reality.

My hunch is that the requirements will be dropped entirely as soon as the major countries introduce vaccine passports. EU are launching theirs in July.

The Phuket Sandbox was always intended to be an intermediary step, to satisfy the fears of the public after idiots such as Anutin had spent a year whipping them up.

Once you have millions of verifiably vaccinated potential visitors from countries with extremely low active case levels, there is no longer any argument for impeding their entry. At a certain point, probably July, there will be a race between many tourist destination countries to recognize the new lower threat profile and drop any extraneous requirements.

Just to be clear, the new requirement will be that you turn up with your passport and a vaccine certificate proving that you are now fully-inoculated. No COE, no test, no regional restrictions, no special insurance.

 

I hope you're right on the last point. However, on the first, Thailand has rectified hardly any inefficiency in decades, when it becomes promising, some somchai walks it back, e.g. getting rid of the arrival card, on no heck, that's too much change, lets keep the pen and paper for another decade but just make it smaller.

[Poet]

3 minutes ago, asiam110 said:

Thailand has rectified hardly any inefficiency in decades, when it becomes promising, some somchai walks it back, e.g. getting rid of the arrival card, on no heck, that's too much change, lets keep the pen and paper for another decade but just make it smaller.

The arrival card is, certainly, a terrific example of unnecessary bureacracy but I would argue that it is not a sufficient annoyance to dissuade anyone from booking their trip to Thailand. By the time you are aware of it, you are already on the plane and about to land.

If faced with a list of onerous requirements before you book your trip, however, you are far more likely to consider alternatives.

Unlike the majority of members here, I believe Thailand could benefit from a massive post-covid tourism boom. People in the West definitely have the money and the desire to mark the end of lockdown with an exotic vacation and, no, if they are fully-vaccinated themselves they don't give a damn whether or not the locals are vaccinated.

After 15 months of ridiculous rules, however, they have no patience for jumping through more hoops and participating in "safety theatre". Insisting on expensive (and completely unnecessary) tests and insurance will simply push them to one of the many countries that have sane rules.

We know that the EU countries will be dropping all such restrictions for vaccinated travelers. Many other countries will take their cue from that. The first S.E. Asian country to do so will leapfrog the slower countries.

My presumption is that the Chinese Thai families who own the big hotel chains (and, indeed, Thailand) will not tolerate any irrational bureaucracy that costs them billions of dollars.


 

[asiam110]

17 minutes ago, Poet said:

The arrival card is, certainly, a terrific example of unnecessary bureacracy but I would argue that it is not a sufficient annoyance to dissuade anyone from booking their trip to Thailand. By the time you are aware of it, you are already on the plane and about to land.

If faced with a list of onerous requirements before you book your trip, however, you are far more likely to consider alternatives.

Unlike the majority of members here, I believe Thailand could benefit from a massive post-covid tourism boom. People in the West definitely have the money and the desire to mark the end of lockdown with an exotic vacation and, no, if they are fully-vaccinated themselves they don't give a damn whether or not the locals are vaccinated.

After 15 months of ridiculous rules, however, they have no patience for jumping through more hoops and participating in "safety theatre". Insisting on expensive (and completely unnecessary) tests and insurance will simply push them to one of the many countries that have sane rules.

We know that the EU countries will be dropping all such restrictions for vaccinated travelers. Many other countries will take their cue from that. The first S.E. Asian country to do so will leapfrog the slower countries.

My presumption is that the Chinese Thai families who own the big hotel chains (and, indeed, Thailand) will not tolerate any irrational bureaucracy that costs them billions of dollars.


 

Agree. For this to work, the embassy/consulate needs removing from the picture - no need for CoE. I suspect they will keep the covid specific insurance requirement though as it's extremely lucrative for domestic companies given the risk probability - the profit modelling on those policies must be impre$$ive from agent to underwriter to shareholder.

 

[RichardColeman]

I'd wait a couple more months if you can, the amount of yo-yoing going on at the moment means the requirements for entry will probably be different by the time you get home on the bus tonight

[Captain Monday]

Preflight testing and a short quar-ren-ten will be needed for some years to come

Perhaps first three nights. Then maybe just a delay at the airport for post flight testing like Japan.

Vaccine passport apps will be effected by the end of the year. Then an endless of succession of bubbles and exemptions to benefit business elites, and cronies in asean and APEC

Authorities reluctant to give it up some form of COE is likely to continue and the requirement to hold valid insurance to enter Thailand is NEVER going away.

[sammieuk1]

Trying to navigate the Phuket sandpit is and will be hideously torturous debacle laced with every expense you can think of by the look of things so far ????  

[Heng]

12 hours ago, HashBrownHarry said:

No.

 

The CoE requires ( depending on your visa type ) insurance docs / visa docs / confirmation of ASQ hotel booking / Flight itenary

 

I should also clarify... before leaving Thailand.  COE for a Thai national returning to Thailand (after say going to the US to get a vaccine jab).    It seems like you'd be able to have all of the above before leaving the country though.  

 

[statman78]

2 hours ago, Heng said:

 

I should also clarify... before leaving Thailand.  COE for a Thai national returning to Thailand (after say going to the US to get a vaccine jab).    It seems like you'd be able to have all of the above before leaving the country though.  

 

You can get the COE from the Thai consulate in the country you will be returning from.  I am leaving Thailand next week for the USA, returning at the end of June.  I have already applied and received my COE from the Thai consulate in Chicago.  It took about 1 week.

[Heng]

1 hour ago, statman78 said:

You can get the COE from the Thai consulate in the country you will be returning from.  I am leaving Thailand next week for the USA, returning at the end of June.  I have already applied and received my COE from the Thai consulate in Chicago.  It took about 1 week.

 

Cool.   Certainly a lot more convenient printing out stuff from home.

 

[superal]

The UK Thai Embassy online says the "Fit to fly " cert is no longer needed as from the 01/04/2021 but contradicts itself within the same web page saying it is needed , also says 14 night ASQ hotel booking proof needed . Both aforementioned for issue of COE .  Does anyone know if this is the case for Phuket where the quarantine has been halted ?  Also is there any exemption for those returning to Thailand with an existing retirement O visa with a re-entry permit ?  Tried to phone embassy but in a queue for 40 minutes and then line went dead .

Finally , what is a Fit To Fly cert , what does it entail  and how much to pay ?

[richard_smith237]

49 minutes ago, superal said:

The UK Thai Embassy online says the "Fit to fly " cert is no longer needed as from the 01/04/2021 but contradicts itself within the same web page saying it is needed , also says 14 night ASQ hotel booking proof needed . Both aforementioned for issue of COE .  Does anyone know if this is the case for Phuket where the quarantine has been halted ?  Also is there any exemption for those returning to Thailand with an existing retirement O visa with a re-entry permit ?  Tried to phone embassy but in a queue for 40 minutes and then line went dead .

Finally , what is a Fit To Fly cert , what does it entail  and how much to pay ?

 

Quarantine has not been halted in Phuket. 

 

The ‘Phuket Sandbox Model’ has been proposed, nothing has been approved - there may be further details on the Phuket Sandbox Model within the next couple of weeks.

 

Currently, any arrivals in Thailand are required to Quarantine for the full 14 days (15 nights). 

A Fit to Fly letter is no longer needed. 

 

There are no exemptions, everyone travelling to Thailand requires a Certificate of Entry (and all the documents required to secure that: Visa / Insurance / ASQ booking / Flight Booking)

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by richard_smith237

[asiam110]

8 hours ago, statman78 said:

You can get the COE from the Thai consulate in the country you will be returning from.  I am leaving Thailand next week for the USA, returning at the end of June.  I have already applied and received my COE from the Thai consulate in Chicago.  It took about 1 week.

 

Is the COE open until you specify flight dates and tickets in the third step? website is confusing

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD]

22 hours ago, HashBrownHarry said:

CoE is processed by Thai Embassy in whatever country you're travelling from.

indeed. and those embassies do not allways know what they are doing.

in my case one time they did not even budder to reply, and when i called

they asked to send it again. second time they rejected my application for their

mistake, and when i corrected them they accepted.

[richard_smith237]

7 minutes ago, asiam110 said:

Is the COE open until you specify flight dates and tickets in the third step? website is confusing

 

After registering and receiving pre-approval you have two weeks to upload your Flight Tickets and ASQ confirmation. 

 

 

Documents required: 

1)    Colour Scan of Passport ID Page

2)    Colour Scan of Visa / Extension of Stay (and re-entry permit)

3)    Colour Scan of Wife’s Passport (if using that)

4)    Colour Scan of Marriage Certificate (if using that)

5)    Colour Scan of Insurance Document which states you are insured to US$100,000 in the event of complications due to Covid-19

6)    Copy of ASQ Booking

7)    Copy of Flight Booking / Confirmation

 

 

Process: 

1)    Register / Log onto the following Website  https://coethailand.mfa.go.th

2)   Sign in with Name / Passport # etc

3)    Attach your documents 

-       Passport ID page

-       Visa (if using a visa)

-       Wife’s Passport (if using that route)

-       Marriage Cert (if using that route)

(after drag and drop you have to click the upload icon on each image)

4)    Submit 

5)    You will receive an e-mail from the Thai Embassy (Myanmar) informing you that your application for CoE has been confirmed, you will be given a 6 digit pin.

6)    You will next receive an e-mail from the Thai Embassy (Myanmar) informing that you your application for CoE has been Pre-approved

7)    (within 2 weeks) Log in to the Website  https://coethailand.mfa.go.th – upload travel Data section,  use your PIN to log in.

8 )  Upload your Flight Details, ASQ Details and Insurance certificate again and submit the application. 

9)    You will next receive an e-mail from the Thai Embassy informing that you your application for CoE has been approved – your CoE will be attached to that e-mail.

 

 

Pre-Flight:

1)    Get a Covid-19 RT PCR test < 3 days before travel 

2)    Fill out the TM8 form 

3)    Have a paper copy of all documents with you

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by richard_smith237

[statman78]

8 hours ago, asiam110 said:

 

Is the COE open until you specify flight dates and tickets in the third step? website is confusing

The COE is not approved until you submit your flight itinerary.  The approved COE will list all of you flights if you have connections along with dates.  To get approval I submitted the following:

 

1. copy of passport showing picture page, original visa, current extension of stay and valid re-entry permit

2. proof that I have COVID insurance of at least $100,000 US

3. confirmed reservation at an ASQ hotel

4. flight itinerary