Can Thai travel to Phuket?

[habuspasha]

Can a Thai national living in a red zone, unvaccinated but tested negative, fly to Phuket?

[BritTim]

Although the rules for the Phuket sandbox have not yet been finalised, I am fairly sure that anyone (Thai or foreigner) arriving from a red zone country will need to go into quarantine (ASQ or, for Thais only, the free but unpleasant state quarantine).

[Tanoshi]

No, Thais, Expats and Diplomats are not allowed to re-enter Thailand via the Sandbox scheme, vaccinated or not.

Edited June 18, 2021 by Tanoshi

[habuspasha]

I am asking about a Thai travelling from another province in Thailand.  Certainly they must be able to go from one province to another as a general rule.  In fact we flew together from BKK to HGT in March. No vaccine or quarantine.  (I had done my quarantine in BKK.)  Does the Sandbox now require that in July she must do the full ASQ/ASL quarantine if she cannot get vaccinated?  Hardly seems fair to citizens.

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, habuspasha said:

I am asking about a Thai travelling from another province in Thailand.  Certainly they must be able to go from one province to another as a general rule.  In fact we flew together from BKK to HGT in March. No vaccine or quarantine.  (I had done my quarantine in BKK.)  Does the Sandbox now require that in July she must do the full ASQ/ASL quarantine if she cannot get vaccinated?  Hardly seems fair to citizens.

 

I see no prospect that the rules for those already in Thailand will be affected by the sandbox scheme. Each province, as previously, might have local rules regarding those arriving from other provinces, but that is a separate issue from the Phuket sandbox program.

[ubonjoe]

To enter Phuket they must have a recent covid 19 test or have proof of being vaccinated. That is the only requirement.

[Caldera]

14 hours ago, habuspasha said:

Can a Thai national living in a red zone, unvaccinated but tested negative, fly to Phuket?

 

Yes. Having a negative test result is ONE way to qualify. Domestic travelers to Phuket don't need both a negative test result and proof of vaccination.

[nobodysfriend]

A negative Covid test less than 7 days old , is enough to enter Phuket .

[skatewash]

Just a negative covid test taken within 7 days of entering Phuket.  This applies to all domestic arrivals in Phuket.

[Piscis]

On 6/19/2021 at 1:57 AM, ubonjoe said:

To enter Phuket they must have a recent covid 19 test or have proof of being vaccinated. That is the only requirement.

Thanks Joe!

 

Is there any timeframe the vaccine has to be applied before the flight to Phuket? My gf will get her AZ shot this week, and we are planning to fly to Phuket (from BKK) first weekend of July. So there will be about 8-10 days betwen her AZ shot and our flight.

 

Or will she need a Test as well...?

 

Cannot find any information about that...

 

I am already vaccinated with BioNtech. So for me should be no problem.

 

Thanks!

 

John

 

[ubonjoe]

13 minutes ago, Piscis said:

Is there any timeframe the vaccine has to be applied before the flight to Phuket? My gf will get her AZ shot this week, and we are planning to fly to Phuket (from BKK) first weekend of July. So there will be about 8-10 days betwen her AZ shot and our flight.

Both shots must be done at least 2 weeks before you arrive.

Everybody has to get covid 19 tests before departure and after.

[Piscis]

I am confused. Above you said Test OR Vaccination when flying domestically to Phuket...

 

That is how i understand the regulation. Now you say have to get Test before and after departure when flying domestic to Phuket, even when vaccinated?

Edited June 21, 2021 by Piscis

[Piscis]

OK, just to make it clear:

I am already in BKK, ASQ finished. I was vaccinated with BioNtech in Germany. Second shot was June 1st. So for me it should be OK to fly BKK-Phuket just using my vaccination.

My gf will get her first shot this week. We will fly 8-10 days after her AZ shot to Phuket.

My question was: is there a minimum time she has to wait before she flies to Phuket using her vaccinaton status? 

[Venom]

On 6/19/2021 at 6:57 AM, ubonjoe said:

To enter Phuket they must have a recent covid 19 test or have proof of being vaccinated. That is the only requirement.

 

Does anyone know if they have testing facility at bridge upon entry or where exactly? 

[Caldera]

22 hours ago, Piscis said:

My question was: is there a minimum time she has to wait before she flies to Phuket using her vaccinaton status? 

 

The minimum time is 14 days. If she's been vaccinated more recently than that, she would need a negative test to show.

[skatewash]

1 hour ago, Venom said:

 

Does anyone know if they have testing facility at bridge upon entry or where exactly? 

No there isn't a testing facility at the bridge (there had been but it's no longer there).  You can get a rapid antigen test at Takuapa Hospital in Phang Nga for 620thb.

Here's a list of medical testing centers in Thailand and maps to their location.  You can search for ones in Phang Nga or sort by province:

https://service.dmsc.moph.go.th/labscovid19/indexen.php

[ubonjoe]

23 hours ago, Piscis said:

I am confused. Above you said Test OR Vaccination when flying domestically to Phuket...

Sorry I got what you were asking confused with the Sandbox requirements.

This topic is really in the wrong forum.

[Piscis]

1 hour ago, Caldera said:

 

The minimum time is 14 days. If she's been vaccinated more recently than that, she would need a negative test to show.

That is what we are thinking too. However, the official statement do  not mention those two weeks. She will get AZ. And according the info posted above, there is no timely min. limit between vaccination and flight...

[habuspasha]

It seems to me there are two distinctions here that most respondents are not considering.  One is pre and post July 1; that is, does the sandbox scheme change things for Thais? as some have alleged (including the BP newspaper).  They say a "loophole" is that Thais also have to be vaccinated (or can't come at all).  And since they are not clear if they mean only Thai nationals coming from abroad or all Thais, the other distinction is between domestic and international flights.

[skatewash]

2 minutes ago, habuspasha said:

It seems to me there are two distinctions here that most respondents are not considering.  One is pre and post July 1; that is, does the sandbox scheme change things for Thais? as some have alleged (including the BP newspaper).  They say a "loophole" is that Thais also have to be vaccinated (or can't come at all).  And since they are not clear if they mean only Thai nationals coming from abroad or all Thais, the other distinction is between domestic and international flights.

I agree that some media outlets have alleged that Thais can't come to Phuket unless they're vaccinated or that they can't come at all.  Seems to me that is crazy talk.  The Phuket governor appeared to contradict that explicitly the other day.  It really doesn't make any sense.  Only 2.9% (roughly) of the population in Thailand is vaccinated.  Thais are welcome to come to Phuket under the same rules as everyone else.  The rules for domestic arrivals are as posted in the graphic.  It's been that way since about June.  It will be that way after the Phuket Sandbox starts on July 1.  I don't see it changing.  Domestic rules aren't changing just because new international rules are being adopted.

There is a huge distinction between international arrivals (Phuket Sandbox rules) and domestic arrivals (Phuket's rules governing domestic arrival).  The Phuket Sandbox rules have just recently been approved.  Phuket's rules have been in place for about a month.  People confuse the two all the time.  Media it seems to me has a huge incentive to make claims like expats (living in Phuket) and Thais will not be allowed into Phuket under the Sandbox rules.  In my opinion, the media loves the attention it gets when it riles up its audience.  They purposely "misunderstand" things as it suits their purposes.

[habuspasha]

3 hours ago, skatewash said:

I agree that some media outlets have alleged that Thais can't come to Phuket unless they're vaccinated or that they can't come at all.  Seems to me that is crazy talk.  The Phuket governor appeared to contradict that explicitly the other day.  It really doesn't make any sense.  Only 2.9% (roughly) of the population in Thailand is vaccinated.  Thais are welcome to come to Phuket under the same rules as everyone else.  The rules for domestic arrivals are as posted in the graphic.  It's been that way since about June.  It will be that way after the Phuket Sandbox starts on July 1.  I don't see it changing.  Domestic rules aren't changing just because new international rules are being adopted.

There is a huge distinction between international arrivals (Phuket Sandbox rules) and domestic arrivals (Phuket's rules governing domestic arrival).  The Phuket Sandbox rules have just recently been approved.  Phuket's rules have been in place for about a month.  People confuse the two all the time.  Media it seems to me has a huge incentive to make claims like expats (living in Phuket) and Thais will not be allowed into Phuket under the Sandbox rules.  In my opinion, the media loves the attention it gets when it riles up its audience.  They purposely "misunderstand" things as it suits their purposes.

With all due respect, since I have to be certain my GF does not have to quarantine after a domestic flight from BKK to HGT mid-July, I need more than theories about media motives and what also seems to me to be "crazy talk" if it is taken seriously by the major English Thai newspaper and established commentators.  I hope these details are revealed in the Royal Gazette announcement.

[ubonjoe]

6 hours ago, habuspasha said:

With all due respect, since I have to be certain my GF does not have to quarantine after a domestic flight from BKK to HGT mid-July, I need more than theories about media motives and what also seems to me to be "crazy talk" if it is taken seriously by the major English Thai newspaper and established commentators. 

The sandbox is not related to domestic travel for Thais or non Thais.

She will need either a negative covid 19 test or have at least one vaccination to fly to Phuket.

[Piscis]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

The sandbox is not related to domestic travel for Thais or non Thais.

She will need either a negative covid 19 test or have at least one vaccination to fly to Phuket.

Yes, this is how i see it, too. And this seems to be the official statement. 

 

However, for me it is still not clear if there has to be a certain amount of time after receiving the vaccine untill one can fly domestic from BKK to HKT. We are not talking about sandbox requirements here i guess.

Edited June 23, 2021 by Piscis