Thailand sets out seven conditions for foreign arrivals without quarantine

[webfact]

 

From November 1st, foreign tourists arriving in Thailand, without being required to enter quarantine, must meet seven conditions, according to the Bureau of Risk Communication and Health Behavior Promotion of the Disease Control Department, Wednesday.

 

Foreign arrivals must:

 

1. Come from countries specified by the Thai Public Health Ministry as being low risk and arrive by air.
2. Have certificates to confirm that they have received two doses of a recognised COVID-19 vaccine.
3. Have negative COVID-19 results from RT-PCR tests conducted within 72 hours prior to arrival in Thailand.
4. Have a minimum of US$50,000 health insurance coverage.
5. Have written/electronic confirmation of hotel bookings in Thailand.
6. Download and install a specified app upon arrival at the airport and undergo RT-PCR tests within 24 hours of arrival.
7. Have negative test results before travelling domestically without quarantine.

 

The government’s policy of reopening the country to foreign travellers is based on three models.

 

Discover Cigna’s range of health insurance solutions created for expats and local nationals living in Thailand - click to view

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thailand-sets-out-seven-conditions-for-foreign-arrivals-without-quarantine/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-10-21

 

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[Gjk7777]

Does that mean you can travel anywhere in Thailand? I heard it's only in "Blue" areas..not sure where they are though.

[kevin612]

I rather stay at home in November and observe what will happen and make my decision on December.

[Gjk7777]

1 minute ago, kevin612 said:

I rather stay at home in November and observe what will happen and make my decision on December.

I would do the same, but seeing my daughter unhappy everyday because she misses me, I need to get out there ASAP..

[Danderman123]

Does the $50,000 health insurance have to cover Covid-19? 

[Swiss1960]

Clear as mud as always, when they issue new regulations... 

- what about the previous 100K and specifically mention of Covid inclusion?

- what about the in-country PCR test within 24 hours? Can tourists do it themselves?

- what about the "must be contactable", i.e. the 1-day quarantine?

- where to find the list of countries and how many times per day will they change it?

 

[RichardColeman]

33 minutes ago, webfact said:

The government’s policy of reopening the country to foreign travellers is based on three models.

1. Numbers hit silly TAT expectations.

2. Numbers are miserably equal Phuket Sandbox.

3. Numbers disastrously less than Phuket Sandbox.

[bunnydrops]

50000 US insurance. Is that a step down from the 100,000 covid insurance or full coverage bought in Thailand?

No mention of hotel lockup.

[bkk6060]

Not much detailed info at this point.  My belief is every person who enters the country in the future will be required to have some type of travel or other medical coverage.

[stigar]

I use eouropien  .the best cimpany in the world so far.They DONT covverd thailand now because of tracvel restreicitions,My lat trip in thailand i get sick in my hotel.The manaager bin my hotel ordrer a anbalunce.So i ender with a bill about 43.000 ..11 hour i said im ok..thay didnt care..they came in my room many times withnthis and that,,

[RichardColeman]

18 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

My belief is every person who enters the country in the future will be required to have some type of travel or other medical coverage.

Ok, but but who's going to check it ? How do you check 40 million health insurances on arrival ? 

 

Short term with a handful of tourists, maybe, future years and millions , I seriously doubt it

[aussiexpat]

Pretty easy to figure out the top 10 list to get no quarantine.

 

The already stated China, US, UK, Singapore and Germany are all on the list of top number of tourists pre-covid. The question is, which of these high tourist countries will miss out to make it a list of 10

 

I'm guessing the other five may likely be Japan, Russia, South Korea, India and Australia

 

https://www.thaiwebsites.com/m/tourists-nationalities-Thailand.asp

Edited October 20, 2021 by aussiexpat

[steven100]

Aussie's shun Thailand by the thousand's ..........

 

Fiji WINS BIG ON BOOKINGS :

https://www.news.com.au/travel/destinations/pacific/thousands-of-australians-book-holidays-as-fiji-prepares-for-december-1-opening/news-story/da5688f67920c0f8b7a0b1868ec275c6

Thousands of Australians book holidays as Fiji prepares for December 1 opening

Aussies have been yearning for an overseas holiday for two years – and one of the first places to open up is already being smashed with thousands of bookings.

Favourite island for Aussies to reopen

Island paradise hoping to be our new Bali

Epic trip Aussies are desperate to book

Aussies desperate for an overseas island getaway have jumped on their first opportunity to get away, flooding hotel and airline sites to book a Fiji holiday.

Fiji announced earlier this month it would be reopening its borders from December 1 to fully vaccinated Australians.

With other Aussie island favourites like Bali and Thailand still to confirm when they might welcome Australians back, thousands have embraced Fiji.

News.com.au understands a number of hotels have had seen their booking records broken over the past week, with one resort recording $60,000 worth of bookings in a single day.

Flights are also being snapped up, with only a handful of seats available on December dates.

 

[richard_smith237]

Assumptions and guesses follow... 

 

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Foreign arrivals must:

 

1. Come from countries specified by the Thai Public Health Ministry as being low risk and arrive by air.
2. Have certificates to confirm that they have received two doses of a recognised COVID-19 vaccine.
3. Have negative COVID-19 results from RT-PCR tests conducted within 72 hours prior to arrival in Thailand.
4. Have a minimum of US$50,000 health insurance coverage.
5. Have written/electronic confirmation of hotel bookings in Thailand.
6. Download and install a specified app upon arrival at the airport and undergo RT-PCR tests within 24 hours of arrival.
7. Have negative test results before travelling domestically without quarantine.

1 - Nothing will be clear until very late...  

2 - Every recent Sandboxer has produced this

3 - Every recent CoE arrival has produced this

4 - Every recent CoE arrival has produced this for US$100,000 - I imagine similar for US$50K including covid cover. 

5 - What of those who are not on holiday and live in Bangkok ?? Hotels for at least 1 night until PCR negative test result is issued ?

6 - PCR tests to be administered at SHA+ certified hotels then? (instead of long queues at the airport), forcing people to use SHA+ transport to the hotel ? (inclusive 1 night and PCR packages ?  - continued money spinner?)

7 - Understandable but also flawed, anyone can get in a car and drive where they want - so is the PCR test requirement only for air-travel ? questionable logic. 

 

[nkg]

1 hour ago, bunnydrops said:

50000 US insurance. Is that a step down from the 100,000 covid insurance or full coverage bought in Thailand?

No mention of hotel lockup.

 

If that is $50,000 general health insurance, in theory any normal travel insurance policy should be able to cover that.

 

However, what happens if you get tested positive but are asymptomatic? Will tourists still have to pay for a 2 week hospital stay? Most travel insurance policies wouldn't pay out in that scenario.

 

[steven100]

Thailand will lose out because of all the bureaucracy and requirements to enter.

Why would travelers want all that seven point plan to enter after just spending a year locked up.

 

double vax certificate, 1 x test at the airport and a passport should be adequate. 

[zzaa09]

2 hours ago, Gjk7777 said:

Does that mean you can travel anywhere in Thailand? I heard it's only in "Blue" areas..not sure where they are though.

Inter-Provincial movement and travel has been open to most of the upcountry regions for months - 

Why? Because of the very low infection rate and most continue to observe protocol.

[smedly]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

• Have written/electronic confirmation of hotel bookings in Thailand.
• Download and install a specified app upon arrival at the airport and undergo RT-PCR tests within 24 hours of arrival.
• Have negative test results before travelling domestically without quarantine.

Hotel booking - how many nights

 

Download and install a specified app - don't have a smart phone don't want one

 

Have negative test results before travelling domestically without quarantine. - so you are quarantined until you test negative even though you just did a couple of days before 

 

 

Those dirty foreigners putting the Thai people in danger - stay away dirty farang Prayuth and Anutin are talking good care - best vaccines - hundreds of billions of baht in budgets that nobody knows where it went, they are our hero's everybody love and want them to stay in power for ever 

 

 

[smedly]

14 minutes ago, steven100 said:

Thailand will lose out because of all the bureaucracy and requirements to enter.

Why would travelers want all that seven point plan to enter after just spending a year locked up.

 

double vax certificate, 1 x test at the airport and a passport should be adequate. 

correct, they are making something very complicated that doesn't need to be, plus what exactly is open ? and talk of vans driving around in Bangkok randomly testing foreigners 

[gk10012001]

so... no firm mention here of the Thai App thingy that was replacing the COE?  So just a general policy statement from the guy, but the mechanics kind of missing?

[gk10012001]

3 minutes ago, smedly said:

correct, they are making something very complicated that doesn't need to be, plus what exactly is open ? and talk of vans driving around in Bangkok randomly testing foreigners 

Yeah those Swab Centers, were in some articles, and I don't think they were talking about where US navy enlisted newbie sailors hang out

[gim12]

.malaysia is talking about reopening soon , unclear yet  if they will have as many ,"lets ripoff the 

 tourists" requirements

as Thailand but hard to believe they can be as bad

 

 

 

 

 

 

[fusion58]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Download and install a specified app upon arrival at the airport and undergo RT-PCR tests within 24 hours of arrival.

I question their ability to develop such an app within the given time frame and to make it accessible to all travelers regardless of country of origin, type of device, etc.

 

These quarter-wits don't even know how to build a 90-day reporting site that works.

[bristolgeoff]

Looks simple enough,but i still watching what happens after nov 1 has passed.I,am waiting to return looking at dec,Early jan.No one wants the 14 day stay in bkk,this is the one thing that will stop tourist coming.

 Don,t mind the test,but i don,t want them chosing my hotel in bkk for a day.Travel insurance always is more than 50k in dollars.So if things all go to plan for everyone thailand will  get tourist  and we will be back

[zzaa09]

45 minutes ago, nkg said:

 

If that is $50,000 general health insurance, in theory any normal travel insurance policy should be able to cover that.

 

However, what happens if you get tested positive but are asymptomatic? Will tourists still have to pay for a 2 week hospital stay? Most travel insurance policies wouldn't pay out in that scenario.

 

Remember.......there's the insurance catch. Their insurance catch.

[bkk6060]

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

Ok, but but who's going to check it ? How do you check 40 million health insurances on arrival ? 

 

Short term with a handful of tourists, maybe, future years and millions , I seriously doubt it

I hope not, but they have talked about insurance for a few years now I think this has given them an excuse to implement it.

What is the difference on showing/proving insurance coverage and showing/proving a vaccine certificate?   They may just have you verify it online prior to travel as they do now.  Or, I have an Aetna insurance card with specific coverage show this or something similar upon departure or entry.

 

 

 

[Jotho]

It is unfathomable how somebody there can be allowed to sit and come up with all these rules and changes constantly..  It is basically impossible for the majority of those wanting to travel to even think about booking something that is as uncertain as it can be...  Sure some pensioners could perhaps, but anybody working has ZERO chance of planning any travel with such uncertainty

[scorecard]

3 hours ago, kevin612 said:

I rather stay at home in November and observe what will happen and make my decision on December.

Me too, flight booked to enter Thailand late afternoon 9 December.

[scorecard]

29 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

I hope not, but they have talked about insurance for a few years now I think this has given them an excuse to implement it.

What is the difference on showing/proving insurance coverage and showing/proving a vaccine certificate?   They may just have you verify it online prior to travel as they do now.  Or, I have an Aetna insurance card with specific coverage show this or something similar upon departure or entry.

 

 

 

Potential travelers to Thailand have to apply online for a 'Thailand Pass'. This means submitting several docs online including proof of Covid- 19 Health insurance with a specific cover. 

 

So seems that the health insurance requirement is checked before the 'Thailand Pass' is issued.

 

But of course it could be that on arrival the traveler must show the original document. But that possibly just means 'show it' (the original does exist), rather than staff at the airport

scrutinizing/investigating the policy.

api.js.download - Shortcut.lnk

[charmonman]

I wonder how long it will take them to decide what the “low risk “ countries are. Apparently both the UK and the US are on the list despite  having daily case numbers well above most other countries. They should just let in anyone who is fully vaccinated but no, they have to complicate matters.

 

 I am glad I chose to do a seven day quarantine. At least the rules are fairly clear and the system works.