Personal experience with Thailand Pass

[AKJeff]

Just a quick note for people looking for experiences from the US with the Thailand Pass.

 

I read a lot of the issues that the website was having so I decided to apply early.  My flight from the US is departing November 26th.  I applied on November 8th in the morning.  I had all the requirements in .jpg format and a Gmail address for the QR code.

 

The website took my application on the first try and I received a registration confirmation in minutes.  

 

I would check the email address two times a day and was beginning to worry as tomorrow is the 7th day after I filed the application.  (The confirmation says that you will receive the  " results of your registration" with in 7 days.  

 

Today, Sunday the 14th, I received my QR code with my approval to enter Thailand.

 

So as you may know the US CDC vaccination card does not have a QR code.  Maybe that is why it takes so long or maybe it is something else but this is my experience.

 

As a side note I applied for a new Non-o from the Embassy in Washington in the 29th of October.  It is still "processing." 

[EricTh]

The US CDC card can be easily faked because it's hand-written. USA should really make something like the vaccine passport in Thailand that will vouch for its authencity by the health ministry.

 

[AKJeff]

I could see how a more online system would be beneficial.  I will say that there is an online record of my vaccination held by my pharmacy, insurance company and a state system that can be accessed by any of my doctors.  I have used an easily faked paper document for all of my pass vaccinations.  The "yellow" book for the yellow fever vaccination could be easily faked also.

 

Personally I am not that worried about it.  But I do wish all of this was more efficient.  I have been to a couple of other countries in the last 6 months.  Most have some sort of online form to fill out before you get on the plane but the "approval" is always instantaneous.  With these systems you are forwarding your information so Imigration has it on arrival if they need it.  It is not really an approval.

[scorecard]

24 minutes ago, EricTh said:

The US CDC card can be easily faked because it's hand-written. USA should really make something like the vaccine passport in Thailand that will vouch for its authencity by the health ministry.

 

The Australian Vaccination History Certificate is also a good 'structure' to adopt/adjust. It does have a QR code on the certificate making it secure and easy for other agencies to verify the authenticity of the certificate. 

 

It seems that the US doesn't use QR codes, perhaps they should?

[AKJeff]

I do think, but I could be wrong, that some states have a QR code available.  My state does not.  Vaccinations and medical care in general has always been a state/local issue in the US.  

[EricTh]

1 hour ago, AKJeff said:

I do think, but I could be wrong, that some states have a QR code available.  My state does not.  Vaccinations and medical care in general has always been a state/local issue in the US.  

It doesn't matter whether the local issued cert have a QR code or not, most importantly is for international use, a country should have a standard vaccine passport issued by a central authority ie. health ministry with a QR code.

[EricTh]

48 minutes ago, scorecard said:

The Australian Vaccination History Certificate is also a good 'structure' to adopt/adjust. It does have a QR code on the certificate making it secure and easy for other agencies to verify the authenticity of the certificate. 

 

It seems that the US doesn't use QR codes, perhaps they should?

Each hospital has its own certificate format and where does the QR code point to? 

 

For international usage, they should use a vaccine passport where there is a central authority and not a specific hospital.

 

[AKJeff]

36 minutes ago, EricTh said:

It doesn't matter whether the local issued cert have a QR code or not, most importantly is for international use, a country should have a standard vaccine passport issued by a central authority ie. health ministry with a QR code.

This is really just a post about the current process. The US CDC card is a vaccine certificate issued by a central authority.  The QR code might be nice but the current card works for Europe's green pass, and every other place else I have read about.  The normal vaccine process in the US does not involve the central government.  

 

I have read a number of times that the issuance of the QR code in Thailand is not automatic.  I thought you had to tell the place giving you the shot that you wanted one.  Simple from what I hear but not automatic for everyone.  Some need to register on the MorChana app or something.  The paper evidence is what was given with the second shot.  Could be wrong and or maybe the process has changed.

[donx]

AKJeff, just want to confirm that you used a photo or scan of the paper CDC vaccination card you received when you were first vaccinated. I did the same for my family and if you did, then at least this document should be accepted as yours was accepted.

[AKJeff]

2 minutes ago, donx said:

AKJeff, just want to confirm that you used a photo or scan of the paper CDC vaccination card you received when you were first vaccinated. I did the same for my family and if you did, then at least this document should be accepted as yours was accepted.

Yes, I took a photo of the paper CDC card and uploaded it when it asked for my vacation record.  The Thailand pass site actually asks for uploads of documentation for both the first shot and the second shot.  These are separate uploads.  I used the same .jpg image of the front of the CDC card for both entries.  I kind of worried about doing that but it seemed to have worked.

[donx]

54 minutes ago, AKJeff said:

Yes, I took a photo of the paper CDC card and uploaded it when it asked for my vacation record.  The Thailand pass site actually asks for uploads of documentation for both the first shot and the second shot.  These are separate uploads.  I used the same .jpg image of the front of the CDC card for both entries.  I kind of worried about doing that but it seemed to have worked.

That’s good to know they will accept that. My wife and daughter only had one shot - Janssen. My son had Moderna so I did the same as you did. Same JPEG for each dose.

[EricTh]

3 hours ago, AKJeff said:

This is really just a post about the current process. The US CDC card is a vaccine certificate issued by a central authority.  The QR code might be nice but the current card works for Europe's green pass, and every other place else I have read about.  The normal vaccine process in the US does not involve the central government.  

 

I think it doesn't really matter whether it is genuine or fake because if one reach Thailand and get a Covid positive test, then one has to spend the next 14 days at a hospital at one's expense.

 

So all these vax record and Covid test before flight are actually quite redundant.

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by EricTh

[Stefanix]

I think it is quite understandable that Thailand does not want to let people carrying the virus run around freely. Furthermore it makes sense to test your infection status BEFORE you start the trip. The low positive rate on the arrival tests confirms that this system works well. Being vaccinated not only protects the vaccinated person but reduces the risk of spreading the virus. I went through this and it really doesn’t hurt to wait about a half day in a hotel for the result. Using faked certs does not make sense and should be punished hard!

[roobaa01]

Gday 

in Europe I obtained the WHO pass and the digital EU vaccination pass stating all relevant information such as vaccine type, vaccination date, passport no. etc.. When do the thai nerds finally learn to appreciate international documents. 

 

Wbr

Roobaa01

[Stefanix]

 

1 hour ago, roobaa01 said:

Gday 

in Europe I obtained the WHO pass and the digital EU vaccination pass stating all relevant information such as vaccine type, vaccination date, passport no. etc.. When do the thai nerds finally learn to appreciate international documents. 

 

Wbr

Roobaa01

Who says they  (the Thais) don’t? In my experience they do. Used those docs successfully for the TP and locally for some entry checks.  

Edited November 15, 2021 by Stefanix

[phuketcouple]

10 hours ago, AKJeff said:

(The confirmation says that you will receive the  " results of your registration" with in 7 days.  

The E-Mail confirmation says " results of your registration" with in 7 WORKING days."  

[AKJeff]

3 minutes ago, phuketcouple said:

The E-Mail confirmation says " results of your registration" with in 7 WORKING days."  

True, I am certainly not trying to mislead anyone. My real point is that if a am someone coming to Thailand I would apply for the Thailand pass at least 2 weeks earlier than my flight.  ( Well 14 working days, 555). I just can't imagine having to wonder if it will be approved when I am scheduled to fly withing a week.  That kind of stress is not why I want to travel.

 

BTW, I received the QR code on a Sunday so I guess everyday is a working day.

 

55555

[AncientB]

My personal experience with Thai Pass is one of Acceptance and Rejection.

I have dual nationality and two passports. On November 2nd I applied for Thai Pass with one passport and two days later with my other passport.

I used exactly the same documents (vaccination certificates, insurance policy etc.) for both applications.

On Sunday 7th I received an email confirming that I had been approved for entry.

A few minutes later I received another email saying that I had been rejected because a) the certificate for my first vaccination was missing (the EU only issues one certificate following the 2nd vaccination if two are required as for the Turkish/German Pfizer vax)

and

b) my health insurance policy was not acceptable.

On Thursday I flew from Europe and arrived successfully in Phuket using the passport with the accepted application QR code.

By the way I used a standard tourist health insurance policy which costs about €3 / month and provides about $300,000 cover.

 

The moral of this story?

 

[alex8912]

3 hours ago, AKJeff said:

True, I am certainly not trying to mislead anyone. My real point is that if a am someone coming to Thailand I would apply for the Thailand pass at least 2 weeks earlier than my flight.  ( Well 14 working days, 555). I just can't imagine having to wonder if it will be approved when I am scheduled to fly withing a week.  That kind of stress is not why I want to travel.

 

BTW, I received the QR code on a Sunday so I guess everyday is a working day.

 

55555

Can you apply 4 weeks before , or more?  Also can you elaborate on the sentence " and a Gmail address for the QR code"? I'm surprised no one asked you this.  I use Hotmail still ( I've never ever had a problem with it) and I have a yahoo email. How can one email address work and another not work? One last thing. I just got my booster shot of pfizer. I specifically asked the woman to clearly write out the batch number or whatever you call it. I would say my first dose batch number is probably completely unreadable by most people ( but I think I could TELL someone else or text the number that I'm quite sure it is). My second dose is fairly readable. As many know the CDC card in USA is hand written. Even my name and birthdate are not that clear. Many say you have to enter the date of the shots?  What if you have had three shots? Does it let you enter three?  I just don't know how anyone could know some of these things even if online and trying to do the Thailand Pass. I mean everyone in the world needs a Gmail account to get a Thailand Pass?  This has to be an even more insane pass system than anyone could imagine ! Also the clearness of another persons handwriting that can't be read by a different person can prevent you from getting through the up loading process for your CDC card and become a rejection? Can you ever directly email or call them if you get rejected?  Thanks if you know any of the answers. But the Gmail part is something everyone should know about. 

[grubman]

My personal experience,  I applied for my Thai pass on the 8th Nov, i had real issue using the website and the entire application only took me a about 10 minutes to complete, however a few of the of the documents that i needed to upload were in a PDF format and were not able to be uploaded and i had to make a jpeg file which was not to difficult, As i have been vaccinated in the US and my vaccination card does not have a QR code i assume it takes longer for the approval, yesterday the 14th i received approval for the test and go i assume as my Thai Pass QR code states exemption from quarantine 

 

 

 

[alex8912]

14 hours ago, EricTh said:

The US CDC card can be easily faked because it's hand-written. USA should really make something like the vaccine passport in Thailand that will vouch for its authencity by the health ministry.

 

Biden said NO from the very beginning and many governors have said no.  I think NO vaccine passport for the USA is very much here to stay. It's also too late to add a QR code to an existing card ( which is all anyone has) 

[donx]

8 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

Can you apply 4 weeks before , or more?  Also can you elaborate on the sentence " and a Gmail address for the QR code"? I'm surprised no one asked you this.  I use Hotmail still ( I've never ever had a problem with it) and I have a yahoo email. How can one email address work and another not work? One last thing. I just got my booster shot of pfizer. I specifically asked the woman to clearly write out the batch number or whatever you call it. I would say my first dose batch number is probably completely unreadable by most people ( but I think I could TELL someone else or text the number that I'm quite sure it is). My second dose is fairly readable. As many know the CDC card in USA is hand written. Even my name and birthdate are not that clear. Many say you have to enter the date of the shots?  What if you have had three shots? Does it let you enter three?  I just don't know how anyone could know some of these things even if online and trying to do the Thailand Pass. I mean everyone in the world needs a Gmail account to get a Thailand Pass?  This has to be an even more insane pass system than anyone could imagine ! Also the clearness of another persons handwriting that can't be read by a different person can prevent you from getting through the up loading process for your CDC card and become a rejection? Can you ever directly email or call them if you get rejected?  Thanks if you know any of the answers. But the Gmail part is something everyone should know about. 

I believe the Thailand Pass forms actually recommend against using either hotmail or outlook email addresses. I can confirm that I submitted my daughter's application using her yahoo email, so you may want to use that instead of your hotmail account. I used gmail accounts for my wife and son.

 

My family departs on December 26 so you certainly can apply 4 weeks in advance. My wife received her QR code and it states that it expires in 60 days from the issue date, which is November 15.

 

Don't worry about the booster shot. When you apply for the Thailand Pass, they only need your initial vaccination doses - one dose if you received Janssen and 2 doses if you received Pfizer, Moderna, etc. My wife and daughter received the 1 dose Janssen and my son received the 2 dose Moderna. I've scheduled their boosters for November 29. The last thing they need is to have a positive PCR test result the day before they depart.

[donx]

12 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

Biden said NO from the very beginning and many governors have said no.  I think NO vaccine passport for the USA is very much here to stay. It's also too late to add a QR code to an existing card ( which is all anyone has) 

Some States do provide a QR code. Although my State (Maryland) doesn't, I can get a Maryland Certificate of Vaccination using the MyIRMobile.com as a PDF. They used to be able to generate QR codes, but in October after the system that authenticates these certificates rejected the certificates from MyIRMobile, they stopped providing QR codes. I believe they will resolve this issue in the near future. So sometime soon, I expect to be able to get a QR code for my COVID vaccine.

[alex8912]

15 minutes ago, donx said:

Some States do provide a QR code. Although my State (Maryland) doesn't, I can get a Maryland Certificate of Vaccination using the MyIRMobile.com as a PDF. They used to be able to generate QR codes, but in October after the system that authenticates these certificates rejected the certificates from MyIRMobile, they stopped providing QR codes. I believe they will resolve this issue in the near future. So sometime soon, I expect to be able to get a QR code for my COVID vaccine.

Thanks a lot for all your info! I will definitely NOT use my hotmail address when I finally choose to apply. I didn't even look at TP yet because I've been hoping all bugs are gone lol!  But they have not been. It seems from what you are saying the two first DATES you received shots are imputed by you into Thailand pass. I know ( but can barely read my first date ). The second date was exactly 21 days after the first date and can be read by most people. I'd say virtually no one can read my first shot " batch number " but it seems that MAY not be a problem. It's just the nice USA military guy who gave me my first shot had extremely small handwriting ( but the space is quite small as you know ). I'm in Massachusetts and our lovely Governor will barely even speak about a " passport " or something better to use then just the flimsy card I now have. I just really wished the USA used a QR code from day one. Every single person I encountered before and during the shot process had a lap top that could have been easily set up to print out a QR code and put onto the vaccination card and it was NOT done. 

[donx]

30 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

Thanks a lot for all your info! I will definitely NOT use my hotmail address when I finally choose to apply. I didn't even look at TP yet because I've been hoping all bugs are gone lol!  But they have not been. It seems from what you are saying the two first DATES you received shots are imputed by you into Thailand pass. I know ( but can barely read my first date ). The second date was exactly 21 days after the first date and can be read by most people. I'd say virtually no one can read my first shot " batch number " but it seems that MAY not be a problem. It's just the nice USA military guy who gave me my first shot had extremely small handwriting ( but the space is quite small as you know ). I'm in Massachusetts and our lovely Governor will barely even speak about a " passport " or something better to use then just the flimsy card I now have. I just really wished the USA used a QR code from day one. Every single person I encountered before and during the shot process had a lap top that could have been easily set up to print out a QR code and put onto the vaccination card and it was NOT done. 

I have a correction for you. Although my wife received a QR code, my son was rejected even though I provided the same type of documentation for both of them. Anyway, I was directed to resubmit his application and in so doing I discovered that you can provide additional doses such as a booster if you received one. There is a button labeled "Add More" and it is there that you can add the date for your booster. Note that I used the same photo of the CDC card for both of my son's initial Moderna doses, so you can use the same photo for all 3 doses.

 

By the way, the rejection for my son is because they claim I didn't provide a paid hotel reservation confirmation that includes RT-PCR test. The issue I have is that I paid for my hotel reservation through Agoda but I paid for the RT-PCR test directly to the hotel, so I have 2 separate certificates with different reservation numbers.

[grubman]

47 minutes ago, donx said:

I have a correction for you. Although my wife received a QR code, my son was rejected even though I provided the same type of documentation for both of them. Anyway, I was directed to resubmit his application and in so doing I discovered that you can provide additional doses such as a booster if you received one. There is a button labeled "Add More" and it is there that you can add the date for your booster. Note that I used the same photo of the CDC card for both of my son's initial Moderna doses, so you can use the same photo for all 3 doses.

 

By the way, the rejection for my son is because they claim I didn't provide a paid hotel reservation confirmation that includes RT-PCR test. The issue I have is that I paid for my hotel reservation through Agoda but I paid for the RT-PCR test directly to the hotel, so I have 2 separate certificates with different reservation numbers.

For my Thai Pass, i only added the confirmation from booking.com for my hotel which i have not paid as yet and i have not booked or paid for my PCR Test for my arrival Dec 11th, On the 7th day my Thai pass was approved, so i am guessing that its luck of the draw as to whether you get approved or rejected

 

Best of luck with you next try   

[AKJeff]

3 hours ago, alex8912 said:

Can you apply 4 weeks before , or more?  Also can you elaborate on the sentence " and a Gmail address for the QR code"? I'm surprised no one asked you this.  I use Hotmail still ( I've never ever had a problem with it) and I have a yahoo email. How can one email address work and another not work? One last thing. I just got my booster shot of pfizer. I specifically asked the woman to clearly write out the batch number or whatever you call it. I would say my first dose batch number is probably completely unreadable by most people ( but I think I could TELL someone else or text the number that I'm quite sure it is). My second dose is fairly readable. As many know the CDC card in USA is hand written. Even my name and birthdate are not that clear. Many say you have to enter the date of the shots?  What if you have had three shots? Does it let you enter three?  I just don't know how anyone could know some of these things even if online and trying to do the Thailand Pass. I mean everyone in the world needs a Gmail account to get a Thailand Pass?  This has to be an even more insane pass system than anyone could imagine ! Also the clearness of another persons handwriting that can't be read by a different person can prevent you from getting through the up loading process for your CDC card and become a rejection? Can you ever directly email or call them if you get rejected?  Thanks if you know any of the answers. But the Gmail part is something everyone should know about. 

I think some if not all of your questions were already answered but here is my response.

 

I don't believe you have to wait to apply for the Thailand pass.  I applied in November 7 for a November 26 flight and BKK arrival just after Midnight on the 28th.  As long as you have the requirements, hotel, PCR test, flight information etc. You can apply.  I was going to wait until after my visa came back but decided to file early since there were a lot of reported problems.

 

As for the email address issue, I have both a Hotmail and Gmail account.  I had read that some people were having problems when they used their Hotmail account.  Indeed when I went to the website it had a note that Hotmail and outlook accounts might have an issue.  I have not hear of any other email services having issues.

 

As for the handwriting being difficult to read I don't really have any experience with that but a couple of weeks ago when I was researching and prepare the documents I noticed that my middle name was not on the CDC card.  Knowing Thailand I wanted to ensure all information was there.  I went back to where I received both of my shots and explained the situation.  I asked if they could rewrite the card for me so it didn't look like it had been modified.  They did and I walked out of the pharmacy with a new card with all the information clear, included and readable.  If you have access to the same facility maybe go back to them and ask for a new card. It worked for me.  I gave them the old card back so I only have one.  I made this offer to them when I asked if they could do it.  I assumed they would want it back but I am not sure.

[Trvlr55]

3 hours ago, AKJeff said:

I think some if not all of your questions were already answered but here is my response.

 

I don't believe you have to wait to apply for the Thailand pass.  I applied in November 7 for a November 26 flight and BKK arrival just after Midnight on the 28th.  As long as you have the requirements, hotel, PCR test, flight information etc. You can apply.  I was going to wait until after my visa came back but decided to file early since there were a lot of reported problems.

 

As for the email address issue, I have both a Hotmail and Gmail account.  I had read that some people were having problems when they used their Hotmail account.  Indeed when I went to the website it had a note that Hotmail and outlook accounts might have an issue.  I have not hear of any other email services having issues.

 

As for the handwriting being difficult to read I don't really have any experience with that but a couple of weeks ago when I was researching and prepare the documents I noticed that my middle name was not on the CDC card.  Knowing Thailand I wanted to ensure all information was there.  I went back to where I received both of my shots and explained the situation.  I asked if they could rewrite the card for me so it didn't look like it had been modified.  They did and I walked out of the pharmacy with a new card with all the information clear, included and readable.  If you have access to the same facility maybe go back to them and ask for a new card. It worked for me.  I gave them the old card back so I only have one.  I made this offer to them when I asked if they could do it.  I assumed they would want it back but I am not sure.

Good info, thanks!

For those who think US should have a QR code, you really don't understand how things work here.
This is completely a state role, not federal. To change that, is close to impossible... There's Federal jurisdiction, and everything else, is State, and you can't just pass a law, or some edict, and declare it so.

Recently went to Costa Rica, and back. They also have a website, and the QR code is generated immediately after completion of web submit. Why?? They have immigration officers, just like anywhere else. From what I've read fake covid doc's are fairly easy to determine. Also anywhere you fly, the airlines very carefully review all of your documents, and will not hesitate to reject you, and deny you a boarding pass. Seen this happen already. Airlines are on the hook if they let someone though that they should have rejected.

Thailand could remove a lot of the current issues, just letting the normal document review happen at the departure airport. Anyone "clever" enough to get through the departure airport document review, would be flagged and dealt with at Thai immigration. In US if anyone uses a fake immunization card, it's a felony, not sure how many people would risk prison to go on a vacation.

[alex8912]

4 hours ago, AKJeff said:

I think some if not all of your questions were already answered but here is my response.

 

I don't believe you have to wait to apply for the Thailand pass.  I applied in November 7 for a November 26 flight and BKK arrival just after Midnight on the 28th.  As long as you have the requirements, hotel, PCR test, flight information etc. You can apply.  I was going to wait until after my visa came back but decided to file early since there were a lot of reported problems.

 

As for the email address issue, I have both a Hotmail and Gmail account.  I had read that some people were having problems when they used their Hotmail account.  Indeed when I went to the website it had a note that Hotmail and outlook accounts might have an issue.  I have not hear of any other email services having issues.

 

As for the handwriting being difficult to read I don't really have any experience with that but a couple of weeks ago when I was researching and prepare the documents I noticed that my middle name was not on the CDC card.  Knowing Thailand I wanted to ensure all information was there.  I went back to where I received both of my shots and explained the situation.  I asked if they could rewrite the card for me so it didn't look like it had been modified.  They did and I walked out of the pharmacy with a new card with all the information clear, included and readable.  If you have access to the same facility maybe go back to them and ask for a new card. It worked for me.  I gave them the old card back so I only have one.  I made this offer to them when I asked if they could do it.  I assumed they would want it back but I am not sure.

Thanks very much!  Everything you typed is helpful. I unfortunately live in Massachusetts and we only had huge venues giving out shots ( at first ) mine was at a convention center in downtown Boston that has been closed down for shots for months. Our lovely governor didn't want small places like pharmacies to give them out. Now we can go everywhere. But what you did was really smart for a hard to read or even in your case a missing middle name and should probably help someone else out! 

 

[alex8912]

1 hour ago, Trvlr55 said:

Good info, thanks!

For those who think US should have a QR code, you really don't understand how things work here.
This is completely a state role, not federal. To change that, is close to impossible... There's Federal jurisdiction, and everything else, is State, and you can't just pass a law, or some edict, and declare it so.

Recently went to Costa Rica, and back. They also have a website, and the QR code is generated immediately after completion of web submit. Why?? They have immigration officers, just like anywhere else. From what I've read fake covid doc's are fairly easy to determine. Also anywhere you fly, the airlines very carefully review all of your documents, and will not hesitate to reject you, and deny you a boarding pass. Seen this happen already. Airlines are on the hook if they let someone though that they should have rejected.

Thailand could remove a lot of the current issues, just letting the normal document review happen at the departure airport. Anyone "clever" enough to get through the departure airport document review, would be flagged and dealt with at Thai immigration. In US if anyone uses a fake immunization card, it's a felony, not sure how many people would risk prison to go on a vacation.

I understand that. Why can't EACH state have a QR code? And actually to disagree with you more. This was a world wide countrywide epidemic a lot of BS laws or whatever were started and enforced throughout the country. And yes a QR code for the country could have been started because nothing like this ever happened before. Sorry nothing is really impossible as you say. You may be brainwashed by your state or federal government. I won't be. Cheers