Thailand Pass is being upgraded but passenger stress stories continue with cancellation threats

[kickstart]

6 hours ago, Sheryl said:

 

In addition to all you mention - it still does not accept pdf documents meaning every single document must be converted first

 

I hope they get it sorted by next summer ,for when I want to return  to Thailand,aftera brief visit to farang land , with my <deleted> computer skills I could never convert a pdf document .

I even struggled with the expat covid vaccine website 3 months ago. 

Can't they do anything easy .

[alex8912]

41 minutes ago, Hocus Pocus said:

Great that they are recognizing the need for improvement, but having braved through the launch day of having to convert everything to JPG and add spaces after passport/insurance number to get the green check, it is not a process I would recommend to a friend. Key flaw that they are correcting is the need for a reference number and status check. For a 12 Nov flight, I waited 2-8 Nov before calling the Chicago consulate (rejected by grumpy Thai guy) and the Washington embassy (helped by friendly Thai lady), where I got my TP QR code literally 10min after she asked my passport number and name (that's how they have to search since there are no reference numbers). To be honest, they should advertise it is 7 BUSINESS days, which in my case would have been up to 11 Nov, too late for me to wait for an answer for a 12 Nov flight.

 

I met several Thais and foreigners that had the same issue in the airport and flight. Nobody I met had much of a choice, they were all returnees for work or family. This is all teething issue, but no tourist would put up with this BS except the motivated characters I now see stalking Sukhimvit.

 

One positive is that the swab-and-go process worked fairly smoothly (for me) on landing. From the sitting down in the blue plastic chairs where they sort your documents (recommend printouts of your TP and COV19 test result!), walk through of health check and immigration - airport was smooth. The slight chaos was the disorganized hotel transport as they didn't have my name (which was the case it seems for others), but it was sorted in 15min. My swab-and-go hotel (Arte Hotel) was good and well organized. It worked, but not something I would not mind avoiding in the future.

What exactly do you mean by adding spaces after passport/insurance number to get the green check? Also what browser did you use?  I wish more people would list a popular browser that works. So far just about every browser mentioned I never heard of. Safari can work? I guess google chrome doesn't ?  I can't believe you have to change or add browsers just to get TP to work!  Don't they even suggest which browser to use?  Even Hotmail can't work for return email but I guess it's mentioned now on TP. Even that issue seems insane.

[talahtnut]

My first winter in the UK for many years, doing whatever pleases me,

no injections, no fiddling with forms, no anxiety, no certificates,

no covid pass. Now I can only pass wind thinking of the hassles.

[tomyami]

yep its very stressful just uploaded my EU covid cert for lanszarote arrival tomorrow evening and after have a glass of wine with my meal and a couple of pints at the bar.

Thailand can cufk off plenty of expats there too.

[Sanookmike]

I agree with most that they should just scrap this TP and just require Vax cert and pre covid test, those that are considering Cambodia have you looked into what happens if you get flagged up as result of the antigen test??.. think the result would be similar to that in Thailand.. hospital/quarantine etc no where is perfect right now.

 

Not to offend anyone but I can't but help think that the average age of the applicants for the TP is half the issue, a lot of older ppl with minimal computer skills... Whilst those reporting it was easy etc are likely younger and/or are regular computer users. 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Sanookmike

[fusion58]

4 hours ago, AlaskaDave said:

came through Narita last Friday and it was simple and straightforward. 

That’s funny - I came through Narita on Friday also, and it was a chaotic, disorganized, dysfunctional mess.

 

As soon as the passengers on my flight deplaned, an agent intercepted all of those passengers who were bound for Bangkok at the arrival gate and proceeded to march us all (at breakneck speed) to what seemed like the opposite end of the airport (my feet were killing me by the time we finally stopped walking!) From there, passengers were sorted into queues according to fare class and instructed to wait our respective turns for document verification (mind you, the documents they wanted to verify were the same documents which were required for approval of COE or TP - talk about redundant!) Anyway, after waiting for about 30 minutes, the line hadn’t budged - the Japanese agents were clearly struggling to make sense of it all. Eventually, they tried extracting smaller groups of passengers from the queues and moving said groups to different locations. Many of the passengers were losing their cool at this point. By the time my turn rolled around, I was seriously wondering whether the flight to Bangkok would end up being delayed. Talk about a total waste of time and energy…

[freedomnow]

14% rejection rate - wonder what percentage is that issue where they only accept JPG not PDF documents.

[pseudorabies]

I wonder if the crew that developed TP is the same bunch that developed the latest iteration of the vaccine registration site for foreigners.  There my application was rejected because my passport scan was submitted in PDF format.  No support for the most commonly used document format?  No support for the most commonly used browser?  Amazing.  One could be forgiven for thinking this was all intentional. If it isn't then people need to be fired.  The higher on the food chain the better.

[VBF]

10 hours ago, Sheryl said:

I entered via COE in September and am now trying to assist a relative through the Thailand Pass process (doing it for her).

 

I can confirm that Thailand Pass is much, much harder to do and less user friendly than the old COE while requiring as much or more documentation.

 

I have been at it for 2 days straight now and it is indeed very stressful.

 

She is coming due to family member having surgery here, I would not recommend anyone do this just for a holiday. Way too much hassle and there is also the risk of being quarantined for a long period if you are unlucky in who you sit next to... or hospitalized if you test positive (even if a false positive result).

Quite frankly, if @Sheryl has posted this, with her history on this forum, any doubts I might have had about possibly "giving it a go" are dispelled. 

Thank you Sheryl  ????

Maybe next year.....

Edited November 16, 2021 by VBF

[VBF]

2 hours ago, shdmn said:

 

You know what? compared to how Thailand WAS, winter in UK SUCKS.

Compared to how Thailand IS....I'll take the freedom for now.

Edited November 16, 2021 by onthedarkside
quoted content removed

[CHEYENNE5668]

Has anybody come across this??? 

I submitted my Thailand Pass registration last week  when I checked yesterday it said under review. Now today I entered all the same information to inquire and it says The information is not registered.  Has my application been deleted? Do I have to start all over again from the beginning.?? No answer on the helplines.

[bojo]

4 hours ago, bolt said:

My post has received sooooo many negative comments.

 

This Forum is for bashing Thailand, no positive posts allowed ????

Keep posting positivity, don't be put off, your post was useful to know that the system does work, just not for all....................................many of us love positive comments but unfortunately some prefer to only see the negative side, and sometimes posts can be misconstrued and in your case, some might want to believe that you were boasting as one poster highlighted................the more people that post positive comments, others will follow as they will feel less of a minority and less intimidated..........................

[Hocus Pocus]

2 hours ago, alex8912 said:

What exactly do you mean by adding spaces after passport/insurance number to get the green check? Also what browser did you use?  I wish more people would list a popular browser that works. So far just about every browser mentioned I never heard of. Safari can work? I guess google chrome doesn't ?  I can't believe you have to change or add browsers just to get TP to work!  Don't they even suggest which browser to use?  Even Hotmail can't work for return email but I guess it's mentioned now on TP. Even that issue seems insane.

I used Chrome for browser to submit all info. The spaces were needed to deal with the "API" coding error, which I have read has been fixed. This article helped me solve the problem at the time of launch: https://bangkokherald.com/business/tech/thailand-pass-api-error-heres-how-to-fix-it/, which should be unnecessary now. Best of luck.

[Albert Zweistein]

7 hours ago, Sheryl said:

 

or what Cambodia has just done no special permissions . Just have to show visa, COVID test and vaccination record to board a flight to Cambodia and undergo a rapid antigen test on arrival. Done at the airport. No special online "systems" of approval. No 24 hour quarantine, no special hotels etc etc.

And an 85 K US $ Covid insurance if I am not mistaken ?

[spidermike007]

No need for a PCR test in Thailand, and a one night quarantine. The incoming tourists have already had a PCR test before departing. Require that and double vaccination only.

 

Welcome to Thailand. Thank you so much for coming. We really need your money and support. We are handing out 5,000 baht gift cards, good at any restaurant or mall in the country, to every incoming person. 

 

We are grateful, and have turned over a new leaf on life. We are no longer the arrogant, surly, "center of the universe types" we were in the past. We have learned. We are capable of progress!

 

 

[mbenson]

I saw a comment about the reason for a rejected application (language does not match country of origin) that led me to believe that they are using image recognition AI to vet the submissions automatically. A person did not look at the JPG and note the language difference. A software system recognized the language in the image and compared it with the departure location of the passenger. I believe this is why they are insisting on images of all documents rather than text. They don't have software that can determine what they want to know from a PDF. 

 

I think they are also determing document quality with AI. This system is built to require minimal human touch, which is why people can be approved so quickly. This is also why there are staff who are free to expedite applictions when called. If people were checking everything, nobody would get approved in 7 minutes or 45 for that matter. One exception is for vaccination records that are not digital or that they can't access online. In those cases, somebody has to look at the submissions. This is why applications from the US take longer, usually days.

[JCP108]

5 hours ago, fusion58 said:

That’s funny - I came through Narita on Friday also, and it was a chaotic, disorganized, dysfunctional mess.

 

As soon as the passengers on my flight deplaned, an agent intercepted all of those passengers who were bound for Bangkok at the arrival gate and proceeded to march us all (at breakneck speed) to what seemed like the opposite end of the airport (my feet were killing me by the time we finally stopped walking!) From there, passengers were sorted into queues according to fare class and instructed to wait our respective turns for document verification (mind you, the documents they wanted to verify were the same documents which were required for approval of COE or TP - talk about redundant!) Anyway, after waiting for about 30 minutes, the line hadn’t budged - the Japanese agents were clearly struggling to make sense of it all. Eventually, they tried extracting smaller groups of passengers from the queues and moving said groups to different locations. Many of the passengers were losing their cool at this point. By the time my turn rolled around, I was seriously wondering whether the flight to Bangkok would end up being delayed. Talk about a total waste of time and energy…

I am flying through Narita on the way back to Bangkok on 11/27. Good to have a heads up about the mess.

[Paradise Pete]

15 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Like the asymptomatic bloke who has to spend 14 days in hospital down in Phuket when a Thai person would simply be isolated. I wonder if his insurace will pay for that. 

It depends on the policy. I paid an extra 500 baht or so for one that covered forced hospitalization while asymptomatic. I'm triple-vaxxed so there was a reasonable chance that, if positive, I would be asymptomatic.

 

Fortunately I did not test positive nor did the other person in the car from the airport to the hotel. Him testing positive was actually my biggest worry.

 

[SmartyMarty]

wait a little longer and the dummies in charge will make it simpler.....that's why Thailand is an IT hub.

[HampiK]

6 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

No need for a PCR test in Thailand, and a one night quarantine. The incoming tourists have already had a PCR test before departing. Require that and double vaccination only.

 

Welcome to Thailand. Thank you so much for coming. We really need your money and support. We are handing out 5,000 baht gift cards, good at any restaurant or mall in the country, to every incoming person. 

 

We are grateful, and have turned over a new leaf on life. We are no longer the arrogant, surly, "center of the universe types" we were in the past. We have learned. We are capable of progress!

 

 

and then you woke up and find out it was a nice dream?

[NanLaew]

13 hours ago, arithai12 said:

Correct about hotels, but the rebookable/refundable are more expensive.

My recent experience between the three AQ hotels I had on-hold, the one-night, all-inclusive rates they independently quoted ranged from 4990 (non-refundable deposit), 6500 baht (totally refundable if canceled in time) to 6900 baht (totally non-refundable unless it was for a failed pre-flight PCR test or flight cancellation: proof needed).

 

13 hours ago, arithai12 said:

As for paid flight, also correct but dangerous. On my 2-legs flight back to Thailand, I was on waitlist in one of them, I had to bite the bullet and luckily it was confirmed. If not, I would have lost the hotel booking and the TP.

I agree that could be risky as it seems coming from the US is as dodgy as it was in pre-Covid times with wait-listing and oversold flights. I came from the UK and although the Finnair flights are getting busier, it wasn't as 100% rammed as it was inbound to the UK six weeks earlier on Qatar Airlines via Doha.

 

13 hours ago, arithai12 said:

My point was that COE was more logical (if this is the right word).

I recall that the CoE was met with howls of derision with tales of unanswered emails and phones that went on for weeks and weeks. On the other hand, it appears that despite the horrendous TP toe-stub on 1 November, the ongoing efforts to fix TP have mostly been been a success despite being carpet-bombed by maybe 40% or more duplicate applications.

Edited November 17, 2021 by NanLaew

[pixelaoffy]

Just remember the mindset ! Thailand believes it's the one people should feel privileged or honored to visit ! It's not about feeling honored someone wants to visit! 

[HashBrownHarry]

21 hours ago, Sheryl said:

I can confirm that Thailand Pass is much, much harder to do and less user friendly than the old COE while requiring as much or more documentation.

I disagree.

 

What additional ( if any ) documentation is required with TP that was not required with CoE?

 

I do agree that there was little need for changing from CoE system to TP though,  it's basically the same with a different format.

 

[HashBrownHarry]

17 hours ago, thaiman said:

Do you use Agoda's confirmation code for all the inputs for Acommodation?  or do you need to contact the hotel and get confirmation from them?

Through all my CoE applications (4) i dealt directly with hotel, there's really no benifit to go through Agoda IMO.

[HashBrownHarry]

16 hours ago, scorecard said:

What about arrival at Suvarnabhumi airport; fast/slow, complex/easy, every document scrutinized/ignored, how many minutes from exiting the aircraft to leaving the airport for your hotel, how long to get your swab report, etc?

All mt CoE arrivals were supprisingly easy and painless at Swamp, no issues at all, off the plane until taxi no more than 30 mins each time.

 

Very good.

[HashBrownHarry]

14 hours ago, bolt said:

My post has received sooooo many negative comments.

 

This Forum is for bashing Thailand, no positive posts allowed ????

I liked your post and many positive ones similar, positive feedback is good but like you say no one seems to like it here.....

[HashBrownHarry]

14 hours ago, Chris.B said:

It sounded like you are boasting while not caring about the people who are encountering problems. 

Do you care about every persons problem on this planet?

 

It's dog eat dog, one has to take care of oneself primarily then family and loved ones, how can you possibly care about total strangers and their issues?

[HashBrownHarry]

14 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Better that they scrap it entirely ASAP and adopt a more sane system similar to Cambodia.

Have you left Thailand at all during the pandemic and re-entered with CoE or TP?

 

If not then anything you say about CoE and now TP system(s) carries absolutely no merit.

[HashBrownHarry]

13 hours ago, NanLaew said:

I've done something like 5 quarantines in 3 different countries since last May involving about ten PCR tests and two dozen lateral flow tests.

 

Believe me when I say that ThailandPass is a walk in the park.

I'm in the same boat as you mate, i'm over 40 RT-PCR tests and lost count of quarantines.

 

Entering Thailand now is simple ( and improving all the time ), all the negativity is obviously from people who've not travelled for 2 years.

[KannikaP]

13 hours ago, alex8912 said:

What exactly do you mean by adding spaces after passport/insurance number to get the green check? Also what browser did you use?  I wish more people would list a popular browser that works. So far just about every browser mentioned I never heard of. Safari can work? I guess google chrome doesn't ?  I can't believe you have to change or add browsers just to get TP to work!  Don't they even suggest which browser to use?  Even Hotmail can't work for return email but I guess it's mentioned now on TP. Even that issue seems insane.

mine took 4 days on hotmail and 24 hours on Gmail. now i have two.