Thailand Pass - Its even worse than the COE system.

[ThailandRyan]

4 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Exactly.

 

Every single document required to get the RTP QR code is spearately checked by the airline before issuing a boarding pass, and by noto ne but several people on arrival in Thailand.

 

Which means there is a very, very simple solution:

 

Stop the TP QR code step entirely and just require the relevant documents.

 

Problem solved.

To this I agree. However, it's the airlines who are the ones that have to verify those items and they have an easier time with someone who has been pre-approved.  If they take your documents you give them, fly you here and then a problem with the documents is found  the airlines must fly you back at their expense. The Thai Pass is their out.

[Irate priest]

5 hours ago, Sheryl said:

You do nto need separate policies.

 

Many, many different insurance policies have been used for Thailand Pass. Some people have used their existing health insurance (I did). Some bought policies from Thai companies. Some used Travel policies from their home countries.

After speaking to my insurance company they have supplied me with a one page document. This document does not have a policy number on it only name of company will this suffice ?

[tuktuktuk]

Mine was shockingly simple.  I did exactly what they requested and received the approval almost instantly.  The hotel reservation I made was actually incorrect and I corrected that later.  I had booked a hotel with an SHA+ Hotel, but not the test & go arrangement.  I probably could have gotten by and just taken a taxi to the hotel.  There was nobody there to stop me at any stage in the process.  In Thailand I follow the rules without exception.  When an Army officer with a 60 year old M-16 is asking you questions I don't like to tell fibs.  

[Sheryl]

2 hours ago, Irate priest said:

After speaking to my insurance company they have supplied me with a one page document. This document does not have a policy number on it only name of company will this suffice ?

It might. Try it and see. What I got from my insurer was also just a one pager (actually you can only upload one page) but it did have policy number. It also specifically stated that coverage included COVID, does yours?

[Sheryl]

56 minutes ago, tuktuktuk said:

Mine was shockingly simple.  I did exactly what they requested and received the approval almost instantly.  The hotel reservation I made was actually incorrect and I corrected that later.  I had booked a hotel with an SHA+ Hotel, but not the test & go arrangement.  I probably could have gotten by and just taken a taxi to the hotel.  There was nobody there to stop me at any stage in the process. 

 

I don't know what you mean by nobody there to stop you. Your papers would have been reviewed before you were even allowed to go through immigration.

 

People whose booking was not with a Test & Go program have been stopped at that stage and required to rebook with a Test & Go hotel before being llowed to proceed to the Immigration officer.

 

You would not have been allowed to take a taxi, no international arrivals are, and there is more surveillance than you may have noticed.

[Irate priest]

8 hours ago, Sheryl said:

It might. Try it and see. What I got from my insurer was also just a one pager (actually you can only upload one page) but it did have policy number. It also specifically stated that coverage included COVID, does yours?

Yes it states all COVID cover and it's got the company letterhead on it just no policy number. I'm thinking of taking a photo of the first page which includes policy number and this COVID cover letter together. I'll upload one jpeg of these two  letters..

[rimmae2]

20 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

I absolutely agree with the Op on this one.... 

 

I received 3 Certificates of Entry and 1 Thai Pass

1 - UK - July 2020 (AQ)- dealt directly with Thai Embassy London, approval took a few weeks - a bit of a faff as no-one really knew what they were doing or exactly what the requirements were. 

2 - Qatar - April 2021 (AQ) - CoE issued within 3 hrs of initial application: Slick system

3 - Qatar - Sept 2021 (Sandbox) - CoE issued within 20 hrs of initial application: Slick system

4 - UK - Nov 2021 (Test&Go) - Thailand Pass an utter nightmare.

 

The Thailand Pass system is heavily flawed - Theoretically its easier and only single phase application (rather than CoE dual phase) with less documents being required for submission. 

However, it just doesn’t work properly. 

 

It's clear that instead of a ‘ground up’ design an interface was repurposed by whichever company was tasked with doing the programming (german company I believe). 

 

 

The reliability and last minute timing of a approval (issuing QR codes) is outrageous and generates and unwarranted degree of stress. 

 

We have some people saying its great, others placed in a panic as they don’t have a response within days of their planned travel, others don’t know how to save a PDF to a JPEG.

 

The system should be streamlined by now and clearly it’s not. 

 

The system is also utterly pointless. What is the point in having to upload all the information when at Check-in for a flight and arrival in Thailand the same documents (Passport, Vaccine Cert, Hotel Booking and Insurance along with the PCR test result) are all checked again ?

 

The system was clearly designed with the idea of simplicity - much like a QR code boarding pass, someone in a position of decision making power deiced it would be cool for anyone travelling to present a ’Thailand Pass QR code' upon check-in and need no other document. 

Then arrival at Thailand, just show the ’Thailand Pass QR code’ to arrival staff who scan it and thats it...

 

But no... at each step all that has happened is the Thailand Pass is an additional document which is checked rather than a document which removes the need to check all the other documents. 

 

The whole Thailand pass system is all so very very utterly pointless if the same document checks continue. 

Same as Richard with 4th entry next week. 1st in early August 2020 was easy with fantastic assistance from the Thai Embassy staff. 2 more this year, latest in October painless, but this time 8 days to obtain Thailand Pass for Sandbox. I am fully vaccinated in Thailand, used exactly the same Insurance as the previous times and booked a well known 5 star hotel which others use.

 

As a Permanent Resident of Thailand for many years the time taken is frustrating when there are many people (many of whom may never have been to Thailand) posting that they received instant approval and some because of their QR Code. So, is a Thai QR code inferior to a tourist's from xx country?

[ThailandRyan]

2 minutes ago, rimmae2 said:

Same as Richard with 4th entry next week. 1st in early August 2020 was easy with fantastic assistance from the Thai Embassy staff. 2 more this year, latest in October painless, but this time 8 days to obtain Thailand Pass for Sandbox. I am fully vaccinated in Thailand, used exactly the same Insurance as the previous times and booked a well known 5 star hotel which others use.

 

As a Permanent Resident of Thailand for many years the time taken is frustrating when there are many people (many of whom may never have been to Thailand) posting that they received instant approval and some because of their QR Code. So, is a Thai QR code inferior to a tourist's from xx country?

Your last question is a definite unknown. However, I am positive it does help expedite things.

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, rimmae2 said:

As a Permanent Resident of Thailand for many years the time taken is frustrating when there are many people (many of whom may never have been to Thailand) posting that they received instant approval and some because of their QR Code. So, is a Thai QR code inferior to a tourist's from xx country?

It is pure chance, nothing more, that some people get it instantly.

 

 

[HashBrownHarry]

2 hours ago, Sheryl said:

It is pure chance, nothing more, that some people get it instantly.

 

 

I disagree, if it's not instant notification of the application something has been entered or uploaded incorrectly.

 

Maybe poor quality QR code / wrong format / passport number typo, there could be numerous reasons.

 

It's worth the extra time to double and tripple check everything before submission.

[Sheryl]

29 minutes ago, HashBrownHarry said:

I disagree, if it's not instant notification of the application something has been entered or uploaded incorrectly.

 

Maybe poor quality QR code / wrong format / passport number typo, there could be numerous reasons.

 

It's worth the extra time to double and tripple check everything before submission.

I made absolutely identical submissions. One never approved and one apptpved within minutes.

 

Thr site states approval normally takes 3-8 days . instant apptoval is the exception not the norm.

 

 

[Alldar]

44 minutes ago, HashBrownHarry said:

I disagree, if it's not instant notification of the application something has been entered or uploaded incorrectly.

 

Maybe poor quality QR code / wrong format / passport number typo, there could be numerous reasons.

 

It's worth the extra time to double and tripple check everything before submission.

I uploaded everything correctly and I am waiting for 6 days already without approval. Previously I uploaded the same documents for COE and it was approved within 2 days.

[richard_smith237]

54 minutes ago, HashBrownHarry said:

3 hours ago, Sheryl said:

It is pure chance, nothing more, that some people get it instantly.

 

 

I disagree, if it's not instant notification of the application something has been entered or uploaded incorrectly.

 

Maybe poor quality QR code / wrong format / passport number typo, there could be numerous reasons.

 

It's worth the extra time to double and tripple check everything before submission.

 

Nope...  it's just dumb luck.

 

People have commented how the applied and received no response, then applied again with exactly the same documentation and received instant approval. 

 

When I applied my JPEGS were crystal clear, QR codes perfectly cropped, no typos...   Yet nothing for days (for my Wife and I)

 

I then applied via the ‘AQ’ option and received instant approval (as a backup).

 

It actually took 5 days to get ‘Quarantine Exempt’ approval.

 

 

 

 

There is no pattern or method for instant approval - its just timing and luck.

 

 

 

 

 

[HashBrownHarry]

42 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Nope...  it's just dumb luck.

 

People have commented how the applied and received no response, then applied again with exactly the same documentation and received instant approval. 

 

When I applied my JPEGS were crystal clear, QR codes perfectly cropped, no typos...   Yet nothing for days (for my Wife and I)

 

I then applied via the ‘AQ’ option and received instant approval (as a backup).

 

It actually took 5 days to get ‘Quarantine Exempt’ approval.

 

 

 

 

There is no pattern or method for instant approval - its just timing and luck.

 

 

 

 

 

Was you application not when the sytem was in it's infancy?

 

Perhaps it evolved since then?

 

Most people i know that have done it recently had the same results as me.

[tuktuktuk]

17 hours ago, Sheryl said:

 

I don't know what you mean by nobody there to stop you. Your papers would have been reviewed before you were even allowed to go through immigration.

 

People whose booking was not with a Test & Go program have been stopped at that stage and required to rebook with a Test & Go hotel before being llowed to proceed to the Immigration officer.

 

You would not have been allowed to take a taxi, no international arrivals are, and there is more surveillance than you may have noticed.

They didn't really review the papers before immigration.  She flipped through them without scanning the QR codes or anything.  It was just to see if the require items were there.  About the same as Thai Airways did in London.  

 

After exiting past customs I walked around for a while looking for my shuttle driver.  When I didn't see him I went back and asked.  It all seemed pretty relaxed.  The hotel was great and they released me about 8 hours later when my test returned a negative result.

[richard_smith237]

5 minutes ago, HashBrownHarry said:

48 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Nope...  it's just dumb luck.

 

People have commented how the applied and received no response, then applied again with exactly the same documentation and received instant approval. 

 

When I applied my JPEGS were crystal clear, QR codes perfectly cropped, no typos...   Yet nothing for days (for my Wife and I)

 

I then applied via the ‘AQ’ option and received instant approval (as a backup).

 

It actually took 5 days to get ‘Quarantine Exempt’ approval.

 

 

 

 

There is no pattern or method for instant approval - its just timing and luck.

 

 

 

 

 

Expand  

Was you application not when the sytem was in it's infancy?

 

Perhaps it evolved since then?

 

Most people i know that have done it recently had the same results as me.

Correct....   my application was when the system was fresh (in the first week).

 

However, continued reports on here and those of friends applying and travelling also indicate the speed of approval is down to nothing other than chance. 

[HashBrownHarry]

2 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Correct....   my application was when the system was fresh (in the first week).

 

However, continued reports on here and those of friends applying and travelling also indicate the speed of approval is down to nothing other than chance. 

I know of at least 6 people firsthand that had the same result as myself ( all in the month of December - if that's of any relevance ).

[Sheryl]

15 minutes ago, HashBrownHarry said:

Was you application not when the sytem was in it's infancy?

 

Perhaps it evolved since then?

 

Most people i know that have done it recently had the same results as me.

Plenty of people have applied in the past week and encountered 

problems. Most of them fid absolutely nothing wrong in how they applied.

 

And some, like you, were lucky.

 

 

[jojothai]

On 12/15/2021 at 12:09 PM, richard_smith237 said:

They want a certificate of cover.

ask your insurance company for this. 

Is that all. So its that easy for everybody and wont take much time at all??

Perhaps you can also help by saying what is required on the certificate to assist others go chase insurance companies and see where they get making new certificates.

How many companies do you think will change the standard certificates they use globally. How long is it going to take and will you get it? 

 

The point made originally, that is being distorted into other issues, is that these things are not just 5 or 10 minutes when you try to do the application. 

I got my application approved first time. Done and over.
With some of the comments here, i can see that there is no point posting to help people know the potential problems when they try to do the application.

 

FYI, the insurance requirements are on three separate documents with AXA international.
So making one jpg file is nuts. You have to put many pages in one jpg file.
Then the authorities have to figure out what is in it. It doesn't print readily.
Is has to be much easier to have the pages in a pdf. They can then view and print the document readily.

[jojothai]

On 12/15/2021 at 12:50 PM, richard_smith237 said:

You are deliberately tripping over your own shoelaces. 

 

Take a scan of the Passport and save it to JPEG, make sure it looks ok - its that simple. 

 

This is all thousands of people are doing.

 

The Thailand Pass is a ridiculous enough system without adding our own silliness to it. 

You may be right but we do not know, and i consider it silly that they state "photo". 
As i pointed out in another post. More formal documents are getting security measures built in that may omit parts of the information or more commonly cover items with an extra images that help identify it is photocopied and not a photo.
There are good reasons for this.
I am not familiar with the precise items on a passport that will show different when scanned, but they must be there because i had identity checks in the UK where the scanned jpg were rejected until I actually took a photo.

In one case (uk post office registration), i could not get photos to work and had to use my mobile to contact with the chip in the passport.

People should be aware that its not now so simple to think that a scan or a photocopy of formal documents will get precisely the same image.
 

[soi3eddie]

Second time I've done Thai Pass last night. Now keep a folder on PC desktop for the documents ready to upload. It is still a pain that files must be images (JPG/PNG etc.) rather than PDF. I convert the PDF to JPG in GIMP editor and save. Also cut out the QR codes from vaccine certificate and save those separately too. I submitted all and received immediate acknowledgement to my Gmail (they add a note about possible problems if using Hotmail/Outlook addresses). The Thai Pass with QR code was issued in less than 4 hours for my next trip on 18th January. All in all, I'd say one has to be determined and organised and still can't see many 2 week tourists going though this nonsense.

 

[Sheryl]

7 hours ago, jojothai said:

Is that all. So its that easy for everybody and wont take much time at all??

Perhaps you can also help by saying what is required on the certificate to assist others go chase insurance companies and see where they get making new certificates.

How many companies do you think will change the standard certificates they use globally. How long is it going to take and will you get it? 

 

The point made originally, that is being distorted into other issues, is that these things are not just 5 or 10 minutes when you try to do the application. 

I got my application approved first time. Done and over.
With some of the comments here, i can see that there is no point posting to help people know the potential problems when they try to do the application.

 

FYI, the insurance requirements are on three separate documents with AXA international.
So making one jpg file is nuts. You have to put many pages in one jpg file.
Then the authorities have to figure out what is in it. It doesn't print readily.
Is has to be much easier to have the pages in a pdf. They can then view and print the document readily.

While it is totally unclear what is required to be in the  insurance certificate (or for that matter what then policy must cover), I am nto seeing many accounts of people being rejected because of wording of their insurance certificate.

 

For AXA, I recently obtained TP for a relative using a one pager provided by AXA. See below:

 

 

And I just got one for myself using a one pager provided by my regular health insurer as per below (says $100k as I had previously used it for a COE):

 

 

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

On 12/15/2021 at 6:57 PM, ThailandRyan said:

To this I agree. However, it's the airlines who are the ones that have to verify those items and they have an easier time with someone who has been pre-approved.  If they take your documents you give them, fly you here and then a problem with the documents is found  the airlines must fly you back at their expense. The Thai Pass is their out.

Are you sure that someone having had a TP QR code absolves the airline of their responsibility to fly them back if refused entry? The IATA page on this implies otherwise as does the behavior of airline check in staff who carefully review ALL the required documents, not just the QR code.

 

 

[CRUNCHER]

4 hours ago, Sheryl said:

While it is totally unclear what is required to be in the  insurance certificate (or for that matter what then policy must cover), I am nto seeing many accounts of people being rejected because of wording of their insurance certificate.

 

For AXA, I recently obtained TP for a relative using a one pager provided by AXA. See below:

 

 

And I just got one for myself using a one pager provided by my regular health insurer as per below (says $100k as I had previously used it for a COE):

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Sheryl.  That is very informative and useful. A picture paints a thousand words.

 

I note that the AXA certificate does not specifically mention Covid.  This was causing problems in the early stages of Thailand Pass. It seems that is now a thing of the past.

Edited December 17, 2021 by CRUNCHER

[jojothai]

On 12/17/2021 at 12:23 AM, Sheryl said:

While it is totally unclear what is required to be in the  insurance certificate (or for that matter what then policy must cover), I am nto seeing many accounts of people being rejected because of wording of their insurance certificate.

 

For AXA, I recently obtained TP for a relative using a one pager provided by AXA. See below:

 

And I just got one for myself using a one pager provided by my regular health insurer as per below (says $100k as I had previously used it for a COE):

Thanks Sheryl, I understand that local policies will follow whatever is stated.
As i said earlier, i have a full international cover that has its own certificate and separate cover summary etc.

but they want just one page jpg. I have no idea why, surely it makes no difference.

They accepted what I did combining images with as few pages as possible, (five)  and did not query why some page numbers are missing.
So it appears they are being practical.

More frustrating and time consuming than insurance they did not list my SHQ plus+, even though it is in their list that can be viewed. So you don't know what to put. That lost over a day communicating with the hotel and others finding out what to do.

The point I made originally is that all the requirements are not as simple/easy and short an exercise as somebody stated.
I did not have as much problem with COE earlier this year. The requirements then seemed staightforward following what i had expected
I advise that people go through the Thailand pass process first on a draft basis to check how to fill it in and what is required.
The should allow at least another day or potentially two to get it completed. 
 

[superal]

16 minutes ago, jojothai said:

Thanks Sheryl, I understand that local policies will follow whatever is stated.
As i said earlier, i have a full international cover that has its own certificate and separate cover summary etc.

but they want just one page jpg. I have no idea why, surely it makes no difference.

They accepted what I did combining images with as few pages as possible, (five)  and did not query why some page numbers are missing.
So it appears they are being practical.

More frustrating and time consuming than insurance they did not list my SHQ plus+, even though it is in their list that can be viewed. So you don't know what to put. That lost over a day communicating with the hotel and others finding out what to do.

The point I made originally is that all the requirements are not as simple/easy and short an exercise as somebody stated.
I did not have as much problem with COE earlier this year. The requirements then seemed staightforward following what i had expected
I advise that people go through the Thailand pass process first on a draft basis to check how to fill it in and what is required.
The should allow at least another day or potentially two to get it completed. 
 

Commitment to buying the health insurance up front and then the flights is a bit daunting , especially if buying to travel in the next 10 days and hoping that your application is dealt with quickly with no errors but for those who are booking months in advance so as to be comfy that they have secured their TP , there is no knowing the future of the pandemic and its effect on the aviation industry /flight cancellations . This may be a risk too far for some folks  .   Visa and vaccination certs  should be enough to get an under consideration stamp with final approval upon proof of hotel /PCR test paid for, flights  & insurance which would give some degree of booking confidence . Not too dissimilar to the C.O.E. 

[Sheryl]

On 12/17/2021 at 11:24 AM, CRUNCHER said:

I note that the AXA certificate does not specifically mention Covid.  This was causing problems in the early stages of Thailand Pass. It seems that is now a thing of the past.

In the case of AXA TP knows that insurance well (probably the single most common one used). It might possibly still be an issue for other insurers.

[Sheryl]

12 hours ago, superal said:

Commitment to buying the health insurance up front and then the flights is a bit daunting , especially if buying to travel in the next 10 days and hoping that your application is dealt with quickly with no errors but for those who are booking months in advance so as to be comfy that they have secured their TP , there is no knowing the future of the pandemic and its effect on the aviation industry /flight cancellations . This may be a risk too far for some folks  .   Visa and vaccination certs  should be enough to get an under consideration stamp with final approval upon proof of hotel /PCR test paid for, flights  & insurance which would give some degree of booking confidence . Not too dissimilar to the C.O.E. 

 

I would certainly not book Thailand Pass months in advance, too many things may change.

 

You need your Test & Go package to apply and for that the hotel needs your arrival date and time. You also have to enter arrival date into the TP application. So I would say flight booking is necessary before applying.

 

Re insurance, you arrange it to start in day of arrival and most policies can be cancelled.

 

Some (not all) hotels allow refund of T&G package.

 

Biggest risk may be the lfight booking as these often entail a fee to cancel or change.

[katatonic]

On 12/15/2021 at 10:47 AM, sandyf said:

There is a difference between an insurance policy and a certificate, certificates are usually single or double page.

I had my insurance certificate reissued from GBP to USD in less than an hour, although cover will always remain in the companies base currency.

It is quite straightforward to change PDF or other formats to JPEG if necessary.

None of my documents, which all started off as PDF, were accepted by the system after changing to either JPG or JPEG. None of them could be opened on my MacBook either. It seems they are all protected from alteration in any way as they are official documents. I'm presuming they all have to be printed then scanned in JPEG/JPG first. I ended up taking photos of my computer screen and sending them to myself as I didn't have access to a printer at the time. Hopefully this will be accepted. I will of course print them all out before I fly.

[tuktuktuk]

1 hour ago, katatonic said:

None of my documents, which all started off as PDF, were accepted by the system after changing to either JPG or JPEG. None of them could be opened on my MacBook either. It seems they are all protected from alteration in any way as they are official documents. I'm presuming they all have to be printed then scanned in JPEG/JPG first. I ended up taking photos of my computer screen and sending them to myself as I didn't have access to a printer at the time. Hopefully this will be accepted. I will of course print them all out before I fly.

I had that problem too, but was able to print to .pdf to get an unprotected version.