Visit to the UK

[Shannoblic]

I thought it might help some forum members if I detailed the 3 week visit to the UK I have just completed.  I am actually in my ‘test & go’ hotel at the moment awaiting my test result.

Firstly – I cannot emphasise enough the necessity of following procedures and getting the right documents.  Different documents were asked for at different stages of the journeys and it is important to have them readily available.  Following advice on the forum I made sure all my documents were printed and not electronic or stored on a smartphone [which I don’t have].

 

Step 1 – READ!  Read everything you can both about Thailand re-entry and UK entry.  Only by a little research and noting the requirements can you hope to do it straightforwardly.  My flights were BKK-AMS-BHX.

 

1.       Got re-entry permit from my local Immigration Office [on a yearly marriage extension]

2.       Got an International Vaccination Certificate from my local Health Department Office – very easy with the certificate from the hospital which had given me the jabs [2 x Pfizer].

3.       Applied for and got Thai Pass while still in Thailand – bought required $50,000 insurance, booked 1 day ‘test & go’ hotel in Bangkok [essential it is marked ‘PAID’], bought air ticket.

4.       Checked with airline [KLM] about their requirements.  They needed a Health Declaration for Travellers to transit in Schilphol [downloadable from Netherlands Government website - needed 2 – one for outgoing flights and one for incoming]

5.       Checked UK Government website for UK entry requirements [UK citizen fully vaccinated].  Downloaded and completed the UK Passenger Locator Form.

6.       Booked [and MUST be paid for] Day 2 Lateral Flow Test with UK supplier.

 

All the above were done in Thailand before travel.

 

In the UK

1.       Booked RT-PCR test with approved UK supplier for 48 hours before return flight.

2.       Contacted KLM to see if any changes – there were!  Needed to complete a Basic Health Assessment Corona [Covid-19] form in addition to the transit form for Schiphol.

 

The complete list of documents I carried:

1.       Passport data page

2.       Re-entry permit

3.       Flight ticket & summary

4.       Thai Pass

5.       Test & Go hotel receipted booking

6.       International Vaccine Certificate

7.       Insurance Certificate [$50,000]

8.       UK Passenger Locator Form

9.       2-day Lateral Flow Test booking receipt [UK] & result

10.   UK RT-PCR test before fly booking and result

11.   Netherlands Health Declaration for Travellers [1 for in and 1 for out at Schiphol]

12.   Netherlands Basic Health Assessment Corona [Covid-19]

 

Sounds a lot I know but all were asked for at different stages except my passport date page.

Notes on Schiphol – returning you have to report to a different boarding gate from the one you are flying from.  For me it was Gate F2 where an official checked my documents and put a sticker on my passport which allowed me to go to the boarding gate F7.

 

Hope this helps someone.  If anyone wants the details of the suppliers I used I will give them.

[KhaoYai]

23 minutes ago, Shannoblic said:

6.       Booked [and MUST be paid for] Day 2 Lateral Flow Test with UK supplier.

Not so much, must be paid for as must have a booking reference number which has to be entered on the Passenger Locator Form or you cannot proceed  (although I don't know any testing company that will give you that reference number without payment).  Anyone thinking of blagging that, the system only accepts valid reference numbers.

 

My point in the above is not to correct the OP but I knew of someone who thought he could produce a fake booking - he soon learned he couldn't.

Edited December 21, 2021 by KhaoYai

[Tony M]

How long 50,000 $  insurance period did you buy, and how much was it ?

[Shannoblic]

Tony M - I bought AXA [Thailand] insurance.  The period was 20th Dec 2021 [my landing date] to 18th March 2022 the day after my annual extension expires.  The cost was 6,200 baht.

[Shannoblic]

Tony M - should have also told you I am 71 years old.

[Tony M]

14 minutes ago, Shannoblic said:

Tony M - should have also told you I am 71 years old.

Thank you for the info. I am also 71 years old !!!  The reason I asked is because I still can't find any confirmation of the period of insurance required. I have read that it is either for the remaining period of one's visa/extension, or for just one month to obtain entry.  Did you find any definitive info or guidance on this ?

[Shannoblic]

Tony M - I took advice from UbonJoe and when I looked at the Thai requirements on the UK Embassy web page it said insurance for the length of your visit.  I also asked AXA.  It can be misleading to look at 1 month as that is the common length for a tourist but as I was getting an entry stamped until 17th March 2022 that was the length of my 'visit'.  

 

I was advised by UbonJoe and others that i do not have to renew the insurance in March as technically I will not be 'entering' the country or need any passes - just a normal extension to my Non-Imm 'O' based on marriage to a Thai,

[Tony M]

13 minutes ago, Shannoblic said:

Tony M - I took advice from UbonJoe and when I looked at the Thai requirements on the UK Embassy web page it said insurance for the length of your visit.  I also asked AXA.  It can be misleading to look at 1 month as that is the common length for a tourist but as I was getting an entry stamped until 17th March 2022 that was the length of my 'visit'.  

 

I was advised by UbonJoe and others that i do not have to renew the insurance in March as technically I will not be 'entering' the country or need any passes - just a normal extension to my Non-Imm 'O' based on marriage to a Thai,

Thank you again for the info.  It's still confusing, as there have been reports of extension holders only buying one month of insurance, and have been granted entry.   I don't really want to pay for up to a year of insurance when I already have insurance here (but not 50,000 $).

[Shannoblic]

I understand not wanting to pay more than you need to.  I feel the same but what I didn't want to do was put any possible barriers in my return.  I can only tell you what I did, and perhaps I am over cautious but the peace of mind it gave me following the advice and the UK Embassy website guidance was worth it [to me].

 

When the insurance was checked, the re-entry permit was looked at and was until 17th March.  I don't know if a period less than that would be questioned.  Perhaps UbonJoe or some other more experienced member can advise you better.

 

[JamesH]

If immigration only stamps you in for the period of your insurance then, it would be a lot cheaper just to get a three month cover for your insurance and then get a new annual extension at the end of that period. If you have nine or ten months before your next extension then the insurance could cost you between 25-30k Baht.

[sapson]

Lot of great information but think things have changed slightly now for the entry to the Uk.

 

Now required a pre flight PCR or lateral flow test with confirmation from clinic or hospital before leaving Thailand and also now a PCR test booked for day 2 of Uk return.

 

However requirements may have already changed again.

[Shannoblic]

Thank you sapson for that update.  I flew to UK on 26 November when those requirements did not exist, only the 2 day lateral flow test.

[RubbaJohnny]

Many thanks for detailed hands on report. Of course the situation is unavoidably dynamic with different authorities reacting to the pandemic in different ways and dates.

 

With so many members from esp USA and UK a sticky with the current entry procedures to those countries and return to Thailand would be great?

[BritTim]

On 12/21/2021 at 9:28 AM, JamesH said:

If immigration only stamps you in for the period of your insurance then, it would be a lot cheaper just to get a three month cover for your insurance and then get a new annual extension at the end of that period. If you have nine or ten months before your next extension then the insurance could cost you between 25-30k Baht.

It had not occurred to me. However, if queried about a shorter period of insurance than implied by your re-entry permit, it ought to be possible logically to state that you only intend a short visit, "changing your mind later". How could Immigration know?

 

That said, I could imagine some embassies blocking a Thailand Pass, insisting that your period of insurance must match your re-entry permit regardless of the actual intended length of stay.

[treetops]

On 12/21/2021 at 12:12 AM, KhaoYai said:

Not so much, must be paid for as must have a booking reference number which has to be entered on the Passenger Locator Form or you cannot proceed  (although I don't know any testing company that will give you that reference number without payment).

"Must be paid for" is actually an important thing to note with this and there was a thread here a while back reporting an airline's request for proof of payment at check in .  The traveller in that thread managed to get it emailed to them while in the airport but others might not be so lucky.  From the UK Gov website:

 

[sapson]

5 hours ago, treetops said:

"Must be paid for" is actually an important thing to note with this and there was a thread here a while back reporting an airline's request for proof of payment at check in .  The traveller in that thread managed to get it emailed to them while in the airport but others might not be so lucky.  From the UK Gov website:

 

Proof of payment really is the booking reference number which you put on the Passenger locator form, without having paid you dont get the number, check in staff should be aware of that.

[KhaoYai]

5 hours ago, treetops said:

"Must be paid for" is actually an important thing to note with this and there was a thread here a while back reporting an airline's request for proof of payment at check in .  The traveller in that thread managed to get it emailed to them while in the airport but others might not be so lucky.  From the UK Gov website:

 

Correct, I forgot about that.

[Gandtee]

Reading this is enough to put anyone off travelling out of the country. It reminds me of the WW2 poster in the UK. 'Is your journey really necessary?' At 88 I think my days of doing it are over. No insurance is available for those of  my age.

[Neeranam]

Thanks a lot, very useful.

 

One question, once you are on the plane, is there any way that the UK could turn back a UK citizen?

[soalbundy]

Hardly seems worth the trouble, certainly not to visit the UK.

[Neeranam]

1 minute ago, soalbundy said:

Hardly seems worth the trouble, certainly not to visit the UK.

What I am thinking. Better waiting until the weather is less cold, ie in June. 

[sapson]

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

Thanks a lot, very useful.

 

One question, once you are on the plane, is there any way that the UK could turn back a UK citizen?

Once you are on the plane and you land in the Uk as a Uk passport holder they cannot kick you out, but if you somehow have arrived without correct documentation they could detain you and fine you accordingly.

[Golden Triangle]

And there was me thinking you were gonna tell us how cold, damp and thoroughly miserable the UK is, how wrong can a guy get.

 

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Edited December 22, 2021 by Golden Triangle

[alex8912]

The simple fact you did all of this WITHOUT a smart phone deserves some sort of award ????!! 

[Fairynuff]

8 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

And there was me thinking you were gonna tell us how cold, damp and thoroughly miserable the UK is, how wrong can a guy get.

 

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I thought that too, but don’t worry, I can confirm all of the above. Add to that a nation that still seems to be in denial that Covid even exists. Even now with 106,000 infections a sizeable minority are maskless and totally inconsiderate of others.

[treetops]

On 12/22/2021 at 8:57 AM, sapson said:

Proof of payment really is the booking reference number which you put on the Passenger locator form, without having paid you dont get the number, check in staff should be aware of that.

Unfortunately they are not, or had been instructed otherwise, and were looking for more.

[OJAS]

On 12/21/2021 at 6:50 AM, Shannoblic said:

2.       Got an International Vaccination Certificate from my local Health Department Office – very easy with the certificate from the hospital which had given me the jabs [2 x Pfizer].

Why did you bother obtaining an IVC? My interpretation of the GOV.UK guidance is that a hospital certificate should be sufficient proof of vaccination in its own right, provided that it complies with a number of minimum requirements. But maybe yours doesn't??

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/countries-with-approved-covid-19-vaccination-programmes-and-proof-of-vaccination

 

 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2021 by OJAS

[poohy]

Did they serve alcohol on the plane?

will doing same march BKK BHX deciding between KLM Emirates or Lufthansa 

KLM is cheapest but pretty average  IMHO compared to others

[Shannoblic]

OJAS - although the hospital vaccination certificate could be accepted by UK government, during my stay at several venues I was required to produce vaccination 'evidence' and the IVC was much more 'official looking'' and recognisable.  At a cost of 50 baht and just a little of my time I think it was well worth it.

 

poohy - yes they did serve alcohol on the plane - quite a nice red wine!.  I chose KLM because of the transfer times - roughly 1 hour each way - and because of the arrival & departure times.  OK - KLM are average but timing happened to be important to me. 

 

[OJAS]

3 hours ago, Shannoblic said:

OJAS - although the hospital vaccination certificate could be accepted by UK government, during my stay at several venues I was required to produce vaccination 'evidence' and the IVC was much more 'official looking'' and recognisable.  At a cost of 50 baht and just a little of my time I think it was well worth it.

When I received my 2 Pfizer jabs in Pattaya in August & September, I was informed that there could be a significant delay in feeding the necessary info through to those responsible for issuing IVC's. Strikes me that this issue could again potentially arise were at least 1 booster jab to become a mandatory requirement for entering the UK by the time of my (extremely tentative) planned trip there next June - a highly likely prospect, it seems to me.

 

But thanks for your comprehensive report - much appreciated.