Delhi to Taiwan, with transit, immigration in Bangkok

[hapark]

Bit of a unique question here, but looking for best way to get an Indian IT employee from Delhi to Taiwan for work with minimal hassle.  Will be holding required Taiwan visa in hand.

Is via Bangkok the most logical option and is a transit visa required.

Would it be possible to check bags through from Delhi and transit via Bangkok while staying airside, and avoiding any visa or quarantine during transit if possible, as quarantine already required at final destination.

Looked at Thai Airways, but not seeing any same day connecting flights and a 24 hour layover possibility.

Not sure if they are still doing 15 day VoA for Indians or is a 60 day tourist visa going to be required, if quarantine comes into play.

All very confusing now, so any and all ideas welcome, maybe there are other transit hub possibilities that might be easier.

Thank you and Season's Greetings to all!

Edited December 23, 2021 by hapark

[ubonjoe]

These are the basic requirements for transiting through Bangkok.

 

As  far as I know 12 hours is the maximum to stay in the transit area.

At this time If they had to enter Thailand it would require a 10 day quarantine in a hotel and have 2 negative RT-PCR tests done. Until recently if fully vaccinated it would be a overnight stay in hotel while waiting for a negative covid 19 test.

The 15 day visa on arrival is possible now.

[BritTim]

I think some days there are flights DEL->BOM->BKK->TPE on Thai Smile with a transfer of under 12 hours in Bangkok. Worth checking.

[Why Me]

I thought Indian skies were still closed to commercial travel except for few countries they bubble with, not TH as yet. So I would be surprised if there were any direct passenger flights from any Indian city to Bkk.

[ubonjoe]

3 hours ago, Why Me said:

I thought Indian skies were still closed to commercial travel except for few countries they bubble with, not TH as yet. So I would be surprised if there were any direct passenger flights from any Indian city to Bkk.

It does state this on this map after clicking on India. https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/world.php

[hapark]

Thank you for responses from all.  The situation is quite confusing.  As noted, there are some flights operating, such as Vande Bharat Mission flights on Indian airlines which are operating for Indian nationals.  I also see some flight schedules listed on Thai Airways website, but I do not know if they are operating.  On one of the local facebook sites, it seems to indicate that they are.   If so, wondering if one of these options could be used as a connecting transit option to Eva Air, or China Airlines.  In addition to trying to get best connection time and stay airside, another problem seems to be whether or not you can check bags through from Delhi all the way to Taipei.

 

Edited December 24, 2021 by hapark

[hapark]

11 hours ago, BritTim said:

I think some days there are flights DEL->BOM->BKK->TPE on Thai Smile with a transfer of under 12 hours in Bangkok. Worth checking.

Thank you, I will look into that....although the IATA link posted by Ubonjoe shows following

 

 

 

 

I am not sure if that excludes this option or not?

Edited December 24, 2021 by hapark

[hapark]

3 hours ago, hapark said:

Thank you, I will look into that....although the IATA link posted by Ubonjoe shows following

 

 

 

 

I am not sure if that excludes this option or not?

Correcting myself here after looking at Thaismile site.... as the flight seems to originate in Mumbai, the first leg could just be a domestic Delhi-Mumbai separate booking on another airline with separate check-in from Mumbai, though was not yet able to see any available flight schedule

[hapark]

On 12/23/2021 at 11:50 PM, BritTim said:

I think some days there are flights DEL->BOM->BKK->TPE on Thai Smile with a transfer of under 12 hours in Bangkok. Worth checking.

Thank you for this suggestion again.  After lots of looking around, I am seeing a Bangalore-Taipei flight once a week on Thai with a 2 hour transit in Bangkok.  The  only questions are whether the flight is operational and if you can check bags through, and thus avoid entering Thailand.  The additional risk would be if you missed the connection for some reason, had to stay over in Thailand for a night or 2 and  be forced to enter subject to quarantine.

[Carmine6]

On 12/23/2021 at 7:05 PM, hapark said:

Thank you for responses from all.  The situation is quite confusing.  As noted, there are some flights operating, such as Vande Bharat Mission flights on Indian airlines which are operating for Indian nationals.  I also see some flight schedules listed on Thai Airways website, but I do not know if they are operating.  On one of the local facebook sites, it seems to indicate that they are.   If so, wondering if one of these options could be used as a connecting transit option to Eva Air, or China Airlines.  In addition to trying to get best connection time and stay airside, another problem seems to be whether or not you can check bags through from Delhi all the way to Taipei.

 

Taiwan stopped allowing transiting in May and last I checked a month ago was still closed, or else that is where I would have connected through.  I'll double check it since they could have changed recently, but highly unlikely.

 

Best I could find was reference to the original prohibition on transiting in May 2021:

News Ticker - EVA Air | Global (English)

 

Effective from 00:00 am on 19MAY2021(local flight schedule departure time). CECC imposes entry restrictions for non-R.O.C. nationals and travelers transiting through Taiwan are temporarily prohibited.

Edited December 27, 2021 by Carmine6
Fixed month info and added new source

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, hapark said:

Thank you for this suggestion again.  After lots of looking around, I am seeing a Bangalore-Taipei flight once a week on Thai with a 2 hour transit in Bangkok.  The  only questions are whether the flight is operational and if you can check bags through, and thus avoid entering Thailand.  The additional risk would be if you missed the connection for some reason, had to stay over in Thailand for a night or 2 and  be forced to enter subject to quarantine.

The official minimum for international to international at Suvarnabhumi is 55 minutes, but two hours is still awfully short given the consequences of missing the connecting flight. Ideal, would be about six hours, I think. If you cannot find anything better, you have a tough decision to make. My gut tells me that the Omicron panic may have dissipated within a month or so, and the challenge may lessen, but obviously you cannot rely on this.

[hapark]

1 hour ago, Carmine6 said:

Taiwan stopped allowing transiting in May and last I checked a month ago was still closed, or else that is where I would have connected through.  I'll double check it since they could have changed recently, but highly unlikely.

 

Best I could find was reference to the original prohibition on transiting in May 2021:

News Ticker - EVA Air | Global (English)

 

Effective from 00:00 am on 19MAY2021(local flight schedule departure time). CECC imposes entry restrictions for non-R.O.C. nationals and travelers transiting through Taiwan are temporarily prohibited.

The transit takes place in Bangkok with Taipei as the final destination.

[hapark]

26 minutes ago, BritTim said:

The official minimum for international to international at Suvarnabhumi is 55 minutes, but two hours is still awfully short given the consequences of missing the connecting flight. Ideal, would be about six hours, I think. If you cannot find anything better, you have a tough decision to make. My gut tells me that the Omicron panic may have dissipated within a month or so, and the challenge may lessen, but obviously you cannot rely on this.

Sound advice as the consequences of any delay, which can be common at the departure end, would be serious. 2 hours may be cutting it too close, unless things change.

[hapark]

Reviving this topic due to the new 5 day test n go. For a Delhi-Taipei scenario with transit through Bangkok.  Assuming no same day connecting flights via Bangkok, could Indian citizen enter Thailand under 15 day Visa on arrival, do Day 1 of the Test n Go Hotel, and depart for Taiwan on Day 4 (without Day 5 hotel and PCR), assuming day 1 PCR all clear?

Would Thailand pass be issued under such circumstance?

Edited February 1, 2022 by hapark

[ubonjoe]

17 minutes ago, hapark said:

Would Thailand pass be issued under such circumstance?

Yes

This on the Thailand pass site. https://tp.consular.go.th/en/plan

[hapark]

8 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Yes

This on the Thailand pass site. https://tp.consular.go.th/en/plan

Thank you Ubonjoe

[hapark]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Yes

This on the Thailand pass site. https://tp.consular.go.th/en/plan

I wonder if the 15 day Visa on Arrival is still available for Indian citizens?

[ubonjoe]

15 minutes ago, hapark said:

I wonder if the 15 day Visa on Arrival is still available for Indian citizens?

As far as I know they are available now. The were allowed again at the end of September last year when the order canceling them expired.

[mtls2005]

https://www.immigration.gov.tw/media/74255/restriction-on-entering-taiwan_0112.pdf

 

Keep it simple, one-stop, one airline, short transit (less than 12 hours), I'd avoid BKK.

 

Honestly, the best thing I see is DEL-DXB-TPE on EK. 

 

On 12/23/2021 at 2:00 PM, hapark said:

All very confusing now

This is why you pay a travel agent.