Thai wife has cancer & wants to get home to family. Thai passport expired, can't get covid insurance to use US passport. Help?

[hashmodha]

Sending love and best wishes.. Hope all goes well and speedy recovery!!.....❤️❣️

[KhaoYai]

9 hours ago, ding said:

So your wife got covid insurance with cancer? Which company? AXA requires disclosure but doesn't say if it disqualifies her.

I have travel insurance with Covid cover and I have cancer.  Yes I disclosed it but it doesn't seem to have had any effect on my cover or the premium other than for matters directly related to my illness. I was very surprised because when I disclosed my condition for a regular health insurance policy, the premium shot up 300% - even though they excluded anything to do with my cancer. It doesn't seem to have the same effect on travel insurance.

 

Granted, my policy is with a UK insurer but I can't see the US being much different.  I understand resistance to disclosure but when you think about it, you might as well take that step. You either get insured, get a rise in cost or neither. The alternative is no insurance so resistance is pointless when you think about it.

Edited February 17, 2022 by KhaoYai

[ding]

6 hours ago, vandeventer said:

Yes they always want 6 months on your passport. You know she would get better treated for cancer in the USA. So what's your hurry? My friends and family lived with cancer for many years Theses times are not good for travel. Maybe you should  rethink about coming to Thailand now, latter I'm sure will be easier.

This is tough to talk about. And off-topic partly. But for those that come across this thread searching, here goes. Also, I'm always open to any helpful and constructive information that might help this wonderful Thai woman that I had the good luck to marry.

 

She has decided to go with Gerson juicing Therapy. She refused chemo (which I can appreciate). Cancer treatment in the US is dysfunctional, I've discovered. Cancer is a very unique beast too. Gerson is supported by pseudoscience and testimonials. I tend to think a 'press-pulse' method that doctors like Bob Gatenby, Thomas Seyfried and others propose may be more helpful. The book by Dr Jason Fung, "The Cancer Code" explains things as I've come to understand them very well. There's a study at Ohio State lead by Jeff Volek in conjunction with a university lab in Canada with David Harper - and that study should come out soon letting us know much more definitively.

 

My wife's radiation oncologist and two medical oncologists completely deny the Warburg Effect... that cancer is fed by glucose and that Dr Warburg proved that in the late 20's and won a Nobel in 1931. They all deny that insulin is a growth hormone (anabolic) along with nutrient sensing and energy storing. One thought Dr Lew Cantley was a Naturopath on the internet, while he's a pre-eminent researcher in HER field - oncology. He discovered PI-3 Kinase.

 

The book 'The Cancer Code' explains things as they stand in the West and the world. I can only tell people that our experience was a gut-punch of ignorance. They feed chemo patients Enfamil which is loaded with sugars - in the chemo wards! They had piles of Enfamil brochures when we went to interview the medical oncologist. Again, glucose feeds cancer tumor growth and this was proven in the late 1920's! Later, it was shown that glutamine-glutimate fuels growth too... and nutrients - cancer is a beast and I certainly don't understand it. But the big picture in western treatment of many forms of cancer looks ugly to many brilliant people who dedicate their lives to understanding it.

 

For those searching, YouTube; Bob Gatenby, Thomas Seyfried, Dawn Lemanne, Jason Fung, Lew Cantley, David Harper. I'll keep searching but my wife is convinced of the Gerson therapy and I can't get heard, so I guess I have to accept and support. It's not good at all but I know the US cancer system is stuck on stupid too. Researchers are being cut off at the knees here, it seems.

Edited February 17, 2022 by ding

[ding]

Doesn't matter now. American Airlines just sent me an email and cancelled our tickets because they, or Japan Air Lines, eliminated the Seattle to Narita leg altogether. 

 

So we regroup and see what happens. This has a chain reaction to everything downstream as the required schedules are so tight due to the requirements.... landing after the check in time, pre-departure rtPCR tests then sell the car, etc.

 

Next up is the fight for refunds.

 

Thanks to all who helped. Maybe it's for the best this way.

 

Cheers

[Expat68]

My wife flew on her British passport some years ago into Thailand, is her Thai  I'd card still valid?

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, Expat68 said:

My wife flew on her British passport some years ago into Thailand, is her Thai  I'd card still valid?

Yes

[Expat68]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

Yes

Then for me no problem, she should be able to fly on US passport, if they ? about no return flight, just produce her Thai ID Card, or you could book return for piece of mind.

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, Expat68 said:

Then for me no problem, she should be able to fly on US passport, if they ? about no return flight, just produce her Thai ID Card, or you could book return for piece of mind.

At this time a valid passport or a emergency travel is needed tor a Thai to travel to here to get the required Thailand Pass to enter the country. They can enter on a non Thai passport but they have to have insurance and etc.

 

[Expat68]

4 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

At this time a valid passport or a emergency travel is needed tor a Thai to travel to here to get the required Thailand Pass to enter the country. They can enter on a non Thai passport but they have to have insurance and etc.

 

Christ never thought about that, stand corrected

[Sydebolle]

Thai citizen can return to Thailand even with an expired passport. It may take a moment or two to verify the issues hence make sure that she arrives weekdays during working hours. 

Alternatively get her a new Thai passport in the US; if the Embassy in Washington DC and consulates are poking noses, then call the Thai representation at the UN in New York; they will answer the phone and possibly get you through. Not knowing how many Thais are living in the US with Thai passports I am sure that the expiration of passports is not a new subject. 

Good luck!

[stupidfarang]

On 2/17/2022 at 6:19 AM, ChipButty said:

My question is would they let her board with an expired passport? 

show the USA passport when leaving and show the Thai passport on arrival

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

Thai citizen can return to Thailand even with an expired passport. It may take a moment or two to verify the issues hence make sure that she arrives weekdays during working hours. 

In normal times that is correct. But now with the need to get a Thailand Pass to enter you must have a valid Thai passport or a emergency travel document.

[ChipButty]

10 minutes ago, stupidfarang said:

show the USA passport when leaving and show the Thai passport on arrival

Not possible 

[scorecard]

On 2/17/2022 at 6:19 AM, ChipButty said:

My question is would they let her board with an expired passport? 

Valid point - maybe check-in at the departing location might refuse to accept the expired passport and I would not be expecting that airport check-in staff in the US would be fully aware of the relevany regulations.

 

Perhaps getting a copy of the regulations involved to show at check-in might help. To find the regulations perhaps check the Thai MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) website of alternatively call their Bangkok office from the US. Their numbers are on the MOFA website. I've called them several times, always seem to pick up quickly, Thai staff speak advanced English, good listeners, polite, helpful, focused and I've always had a useful response from calling them. 

 

On one occasion I asked the MOFA officer if he could take my e.mail number and write/send me an e.mail with a few sentences (Thai and English) of the applicable regulation and include the regulation clause no. etc. He did, 20 minutes after the call I got the e.mail, content was exactly what I needed.

 

If flying Thai Inter. maybe it could be a different story but not sure if Thai are flying out of the US at the moment.

 

Good luck.

Edited February 18, 2022 by scorecard

[zzzzz]

On 2/17/2022 at 7:37 AM, ding said:

She has a US passport with 9 years left. I think the Thai Emergency Passport is the way to go and she would use that. It's free but expires in 30 days and takes 7-10 days to process.

 

Also, it's not expensive to try to get her Test&Go covid insurance and see if they reject her for cancer. They wouldn't have to pay anything on the cancer, so who knows... They don't say online, just require disclosure.

just use her us passport, visa exempt entry for 30 days,

Once in Thailand renew her thai passport<
No reason to  unnecessarily  worrying 

[crouchpeter]

On 2/17/2022 at 1:47 PM, ding said:

Thanks. Yes, I've read that if she enters with a valid Thai passport she doesn't need covid insurance. Her Thai passport will be expired, however, and I'm not sure how that works in this case. Her US passport is valid but she has cancer and must disclose that when applying for AXA Insurance to enter under the Thailand Pass Test&Go scheme.

 

It looks like an Emergency Passport and Emergency Travel Document are the same thing, from the various postings at the DC Embassy and LA Consulate.

Why would you tell the insurance company anything? Just get the Covid insurance. It's only a bureaucratic necessity to get into Thailand anyway.

[stupidfarang]

On 2/18/2022 at 10:05 AM, ChipButty said:

Not possible 

why not? Can on a NZ passport and on a UK passport (going into NZ and the UK)

[skatewash]

1 hour ago, zzzzz said:

just use her us passport, visa exempt entry for 30 days,

Once in Thailand renew her thai passport<
No reason to  unnecessarily  worrying 

When a Thai enters Thailand on a passport other than their Thai one they are treated for immigration purposes as a citizen of the country of the passport they used.  Meaning they are subject to all the requirements we foreigners are subject to, including being required to have $50k USD in health insurance coverage (including covid).  A Thai entering on a Thai passport is exempt from this insurance requirement because they are covered under Thai National health care.

One should never enter a country on another passport if one has a passport for the country they are entering.  It's always a bad idea.  In some cases it's illegal (e.g., US).  In Thailand it's just a very bad idea.

[crouchpeter]

On 2/17/2022 at 8:46 PM, ding said:

This is tough to talk about. And off-topic partly. But for those that come across this thread searching, here goes. Also, I'm always open to any helpful and constructive information that might help this wonderful Thai woman that I had the good luck to marry.

 

She has decided to go with Gerson juicing Therapy. She refused chemo (which I can appreciate). Cancer treatment in the US is dysfunctional, I've discovered. Cancer is a very unique beast too. Gerson is supported by pseudoscience and testimonials. I tend to think a 'press-pulse' method that doctors like Bob Gatenby, Thomas Seyfried and others propose may be more helpful. The book by Dr Jason Fung, "The Cancer Code" explains things as I've come to understand them very well. There's a study at Ohio State lead by Jeff Volek in conjunction with a university lab in Canada with David Harper - and that study should come out soon letting us know much more definitively.

 

My wife's radiation oncologist and two medical oncologists completely deny the Warburg Effect... that cancer is fed by glucose and that Dr Warburg proved that in the late 20's and won a Nobel in 1931. They all deny that insulin is a growth hormone (anabolic) along with nutrient sensing and energy storing. One thought Dr Lew Cantley was a Naturopath on the internet, while he's a pre-eminent researcher in HER field - oncology. He discovered PI-3 Kinase.

 

The book 'The Cancer Code' explains things as they stand in the West and the world. I can only tell people that our experience was a gut-punch of ignorance. They feed chemo patients Enfamil which is loaded with sugars - in the chemo wards! They had piles of Enfamil brochures when we went to interview the medical oncologist. Again, glucose feeds cancer tumor growth and this was proven in the late 1920's! Later, it was shown that glutamine-glutimate fuels growth too... and nutrients - cancer is a beast and I certainly don't understand it. But the big picture in western treatment of many forms of cancer looks ugly to many brilliant people who dedicate their lives to understanding it.

 

For those searching, YouTube; Bob Gatenby, Thomas Seyfried, Dawn Lemanne, Jason Fung, Lew Cantley, David Harper. I'll keep searching but my wife is convinced of the Gerson therapy and I can't get heard, so I guess I have to accept and support. It's not good at all but I know the US cancer system is stuck on stupid too. Researchers are being cut off at the knees here, it seems.

Western medicine is "Evidence based". Anything alternative is usually absolute <deleted>! Generally, you'll get a 5 year prognosis, which is, of course, statistical. (Except for testicular cancer prognosis, which is "statesticle"!)

Patients with cancer are very vulnerable, naturally, and are susceptible to con-artists and nut-jobs. And oftentimes not open to rationality. I've had patients go to the USA and get treated by Hopi Indian medicine-men. They always come back home to die, saying, "I should've listened to you"!  Sad.

[estnet]

I believe JAL only cancelled the SEA-TYO flight on certain days.  You should check if it's available on a different day and ask AA to change your ticket(s)