Thailand further eases entry restrictions for international travellers

[Deserted]

Do we have confirmation of this from the thai news outlets?

[Misterwhisper]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Thailand Pass will also be paused temporarily to update the system for the new rules, set to start on the first of May. Those who have already booked will need to inquire individually with hotels/Thailand Pass about potential refunds or “grandfather” clauses after May 1st. Before May 1st, all current rules will apply.

So... everyone whose arrival date (and pre-booked travel arrangements) falls between now and May 1 is basically screwed. Once again.

 

Or has to jump through hoops to sort it out and fight for refunds or re-bookings. Once again.

 

I was supposed to visit a southern European country for a week-long business trip in mid-May. My company then reconsidered and canceled the plan. They said they would rather not risk it as the Thai government has repeatedly changed the entry rules in the past and it might well happen again while I am abroad, which could potentially make it difficult for me to return to Thailand (with the company having to pick up the bill).

 

I don't blame them. I was actually hoping they'd scrap the travel plan. 

[ThailandRyan]

10 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

My prediction.

The next step is they will drop the insurance thing.

The vaccine proof will remain.

Not sure about the Pass.

The vaccine part can be handled without the pass.

The pass if kept would be a burden particularly for quickie land border crossings.

I think it really should be scrapped entirely.

If they drop the I surance for tourists then they sure as gell better drop the requirement for us here on extensions of stay based on OA for retirement.

[KhunBENQ]

Next milestone July 1st?

Enter endemic status and drop all restrictions for entertainment, gatherings etc.

[Heng]

1 hour ago, Yorkshire Tea said:

Are you considered vaccinated if your last shot was over 6 months ago?

They haven't thought of that yet.   Give them a few minutes.    

 

I'll drop it in the suggestion box.   

[RichardColeman]

Great, they removed the second hurdle but the jockeys are all still worried about the first jump !

[KhunBENQ]

6 minutes ago, Deserted said:

Do we have confirmation of this from the thai news outlets?

Well there is little doubt that the CCSA meeting conclusions have been translated correctly.
Formally it is in effect not before published in the Royal Gazette.

Very little chance that the basics will change.

(CCSA is headed by Mr. Big P.)

I see it in misc Thai news outlets among them PBS.

Translated headline:

"Prime Minister announces cancellation of Test&Go - open country in full on May 1"

[Jingthing]

4 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

If they drop the I surance for tourists then they sure as gell better drop the requirement for us here on extensions of stay based on OA for retirement.

They will not!

Not connected at all.

[OJAS]

1 hour ago, Chivas said:

Hardly a problem to upload the 2 documents

Very easy I'd imagine

On the contrary, it could, I think, still prove problematical and very difficult for those who are not whizzo IT geeks in particular if Thailand Pass is still going to insist on uploads being submitted in the JPEG format - and suitably cropped to the nearest millimetre to boot in the case of passport photopages & vaccination QR codes! What on earth good reason is there for the system not to allow documents to be uploaded uncropped in the PDF format in which most of them are provided (or scanned) in the first place?????

[Deserted]

4 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Well there is little doubt that the CCSA meeting conclusions have been translated correctly.
Formally it is in effect not before published in the Royal Gazette.

Very little chance that the basics will change.

(CCSA is headed by Mr. Big P.)

Well that's good to hear but as you know, in the last two years there has been lots of changes and back tracking, and nowadays many people expect some sort of change, myself included. So until I see it confirmed officially, it's hard to go along with it. And even then its not always certain.

[josephbloggs]

10 minutes ago, Misterwhisper said:

So... everyone whose arrival date (and pre-booked travel arrangements) falls between now and May 1 is basically screwed. Once again.

Way to see the negative in a positive thing, the perfect TVF response!!  

So you think they should not relax the restrictions just so those people who are arriving in the next 7-8 days don't feel bad?  

[connda]

Really? 

Well, wait until Monday.  Let's see if they change their minds over the weekend.

If this becomes the new 'standard operating procedure', I'll contact my friends in America who refuse to come here based on the forced testing and hospitalization. 

If true!  Very smart move and past it's time.

Now - open up the freaking night-time entertainment.

[HappyExpat57]

1 hour ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Eliminate this requirement completely, and (more) people may actually decide to travel to Thailand.

Actually, I can't fault them for this (though I don't know of any other country that currently requires it). I don't know how many healthcare runners there are, but having such insurance should be considered a neccessity for any responsible traveler. Perhaps they're just nudging the weakest links among us to do the right thing?

[alex8912]

52 minutes ago, thisisrascal said:

Great news but I’m annoyed with myself for already paying for a test and go package for my June arrival ???? 

You should ask for a refund kindly at FIRST for this on May 2nd I suggest.  There is no way a reputable hotel will not refund you. Maybe minis 1-5% ad fee.  I as well as many reported getting back my day 5 $$ after test and go went ATK only day 5.  This is just common sense for a hotel.  

[soihok]

Terrific news.

Made my day.

[kotsak]

Just a reminder that nothing is final until it has been gazetted.

 

[John Drake]

22 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

If they drop the I surance for tourists then they sure as gell better drop the requirement for us here on extensions of stay based on OA for retirement.

I'm not on OA but they should do that anyway.

[hotandsticky]

Just now, kotsak said:

Just a reminder that nothing is final until it has been gazetted.

 

 

 

Did you want to take bets that it won't be ???

[PJ71]

43 minutes ago, madmitch said:

I really don't believe you posted this!

I really don't care what you beleive or not..... up to you.

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

Sounds like the dreaded pass is here to stay if that's how they will.deal with the vaccine requirements.

Other countries have managed to impose vaccine and insurance requirements without anything like Thailand Pass. No reason to keep it.

[NorthernRyland]

On 4/22/2022 at 1:50 PM, Yorkshire Tea said:

 

Are you considered vaccinated if your last shot was over 6 months ago?

 

And what if you're not vaccinated? For health reasons I refuse to take another M-RNA shot

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

From May 1, fully vaccinated visitors will no longer need to take an RT-PCR test on arrival and no longer need to book a hotel room for their first night.

Big deal....

[Willy Wombat]

Thailand 

The little red engine that could.

I think I can. I think I can.

 

Ever so slowly getting to where most of the world are already.

[aussiexpat]

This is excellent news, finally people can come without the risk of a false positive locking people away for 10 days.

 

Except for still requiring the stupid mandatory Covid insurance. They need to just let people get whatever travel insurance they want without mandating it must mention covid.

[Karma80]

On 4/22/2022 at 3:22 PM, NorthernRyland said:

And what if you're not vaccinated? For health reasons I refuse to take another M-RNA shot

Then you are up for a hard life travelling anywhere basically.

[AgentSmith]

1 hour ago, anchadian said:

Furthermore, insurance has been reduced to $10,000.

 

https://twitter.com/ThaiPBSWorld/status/1517387086646898689

 

That hardly sounds like adequate insurance for any kind of long trip. Unless you think it's normal to start a crowd funding project just to be able to return home in case something went wrong. This seems to be popular especially in certain western countries.

[NorthernRyland]

2 minutes ago, Karma80 said:

Then you are up for a hard life travelling anywhere basically.

That thing made me so sick I don't care. Governments are desperately clinging on to this for no justifiable reason and people aren't going to put up with it forever. May 1st may be too soon but eventually it will fall apart.

[anchadian]

Pfizer boosters due every 4 months.  You know it makes sense.

 

Now I can plan my trip to Cape Town.

[10baht]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Visitors will still need to submit their proof of vaccination and insurance to the Thailand Pass system prior to traveling.

Still F'ed  up system. Get rid of Thai Pass scheme.

[Lucky Bones]

He said "Captain".

I said "Wot?"