Hi All,

I know there have been a lot of post on yellow fever but no-one has been in my situation.

I'm an Argentinean citizen (with an Argentina passport) currently living in Sydney (for almost 8 months)

I'm flying to Krabi next week and I just found out that Thailand thinks that Argentina has yellow fever (nonsense...)

So they require for us a yellow fever certificate, which I don't have

But it's not clear whether they will ask for it at the airport or not considering that I'm not flying from Argentina and I haven't been there in 8 months.

The thing is that the yellow fever vaccine in SYD is about 200 dollars (I paid 250 for my ticket to Thailand)

I called the Thai embassy in Buenos Aires and they said it depends on the Inmigration agent that checks your passport.

Thai embassy in Australia not responding

Here are my questions

1.- Has anyone ever been denied the entry for not having a certificate?

2.- Will they ask for the certificate just because I'm from Argentina even though I live in Australia?

Thanks a lot for your help!

It should not be a problem, as long as you can proof you live in Australia and was there for at least 10 dyas.

See:

- The International Health Certificate must be submitted together with the visa application form. The traveller will also have to present the said certificate to the Immigration Officer upon arrival at the port of entry in the Kingdom. As for those nationals of the countries listed below but who have not travelled from/through those countries, such a certificate is not required. However, they should possess concrete evidence showing that their domicile is not in an infected area so as to prevent unnecessary inconvenience.

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/123/15384-List-of-countries-which-are-declared-Yellow-Fever.html

The airline may check prior to boarding?

I doubt they would pick it up in BKK

I have seen a clinic in BKK, so I guess if the worse came to the worse you would get a shot there

Another point, if it all goes wrong $200 if you get kicked out and have to buy another ticket

The airline may check prior to boarding?

I doubt they would pick it up in BKK

I have seen a clinic in BKK, so I guess if the worse came to the worse you would get a shot there

Another point, if it all goes wrong $200 if you get kicked out and have to buy another ticket

Airline and immigraiton can check.

Yes, you can also get a shot in BKK itself, but according to the official rules they would keep you in quarentine for 6 days.

As said, the OP doesn't have to worry as he wasn't in a yellow fever area for the last 10 days.

***UPDATE***

I've just got a message from friend of mine, also from Argentina living in SYD for almost 5 months, who arrived yesterday to BKK.

She told me that when the inmigration guy saw her passport, she was asked to show the yellow fever certificate and was taken to an office where she had to fill a form. I don't know if that was a visa on arrival or what, becasuse we should have a visa waiver for 90 days.

Either Thai inmigration agency is not very serious or Argentina has the worst passport in the world, so I can't take any chances.

I'll comment later if they ask me for the certificate in Krabi

Thanks a lot to both of you and I hope my trip to Thailand gets better from now on.

The paspsort will probably automatically flag you for screaning, at which time you to show that you were in Australia for at least the last 10 days.

The form was not for a visa on arrival, but probably attesting to the fact that she was not in a yellow fever ara within the last 10 days of arrival.

Yellow Fever

Required for all travelers greater than one year of age arriving from a yellow-fever-infected area in Africa or the Americas and for travelers who have been in transit in an airport located in a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Not recommended or required otherwise.

http://www.mdtravelhealth.com/destinations/asia/thailand.php

The form was not for a visa on arrival, but probably attesting to the fact that she was not in a yellow fever ara within the last 10 days of arrival.

She had the vaccine certificate, so I'm wondering why they would ask for that anyway!

About those 10 days, is that for real? I couldn't find any Government or Inmigration agency mentioning that.

Yellow Fever

Required for all travelers greater than one year of age arriving from a yellow-fever-infected area in Africa or the Americas and for travelers who have been in transit in an airport located in a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Not recommended or required otherwise.

She has been in Australia for the last 5 months, but they asked for the certificate anyway

The form was not for a visa on arrival, but probably attesting to the fact that she was not in a yellow fever ara within the last 10 days of arrival.

She had the vaccine certificate, so I'm wondering why they would ask for that anyway!

About those 10 days, is that for real? I couldn't find any Government or Inmigration agency mentioning that.

Yellow Fever

Required for all travelers greater than one year of age arriving from a yellow-fever-infected area in Africa or the Americas and for travelers who have been in transit in an airport located in a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Not recommended or required otherwise.

She has been in Australia for the last 5 months, but they asked for the certificate anyway

What do they know?

It's par for the course.

http://www.staralliance.com/en/services/visa-and-health/

Thailand (TH)

Vaccination against yellow fever required if arriving within

10 days after leaving or transiting countries with risk of

yellow fever transmission For details, click here.

Exempt from Yellow Fever vaccination:

- Children under 1 year of age.

/ 20DEC12 / 0350 UTC National Argentina (AR) /Residence Australia (AU) Embarkation Australia (AU) /Destination Thailand (TH) Thailand (TH) Passport required. - Nationals of Argentina can enter with passports and/or passport replacing documents valid for the period of intended stay. Passport Exemptions: - Holders of emergency or temporary passports. Visa required, except for A max. stay of 90 days: - for holders of normal, emergency or temporary passports issued to nationals of Argentina; Minors: - When arriving in, or departing from Thailand, minors aged under 16 yearsFor details, click here Additional Information: - Visitors who are visa exempt are required to hold documents for their next destination. - Visitors over 12 years of age are required to hold sufficient funds to cover their stay (at least THB 10,000.- per person or THB 20,000.- per family). For details, click here - For those who do not require a visaFor details, click here Warning: - Visitors who are visa exempt but do not hold return/onward tickets could be refused entry. Thailand (TH) Vaccination against yellow fever required if arriving within 10 days after leaving or transiting countries with risk of yellow fever transmission For details, click here. Exempt from Yellow Fever vaccination: - Children under 1 year of age. Warning: - Those not holding a valid Yellow Fever vaccination certificate, if required, will be vaccinated upon arrival and kept in quarantine for 6 days or otherwise deported. Recommended: - Malaria prophylaxis. Malaria risk exists throughout the year in rural, especially forested and hilly areas of the whole country mainly towards the international borders, including the southernmost provinces. There is no risk in cities and the main tourist resorts (e.g. Bangkok, Chiangmai, Pattaya, Phuket, Samui). P. falciparum resistant to chloroquine and resistant to sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine reported. Resistance to mefloquine and to quinine reported from areas near the borders with Cambodia and Myanmar. P. vivax resistance to chloroquine reported,. Human P. knowlesi infection reported. Recommended prevention in risk areas: I; in areas near Cambodia and Myanmar borders: IV. CHECK TINEWS/N1 - TURKEY: BLANK VISA PAGE REQUIREMENT Timaticweb Version 1.3 20 December 2012

Thanks a lot lopburi3, that link you've just posted is an oasis in the middle of the desert

I'm not Argentinean but last year I flew directly from Buenos Aires to Bangkok. No one, airline or immigration, even mentioned it. In fact such a requirement never occurred to me.

Believe Argentina is a recent addition to the Thai yellow fever list so may not have been an issue then.

Yellow fever vaccination recommendations have changed substantially since the 2010 edition of CDC Health Information for International Travel. From 2008 through 2010, CDC, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other yellow fever and travel medicine experts reviewed available data and revised the criteria and maps that describe the risk of yellow fever virus (YFV) transmission. Based on the review, updated recommendations have been made for Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, and Zambia (see the country-specific information in this section and Maps 3-18 and 3-19).

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2012/chapter-3-infectious-diseases-related-to-travel/yellow-fever-and-malaria-information-by-country.htm

****UPDATE 2***

A friend of my friend arrived yesterday morning to BKK flying from Buenos Aires via Istambul (with an argentinean passport)

She wasn't asked for the certificate.

It's clear that such requirement is totally random and Thai Inmigration is disorganized to say the least

***UPDATE***

I've just got a message from friend of mine, also from Argentina living in SYD for almost 5 months, who arrived yesterday to BKK.

She told me that when the inmigration guy saw her passport, she was asked to show the yellow fever certificate and was taken to an office where she had to fill a form. I don't know if that was a visa on arrival or what, becasuse we should have a visa waiver for 90 days.

Either Thai inmigration agency is not very serious or Argentina has the worst passport in the world, so I can't take any chances.

That's exactly it. If you really were a danger you would be let in to Thailand with no checks whatsoever, just like the Iranian and Indonesian terrorists that come and go as they please. On the other hand the law abiding people coming in on visas are made to submit every single document to Immigration under the sun to confirm what they are doing and where they are staying like criminal on parole.

Edited December 21, 201213 yr by Time Traveller

Update

I arrived to Krabi without the yellow fever certificate and they didn't ask for it.

I guess I was lucky and saved the 200 AUD that they wanted to charge me in Sydney for the vaccine.

Thanks to everybody for the help !