Yellow Fever Waiver Certificate -- Anybody?
 

I am unable to have a Yellow Fever vaccine dues to interactions with other medicines I take. As I live part of the year in Argentina, I will be required to produce a certificate.

My doctor has issued a letter and I will obtain a waiver. I just want to know if anybody has ever entered Thailand with a Yellow Fever Waiver. I have searched online and can find no definitive answer. I plan to contact the embassy but it would still help to have a first-hand report from another traveler. THANKS.

Have you contacted the Thai Embassy or consulate? A document with a stamp from the embassy or consulate will carry more weight with the authorities on arrival.

U S Centers for Disease Control:

Thanks JDiver!

The embassy says they have nothing they can give me in writing, but that I "shouldn't have any problem". While that is better than nothing it is not the complete assurance (in writing) that I would prefer.

I went through the trouble of getting vaccinated and getting the certificate for an RTW trip that included Brazil and Colombia.

After Colombia I went to Canada, Caribbean, Europe, South Korea and finally Hong Kong and back into Thailand.

You know what, nobody ever asked to see the thing.

Some countries have the immigration form that asks you "have you been to a farm in the last x days / have you been to south America in the last x days" / "name all the countries you have visited in the last x days". I always truthfully put Brazil and Colombia in there. Nobody ever asked to see my Yellow Fever cert.

Thailand doesn't even ask what you have been up to. They just want to know your last port of embarkation which can't be any port in Argentina as there are no direct flights.

Based on all this I would say you can carry your doctor's waiver just in case but don't expect any hassles.

Thanks so much! I will breathe a lot easier with this report.

And it's a recent report, too.

I started this trip Oct 2011 and I came back into Thailand via Korea just before Xmas.

Thailand *never* ask visa-waiver entrants where they have been the last x days. They only ask "Where did you just get on the plane.". Not sure where you are going to transit but I am sure it's nowhere in South America or Africa :)

The only caveat I want to throw in here for the benefit of whoever is reading this:

If you are a "Visa on arrival" passenger who is from a small list of designated countries who need to go to a special immigration queue at the airport, you may get asked a more extensive set of questions.

I have no experience with that process.

This is such great advice; thanks again.

I will carry the waiver certificate but not show it unless asked.

I searched the ThaiVisa forums and found that no one has been asked for the International Health Certificate proving that they have received a Yellow Fever vaccination upon arrival in Thailand.

I spoke with a neighbor (British) today who works in Nigeria on rotation and lives here when not working. He has had the vaccination, he may have lost the certificate, but has never been asked for it at Immigration.

I agree that the Visa on Arrival process may be more demanding, and if I had to go through that I would be sure to have any/all documentation.

If you're holding an Argentinian passport then this is a non-issue as you have an exemption of visa requirements for 90 days.



As a side note, we did have a huge outbreak of "yellow fever" back in late November, 2008, which resulted in the closing of Suvarnabhumi airport for ~ two weeks. Then we had "red fever" in April, 2010. Not sure what is next; "blue fever" or "purple fever"? ;)

This was about 7 years ago so a bit out of date. When I flew directly into BKK from Africa we all had to show our yellow fever vacination certificates. However after that I entered many times with the Kenya stamp in my passport and was never asked to show my certificate again.