transpac

Too many things happening/changing to keep up...

Health questionnaire (Form T.8) needs to be completed upon arrival.. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business...atory-measures

percysmith

Best print out and pre-complete it before departure in case airline doesn't have enough forms loaded

transpac

There's supposed to be an "app" for this health questionnaire but I wouldn't count on that out of the gate.

It seems like the general idea is to discourage travel to Thailand without "officially" banning it outright.

Seems strange as we're told the situation is "100% under control", that the virus "doesn't like Thai weather" and there are very few "cases".

The "authorities" seem to be all over the map with wild, strange and in some cases, opposite "recommendations". This does not instill confidence in the Thai public.

The handling of the illegal Thai "workers" returning from Korea has been botched in so many ways. Including what appears to be inhumane quarantine conditions.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/...ne-conditions/

Rain187

Just some updates....
Yesterday night, most airline only require passenger to have that "health declaration" form issued within 48 hours of departure to state that passenger show no risk to COVID19 issued by a doctor with effective date 12 Mar 2020.
This morning at 9:15am (GMT+8), airline said they received an updates from Thai Govn't that all passengers (except Thai national) need a health declaration which show test result of negative of COVID19 issued within 48 hours of departure. Due to this sudden change, most passengers were denied check-in / boarding this morning. And this policy will be adopted to Thai national from 12 Mar 2020 too.

Quote from CX website (updated on 9am 11 Mar 2020 GMT+8):-
Thailand Effective 11 March 2020, passengers departing from People's Republic of China (including Hong Kong SAR & Macao SAR), Korea, Italy and Iran are required to have the following at check-in:

• Health insurance document that provides at least USD100,000 coverage in Thailand (not applicable to Thai nationals)
• Health certificate, Link opens in a new window operated by external parties and may not conform to the same accessibility policies as Cathay Pacific issued within 48hours of flight depature certifying that they are free of COVID-19 (applicable to all nationalities)

Further, passengers from the above zones will be subject to a 14-day self-quarantine upon entering Thailand or the length of their visit (if less than 14-days).

For more information on the new travel regulations, please visit Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health., Link opens in a new window operated by external parties and may not conform to the same accessibility policies as Cathay Pacific
link:- https://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_...trictions.html

Yes, it seems that they just want to STOP you from traveling to Thailand by using this confusion of news and updating/ changing their policy back and forth within day/ minutes rather than announce a 100% ban. Guess they are scared of the money lost but by doing this many people already get frustrated and will surely affect the image of Thailand in their mind.

travelinmanS

I can’t think of a country with a worse response to this than Thailand. First let flights from China and anywhere else continue unabated then after a month and a half decide to implement stricter measures. Upon implementing these measures they have changed them numerous times over the course of 8 days so much so that nobody, even inside Thailand, seems to know what the actual rules are. Their decisions likely managed to allow the virus to spread in their country for over a month, infecting untold citizens and then managed to piss off the remaining tourists who were planning to travel. It seems they have done just about everything wrong. Amazing Thailand indeed!

Dan1113

BREAKING: Thailand is cancelling Visa Exemption for South Korea, Hong Kong & Italy. Also, no VOA for Bulgaria, Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Malta, Mexico, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Uzbekistan & Vanuatu.

percysmith

transpac

Visa on Arrival suspended for a host of countries

The government has decided to suspend Visa on Arrival (VoA) for visitors from 18 countries at a meeting today (March 11), chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, also head of the Covid-19 management centre.

Countries affected are Bulgaria, Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Malta, Mexico, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Republic of Vanuatu, and Taiwan.All visitors to Thailand should contact the Thai embassy in their countries prior to travel.

The cancellation of visa-free entry also applies to high-risk countries ( Italy, South Korea) and Hong Kong until the situation returns to normal.

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30383858

tommy123

Taken from today's Bangkok post...Arrivals from 4 countries to declare self quarantine....People arriving from China , Korea , Italy and Iran must disclose their self quarantine locations or face a 20,000 baht fine and later one year in jail ...self quarantine is for 14 days and local authorities must know your location , houses , condos , hotels .......I like this bit the best .....Arrivals from China yesterday 2662 , from Korea 418 and Italy 155......Nobody was brave enough to arrive from Iran

transpac

Not sure when the effectivity is exactly, but people from Hong Kong, South Korea and Italy now need a visa. Good luck getting one.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand...emptions-for-3

percysmith

Speculation but shouldn't embassies and consulates apply the same standards to the HK/South Korean/Italian applicants applying locally as airport immigration officers considering VOA applications - except a medical cert submission is now required?

percysmith

Took Thai Govt two hours and one minute to change their minds wrt HK residents:

transpac

Not really. You're confusing Visa Exempt and Visa on Arrival.

Having to obtain a visa will prove much more challenging (paperwork, health cert, fee), than either a visa exemption or a Visa on Arrival. Moreso when you factor in that embassies may be closed in Italy, and South Korea?

But yes, it looks like this move was not well thought out...decided at the cabinet level, announced, then implementation proved "thorny". So HK is OK, for the next few hours anyway.

percysmith

Ignore the VE.

VOA = Visa application in embassy/consulate: maybe I'm reading across from Vietnam - I've done both (I've never applied for Thai visa). VOA = Visa at consulate + pre-authorisation to enable you to travel prior to proper visa being affixed.
Still pay fees.

Health cert is now an additional requirement imposed in response to crisis. Travellers from HK/South Korea/Italy will need to produce (another?) med cert before they're allowed to board anyway.

transpac

If you can't get a VoA in Thailand, I doubt you'll be able to get a Tourist Visa (conjecture on my part).

VoA is applied for at the airport in Thailand upon arrival, good for 15 days. That has been suspended for all 18 countries in that category (maybe). So now you'd need to get a Tourist Visa at the Thai Embassy in your country. These can be single entry or double entry and good for 30 or 60 days. Yes, there are other options available at some embassies and consulates.

Anyway, it seems like this was poorly executed, without review by the MoFA and the affected bilateral "issues" considered.

Who knows what might happen tomorrow? On the plus side, the Novotel might be used for quarantine.

Six more people have been identified with COVID-19, taking the total number of cases to 59, including an Immigration officer from SBIA/BKK.

At some point, other countries are going to start restricting travel from Thailand.