You might as well wait until the end of this month to see what new changes they are planning to bring.

at the moment, only so called sealed flights are allowed for domestic transit to Phuket or Ko Samui without a test stop in Bangkok. But as already said, this might soon change

Pre-arrival PCR test is definitely scrapped, right? The wording of some of the posts above has me scratching my head. I thought it was a done deal as of 1 April.

Pre-departure PCR test was scrapped from 1. April

Let's see what happens. I'm hoping to make a trip to BKK in beginning of June (not the 1st thou). I hope entry testing would ease out even more than now, but as it's communicated much depends on Songkran and it's aftermath.

there are already so many unreported cases in many areas of the country, that figures will not get further up much more....:rolleyes:

Looks like Test & Go acceptances are coming through a lot faster now that the process has been further streamlined.

I applied on 12th April for re-entry from Cambodia on 26th April. I found much cheaper insurance than I'd found before (link from the Test & Go site) then discovered that all I had to do was to select province and hotel then input my Agoda SHA Extra Plus booking reference to have my hotel and PCR package validated in real time. I then made sure to upload QR codes for all vaccine doses, as well as all certificate images.

I was gobsmacked to get my Thailand pass back within 24 hours. Then a colleague returning from Vietnam reported a similarly quick response time.

So it continues to get easier, but hopefully next month no need for any of this!

That was entirely my point

It's not so much a charade as an over-abundance of caution; and those were the rules at the time.

I knew what I was signing up for, and yes, it was undoubtedly the most expensive 3 hours I've ever spent in a hotel, but I chose to 'stay' somewhere I knew I would like just in case the PCR test result was delayed.

I wish I'd decided to have lunch though;

Exactly, all is very smooth - maximum I have had to wait is ~18hrs for the TP approval and that includes trips both last year, this year and as recent as this week. Like you, we chose to stay somewhere we like even though it costs twice (or more) than we could get somewhere else - convenience, and just-in-case matters.

Fingers crossed for negative test later this week upon our return :)

Question for the Test & Go experts here. Next month, I'm arriving in BKK at 11:40pm on a Tuesday.

I can get a Test & Go hotel room for a day before heading onward to Phuket with a friend I'm connecting with in BKK. I would arrive at the hotel from the airport probably 2-3am .. Do I need 2 hotel nights (Tuesday "night" and Wednesday night) to make Test & Go work?

Second option is to connect to the first flight out Wednesday morning, around 8am, and then do Sandbox or Test & Go in Phuket where I'll be for at least 5-7 days. It seems that a transfer to a domestic flight would be allowed, is this correct? Or will something stop me from doing this?

Thanks for any suggestions for this scenario.

Should be one night.

According to the current rules, your second scenario is not possible.

However, there is a possibility that the whole Test&Go programme (for the lack of better word) will be scrapped as of next month.

Hopefully CCSA can make up their mind on next month then I can make adjustment to my bookings. Was going to stay in BKK to deal with quarantine part before going to other places... if they do ATK on arrival, then i reckon it's doable to head off to other islands on same day?

i wonder if I could fly to Phuket and deal with ATK arrival thing then head off to smaller island on same day ? I am confused by Phuket's status as both approach, test & go and sandbox. but hopefully it dont matter anymore next week.

Vaccinated travelers don’t need any test anymore (from May 1)
 

CCSA is easing the entry rules for Thailand for vaccinated travelers starting from May 1:
- no mandatory test anymore (only recommended)
- no hotel booking needed

BUT: You still need a Thailand Pass, which you get with your vaccination documents and a COVID health insurance covering USD 10,000.

Source? Sounds to good to be true....

Not official until published in the gazette but widely reported in the news, etc. Still require quarantine if not vac. Also not clear if new Thai Pass application necessary if already had old one.

Source is the official CCSA meeting. That includes the PM, the Vice-PM, a couple of ministers and experts.

And for all the nay-sayers on here, here is your source:

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business...ers-from-may-1

Confirmed in principle but yet to be ratified by the Garuda.

Or the official source here (entry regulations starting at 06:36):
Summary of the CCSA meeting http://www.facebook.com/thailandprd/...7418677976038/

The health insurance requirement remains a problem.

I have an 84-year-old client living in Thailand on an Non-Imm O long-stay "retirement" visa.

He can't leave the country as he can't obtain medical insurance to return, even though he deposits ฿800,000 a year in Thailand to qualify for the visa.

It's a real problem for the elderly.

Are there a special requirements for long term stays? Because here (Germany) there are a couple of travel insurances who don‘t have an age limit. It‘s more expensive for elderly, but possible. For tourists it‘s not a problem to get the insurance for the Thailand Pass.

To obtain a Thailand Travel Pass, one must provide a copy of the insurance policy that meets Thailand standards for Covid medical coverage to enter the country.

The coverage must last the duration of the stay. In the case of a retiree, that is for the duration of the annual visa.

We have thus far been unable to locate coverage for retirees over the age of 80.

Some more information here

https://www.tatnews.org/2022/04/thai...om-1-may-2022/

Especially those cannot meet vaccinated requirements:

Yes it is already on the Thailand Pass website. The registration under the new format would be open from the 29th of April. But I have a feeling that it would be overwhelmed by the increase in the number of applications.

I see. It‘s possible to get an insurance for a year, but only for stays up to 42-60 days each. I think, if it‘s possible to get the Thailand Pass with that document, but I‘m not sure. Maybe the Thailand Pass approver read the fine print when they see the age, but I don‘t think so. They will return to the automatic check of the documents, focusing on the vaccination documents.

You could take the risk of waisting a couple of bucks, check out if you can get that kind of travel insurance in the US/UK oder maybe also in Germany (online) and try to get a Thailand Pass with that.

Anyway, the Thailand Pass will be history after July 1, maybe after June 1.

Yes, but they don‘t need the manual confirmation by the hotel anymore. They will approve most of the TP automatically.

My flight is on May 1st. Really hoping those approvals come within 24 hours.

Do they do approvals over the weekend? I've seen some places saying business days only and others saying they work basically 24/7

He could leave and plan to return just before his annual renewal thus minimising the time period for insurance, but in practice even for those getting stamped in for almost a year, 30 days insurance is all that is being required.

Despite that the first insurer recommended on the Thailand Pass website has this in their summary:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a459c81cd6.jpg


and the TGIA recommended insurance has this:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c8e0ea8166.jpg

https://covid19.tgia.org/

This is good news (getting rid of mandatory testing). Took a lot of weight of my shoulders :)
Let's hope things stay relatively stable and they don't have to make more restrictions.

Luckily I booked 2 weeks hotel stays literally day before the news broke out. Don't know if the prices will go up since it's not high season anymore though.

When you click through, you get this:

From age 76, they only allow renewals of existing policies.

We had different kind of TP requirements so far and that affected the time for approval. Many were approved automatically within a few minutes, some needed more than a week.

For sure they work over the weekend. If they approve manually, it seems like they work faster on workdays and during business hours.

You can also use your existing TP to enter Thailand. From May 1 you don‘t need the hotel confirmation and test package anymore. So you can cancel hotel and test package and still use your approved ‚old‘ Thailand Pass. Of course there is always the risk, that the staff at the check-in doesn‘t have the newest information. But Thailand‘s immigration will let you in with that ‚old‘ Thailand Pass.

That refers to when applying for a visa and you've said he is there on a visa so he will enter on that with a re-entry permit. No visa application necessary.

I've just been all the way throught to the payment page of the TGIA recommended one entering a date of birth of 1937 and been accepted. Cost was 11,000 THB.

He still has to have a Thailand Pass to enter with a visa. To obtain that, he needs the insurance.

That is because you are applying as a tourist without a visa. The rules are different for visa holders.

This is 100% wrong. He needs the 20K USD (soon to be 10K USD) insurance to apply for the Thai Pass and it's available up to age 99. The 400/40K THB is for applying for some Visa types but is totally irrelevant here.

When you apply for the Thai Pass, the authorisation process don't know or care whether you will enter with a long term visa, tourist visa, visa exemption or anything else. There is no difference in the TP requirements for these categories.

I went through the steps to apply for the insurance and, once it is declared that you are entering on a non-imm "O" visa, you are not eligible for the tourist insurance. The insurance that is offered is age limited.

Go to the insurance site referenced above and try it for yourself.

This is a big issue right now for elderly retirees and we have yet to find a solution.

As said already, I have been right through to the payment stage with a declared Date of Birth in 1937 and it works fine. The only section where you declare non-imm "O" visa or similar is in Step 1 (pic attached) but that is just them trying to sell you something in the future. Acknowledge the pop up and move on.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d58508cc49.jpg

Once again, Thai Pass has no idea what visa you will enter on so it's impossible to be refused or accepted for it based on visa type. The insurance certificate available when purchasing this product will get you a Thai Pass as long as you meet the other Thai Pass requirements.

Edit: I've just been through the application on the insurer recommended on Thai Pass site that does up to 85 years old and it too can be taken right up to the payment page.

Extremely quick turnaround for me when I was worrying I might not get the approval back in time. Submitted my form for Wednesday last night but made sure I meticulously included all details and got the approval this morning about 10 hours later.

"The insurance must cover the whole duration of stay in Thailand."

They will only insure for 30-days.

Already covered. 30 days is being accepted for Thailand Pass and has been accepted for at least 6 months back when it was Certificate of Entry. Looks like the other one mentioned upthread is substantially cheaper FWIW, and they're the only two offered for that age group by this agent. Use the age filter at the top of this page to verify and also note the wording:The reference to other visas is likely the requirement you already mentioned but is not applicable in your case.

https://asq.in.th/thailand-covid-insurance

I don't know about now, but in the past, they were only stamping people in for the length of their insurance policies or length of their visa, whichever was less. Are they still doing that? Also, that's pretty pricey insurance for a 30 day covid policy.

You might try posting elsewhere to see what other retirees are doing.

-David