Tourists entering Thailand CONFUSED by travel rules

Just over a week after Thailand began a phased reopening to tourists, some international visitors are struggling to conquer the travel admin involved.
The country announced on 22 October that it would open to tourists from 46 countries on 1 November, starting initially with fully vaccinated travellers who apply for entry through the Thailand Pass.

In what sounded like a relatively simple system, arrivals must show a negative PCR test result before and after flying to the country, take one further test on arrival, self-isolate for one night in a hotel while the results are turned around, and – assuming the result is negative – may then freely continue their travels.

But online forums, Facebook groups and frustrated tweets tell a different story.

First, travellers to Thailand must store their proof of vaccination, passport info, health insurance document, hotel and flight bookings in the Thailand Pass, a one-stop digital system that the country brought in to replace its lengthy Certificate of Entry (CoE) process.

Once the criteria are met, the Pass generates a QR code that is scanned upon entry to the country.

However, in its first week, the Pass was so fraught with glitches and unresolved user questions that it made headlines across the country.

“Thai officials are working to fix and improve the Thailand Pass entry system for incoming passengers by air following a growing number of complaints during the week as users encountered bugs and difficulties in using the system and getting the appropriate approval in time to meet flights and bookings,” reported the Thai Examiner on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Bangkok Post reported on “complaints by some tourists that they had either experienced delays in receiving QR codes or in some cases had not received them at all, following the approval of their travel applications.”

Travellers on Facebook group Thailand Reopening reported issues ranging from never receiving a QR code despite multiple applications; the system requiring upload of a one-page insurance document when most policies are several pages long; and being rejected for including a middle name not displayed on their NHS Covid Pass.

Users of the system also reported challenges chasing up their applications once submitted, with no clear communications centre behind the digital system.

“Just sent our 10th request for the Thailand Pass, departure in 10 days (SF-Bangkok) – more than €1,200 already committed in this trip, starting to become crazy!,” tweeted Paris-based Lucie Hardy, tagging Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“My Dad finally received his QR code from Thailand Pass about 24 hours before his flight. We got there in the end but was a stressful experience,” tweeted James Goyder.

For UK-based travel writer Lucie Grace, however, who applied last Wednesday, the Thai Pass worked like a charm.

“Lots of people are getting in a flap about the Thailand pass, but mine did what it said on the tin,” she told The Independent ahead of a trip to Chiang Mai this week.

“I applied on 3 November, received it on 7 November and I’ll fly on 10 November. No complaints from me.”

She did identify one technical faff which could cause problems for less digitally confident travellers.

“It only accepts jpeg files of all your documents, which were emailed as pdfs, so I had to run everything through a converter. That could be challenging for some people.”

Meanwhile, some tourists have fallen foul of Thailand’s testing-on-arrival policy, with families forced into hotel quarantine when they tested positive.

Thailand-based journalist Richard Barrow published a newsletter earlier today about the consequences of testing positive while in the country, citing the case of a father separated from his family when he tested positive on arrival.

The man estimates that he will have to pay 350,000 Thai Baht (£7,882) towards hospital and quarantine fees if his insurance provider won’t cover it – and his wife and children may have to fly home without him as he will still be in isolation.

“I knew that I was taking a gamble when I chose to buy plane tickets as soon as the Thailand reopening was announced,” the father told Barrow.

“We lost that bet.”
Another man, James, interviewed by Barrow tested negative, but the friend he shared a car from the airport with tested positive, so he has found himself stuck in hotel quarantine regardless.

With this in mind, as her trip approaches, Lucie Grace remains anxious about the possibility of testing positive.

“My biggest concern is that I test positive on arrival. I’m doing the ‘test and go’ scheme – one night in a quarantine hotel and a PCR test. If I test positive but am asymptomatic, it’s a grey area as to whether the mandatory health insurance covers the expensive 14-day hospital stay,” she says.

“Some horror stories are coming out of £7k hospital bills, insurance companies saying ‘You’re not sick so it’s not covered’. That is my nightmare.”

Source - BangkokJack

VISA AGENT  /  How to register for: THAI PASS

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Thailand - Elderly expats dazed and confused over insurance, ‘retirement visas’ and COVID

A new policy concerning insurance for so called ‘retirement visas’, as well as the requirements needed for anyone entering Thailand have sparked concern, confusion and even panic amongst elderly expats.

A recent article by the Pattaya Mail revealed how some older expats now felt “trapped” in Thailand due to new rules recently rolled out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The new rules which are in accordance with the Thailand Pass system, launched on November 1, state that foreigners who enter Thailand need to provide health insurance with a minimum treatment coverage of 50,000 USD or equivalent in any other currencies.

The concerns raised by the expats who spoke to the Pattaya Mail are that if they were to leave Thailand and visit their home country, they would have difficulty meeting the insurance requirements needed for them to re-enter the country.

The concern mainly comes from elderly expats who due to their age or having pre-existing health conditions means that obtaining insurance is at best expensive or at worst impossible.

For others, they simply can not afford to purchase the insurance one currently needs to visit Thailand.

Pattaya Mail’s article raises some valid points, particularly for elderly expats who wish to return home to visit friends and relatives, which for many has not been possible for almost two years.

However, a short time after the article was published online, a thread started on ASEAN NOW, the comments of which highlighted the confusion among some expats regarding a number of issues related to insurance for so-called ‘retirement visas’ and the current requirements for people wishing to enter Thailand.

Non-Immigrant “O-A” visa vs Non Immigrant O extension

The confusion is predominantly caused by a separate change to the policy for anyone wishing to apply for a Non-Immigrant “O-A” visa.

Non-Immigrant “O-A” visas are available to people aged over 50 who wish to stay in Thailand for 1 year.

Since October 1, applicants are required to have health insurance which offers minimum coverage up to 3 million baht for inpatient care.

However, it is important to note that this requirement only applies to O-A visas.

Most expats in Thailand will have a Non Immigrant O extension, which is normally based on ‘retirement’, which is granted to those aged over 50.

One of the main differences between an O-A visa and Non-Imm O extension is that Non Immigrant O extensions are obtained from an immigration office within Thailand.

A Non-Immigrant “O-A” Visa is obtained by applying at a Thai embassy or consulate overseas.

However, confusion occurs as both the Non Immigrant O and Non-Immigrant “O-A” are often and incorrectly referred to as ‘retirement visas’ – which is used as a kind of catch-all term for both, by everyone from expats to immigration officials themselves.

But when a change in policy specifically applies to one and not the other it is important that people understand the differences between the two.

There is currently no requirement for anyone on a Non Immigrant O extension to have health insurance - apart from if they wish to re-enter Thailand, which is a requirement for all foreigners, regardless of their visa status.

However, those with a work permit can show a valid social security card or certified letter from their employer.

Whether the requirement will be introduced at some point in the future is impossible to say and any mention of such is pure speculation at this stage.

Thailand Pass and insurance

What is also not known is how long the Thailand Pass system - and consequently - the mandatory insurance for foreigners entering Thailand will be required.

While the Thai authorities have previously revealed the issue that unpaid medical bills from uninsured foreign tourists have on the Thai health care system (and state coffers), if the current insurance requirement was to be implemented long term it could potentially put off millions of foereign tourists from visiting Thailand altogether.

 Source - ASIAN NOW

VISA AGENT  /  How to register for: THAI PASS

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Thai Government outlines 7 conditions of quarantine-free re-opening

As the grand re-opening date of November 1 approaches, with little clarity as to what that will look like, here’s some of what we know – and what we don’t. According to a Thai PBS World report, the government has outlined 7 conditions that will determine if someone can enter the kingdom quarantine-free. The following conditions have been communicated by the Bureau of Risk Communication and Health Behaviour Promotion, part of the Disease Control Department.

1. Foreign visitors must arrive by air and come from a list of “low-risk” countries approved by the Public Health Ministry

2. Have proof of vaccination with 2 doses of a recognised Covid-19 vaccine

3. Have a negative PCR test result taken within 72 hours of departure from your home country

4. Have at least US$50,000 in Covid-19 insurance coverage

5. Have proof of a hotel booking

6. Travellers must download the Mor Chana app and take a second PCR test on arrival or within 24 hours of arrival

7. If the second test is negative, visitors can continue their journey without any further quarantine

However, with just over 10 days to go, a number of things remain unknown. Chief among them is the list of “low-risk” countries, as well as the rules for vaccinated adults travelling with unvaccinated children. Clarity is also needed on whether travellers need proof of a hotel booking beyond their first night in the kingdom and if this applies to expats with homes here. Furthermore, Thai embassies continue to advise people to book quarantine hotels, insisting they’ve received no communication about the re-opening process.

Thai PBS World reports that the government is moving to a 3-model approach for admitting foreign arrivals. The first – and original – model is that unvaccinated visitors will be subject to mandatory hotel quarantine for between 7 and 14 days. The second model is the sandbox model currently in operation in Phuket, Samui and other tourist destinations, which is being extended to several other provinces. The third model will be the quarantine-free model discussed above.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World

VISA AGENT

Thailand requires 3 million baht insurance for ‘retirement’ visas

In a revision to the rules for non-immigrant OA visas, foreigners will now be required to hold a minimum of 3 million baht in health insurance, for in-patient services, in order to be eligible for long-term stays in Thailand, 8 times more than the 400,000 baht that has been previously required.

The OA visa is also known as the Retirement visa (or Geeza visa).

According to Thai PBS World, the new rule was announced yesterday by the Deputy Minister of Public Health, Satit Pitutacha, saying that the increase in insurance is necessary to make sure that, should a traveller get ill during their one year in the country, more insurance money available is necessary to guarantee they receive the proper treatment.

The massively increased insurance requirement would be for foreigners with a non-immigrant visa including O Visas and A Visas staying up to one year inside of Thailand. Due to the strict border control that closed entry to nearly everyone, just 3,768 expats and foreign travellers were granted non-immigrant visas in all of 2021 and 2020.

The Health Ministry says that insurance policies can be purchased from their home country or domestically within Thailand, but stipulate that the coverage must maintain that minimum of 3 million baht or the equivalent if the policy is issued in a foreign currency.

The announcement will likely be met with displeasure and backlash from international travellers hoping to make Thailand their home long-term, or at least for one year. It is especially difficult for those hoping to retire in Thailand as insurance policy premiums are infamous for skyrocketing once the applicant passes a certain age, increasing exponentially with age under the assumption that older people are more prone to illnesses and accidents.

As Thailand releases plan after plan to lure back tourists, many complain that the complicated entry process, the rising costs, and constant changes to immigration policy not to the benefit of international travellers seems to be simultaneously pushing away the same expats with money that the country espouses to be courting.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World / The Thaiger

VISA AGENT

Thailand to slowly restart tourism with flight from China

 

Thailand will receive its first foreign vacationers when a flight from China arrives next week, marking the gradual restart of a vital tourism sector battered by corona-virus travel curbs, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The first flight will have about 120 tourists from Guangzhou, flying directly to the resort island of Phuket, Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn told Reuters.

Thailand has kept coronavirus infections low with just 3,559 cases and 59 deaths, but its economy has taken a hit from a ban on foreign visitors since April and is expected to contract 8.5% this year.

Government spokeswoman Traisulee Traisoranakul expects 1,200 tourists in the first month, generating about 1 billion baht ($31.55 million) in revenue and 12.4 billion baht over one year, drawing in 14,400 tourists.

Nationalities permitted to enter will be from countries deemed low risk by the government, which will keep tabs on them.

"We are not opening the country, we are limiting the number of entries and will manage with wrist bands, apps to follow them," Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters.

The government predicts just 6.7 million foreign visitors this year after a record 39.8 million in 2019, whose spending made up about 11.4 percent of GDP, or 1.93 trillion baht.

Thailand in January was the first country outside of China to detect the coronavirus, in a visitor from Wuhan.

"Tourists will be on a long stay visa, starting Oct. 8 and will stay in alternative state quarantine for 14 days," Yuthasak said.

Visitors need health insurance and a negative coronavirus test 72 hours before traveling and will be tested twice in quarantine.

"Thailand's protection system can prevent a second wave," government spokeswoman Traisulee said.

"We have prevented local transmission for 100 days before," she said, adding that had made Thailand attractive for visitors wanting to avoid infections.

Source - TheJakartaPost

All Travelers to Thailand Require Mandatory Health Insurance

  

 A consortium of 16 health insurance companies in Thailand are now offering all travellers to Thailand travellers the mandatory insurance cover valued at USD100,000.

Thailand’s Office of Insurance confirmed last week that it has set up a consortium of insurance companies offering Covid-19 insurance online. Above all as the country prepares to reopen its borders to travelers.

Once the country reopens all foreigners entering Thailand will need to buy Covid-19 insurance. But until the door reopens the scheme will make it easier for foreigners who are currently eligible to travel to Thailand to acquire the mandatory insurance cover online.

In addition to having insurance cover, travelers need to provide the nearest Thai embassy with a Fit to Fly Health Certificate and a negative  RT-PCR swab test valid within 72 hours of the flight departing for Thailand. They are issued with a certificate of entry when they have fulfilled all the conditions and have a confirmed flight date.
Covid-19 insurance policy covers both deaths due to the disease

They must also have an appropriate visa that fits the approved category of travel. Tourist visas for leisure travel are not being issued. The Covid-19 insurance policy covers both deaths due to the disease as well as medical expenses for those undergoing treatment.

In case of death caused by the Covid-19, the policy pays for funeral expenses and the repatriation of the corpse or ashes to the country of origin. The maximum payout is THB3.2 million.

For medical expenses linked to the treatment of Covid-19, including the period of hospitalization (inpatient or outpatient). The maximum payout is  THB3.2 million.

Foreigners who buy insurance cover as part of the requirements to fulfill conditions to travel to Thailand must pay the insurance premium according to the period of their stay from 30 days to a maximum of one year.

The premium is set against benchmarks that identify the Covid-19 risk in the country of origin; the lower the risk, the lower the premium.

Insurance premium cover starts at THB1,600  and can be as high as THB14,400 for low-risk countries. Foreigners from countries with moderate risk are likely to pay an insurance premium of between THB2,560  to THB23,040. If the traveller is from a high-risk country, the insurance premium could be as high as THB43,200.

Insurance companies participating in the scheme include:

Assets Insurance Co Ltd (Thailand); Chubb Insurance Company Limited ( Thailand ); Navakij Insurance Co Ltd;  Pacific Cross Health Insurance, Thailand );  Falcon Insurance Co Ltd (Thailand ); East Insurance, Asia Insurance 1950; Bangkok Life Assurance Ltd; Thailand Life Insurance; and also Thailand Life Insurance.

“Development of an insurance policy that provides protection for foreigners entering Thailand supports government policy and will help restore the economy of the country,” said the OIC secretary-general.

Source: TTR Weekly

#Thailand to require foreign tourists to buy health insurance

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BANGKOK,  (UPI) -- Lawmakers in Thailand say they want all foreign tourists to be required to purchase travel and health insurance before arriving in their country.

Thailand's Public Health Ministry Wednesday proposed the measure during a meeting with representatives from the Airports of Thailand, Royal Thai Police and other government ministries, the Bangkok Post reported.

The health ministry has suggested the cost of health insurance coverage might be included in visa fees, Public Health Minister Pradit Sinthawanarong said at the meeting. Those visiting Thailand without visas would be required to buy insurance at immigration checkpoints or the fees could be added to the cost of airline tickets.

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