News Forum - Things to know about the Thailand Pass. And some rumours.

[Thaiger]

Ah, the Thailand Pass. Like it or hate it, it is what it is, and you’ll need to wade through it if you want to come to Thailand in the foreseeable future, both foreigners and Thais. For a start, here’s the link to the application page for the Thailand Pass. There’s a list of the 63 countries who are currently allowed to re-enter Thailand under the new ‘Test and Go’ system which only requires 1 night of ‘quarantine’ (despite the TAT saying that it’s “quarantine free”. It’s not.) List below… WHO’S RUNNING THIS SCHEME? The Thailand Pass, the entry documentation […]

The story Things to know about the Thailand Pass. And some rumours. as seen on Thaiger News.

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[Pete424]

Anyone know specific insurance that would cover the costs of quarantine if you are "forced" into isolation because of close contact with another passenger on the flight?

 

I have AXA insurance for my trip and now checking if it has quarantine clauses

[jsk]

Thanks for the very informative article. 

Re: "Thailand Pass requires a hotel booking that includes your secure transport from the airport AND the arrival PCR test which you will have at the hotel." 

So, how did Mike Kennar (GMT, Ep. 127) manage to cancel his pay-on-arrival SHA hotel booking in Phuket, without penalty?  Did they really allow him to come to the hotel, take the PCR test, and get a negative result within 3 hours, but not check in???  Please clarify.   Would this also work in BKK?

[BIGGLES]

Well if they scrap the RT PCR test on arrival that's good.

Replace it with the the rapid antigen test, not so good, less accurate, more of a chance of false positive and thus being forced into expensive quarantine. 

Possible new built in scam????

 

JUST SCRAP ALL THE TESTING NONSENSE FOR FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE.

[Robbie_Flyer]

25 minutes ago, Pete424 said:

Anyone know specific insurance that would cover the costs of quarantine if you are "forced" into isolation because of close contact with another passenger on the flight?

I have AXA insurance for my trip and now checking if it has quarantine clauses

Really need to know the answer to this. I worked in travel & medical insurance, and at that time nobody did a policy that would cover you for quarantine costs unless you were actually ill enough to need inpatient treatment. This really is a huge elephant in the room...

[TV7]

If I read correctly it's possible that a)  Dropping the rule to have a RT-PCR test within 72 hours of departure because a growing number of countries don’t actually have an option to have this test done; which is good news, or b) Alternatively the PCR test requirement could be required 72 hours before ARRIVAL. This could happen as soon as next week; which is even worse than what is needed at the moment? That last one means that a test needs to be done 24 - 36 hours before departure in most cases.

 

[Robbie_Flyer]

15 minutes ago, BIGGLES said:

Well if they scrap the RT PCR test on arrival that's good.

Replace it with the the rapid antigen test, not so good, less accurate, more of a chance of false positive and thus being forced into expensive quarantine. 

Possible new built in scam????

JUST SCRAP ALL THE TESTING NONSENSE FOR FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE.

Changing to a type of test with a higher chance of a false positive is a very bad idea, unless every positive has to be confirmed by PCR before you're locked away for ten+ days of quarantine. You could lose your holiday and an awful lot of money without even getting covid. That's the main thing stopping me booking a holiday to Thailand at the moment. I love Thailand and (most of) the Thai people, so I'll give it a few more weeks to see how things develop, before I have to reluctantly book to go somewhere like Mexico or Costa Rica instead.

[Thommo]

55 minutes ago, Pete424 said:

Anyone know specific insurance that would cover the costs of quarantine if you are "forced" into isolation because of close contact with another passenger on the flight?

I have AXA insurance for my trip and now checking if it has quarantine clauses

My company has insurance for me  but it did not specficllay mentioned covid and I just requested a letter confirming the cover and amount which I recieved  from Allianz

[Dedinbed]

1 hour ago, Thaiger said:

WHO’S RUNNING THIS SCHEME?

Headless chickens .. 

Fair enough t'is Thailand's perogative if they wish to continue with this but the downside will be a considerable number of folk won't even bother considering visiting the Kingdom when this amount of aggro has to be endured .. 

[Convert54]

1 hour ago, Pete424 said:

Anyone know specific insurance that would cover the costs of quarantine if you are "forced" into isolation because of close contact with another passenger on the flight?

I have AXA insurance for my trip and now checking if it has quarantine clauses

I am not 100% sure but I think I read the AXA Sawasdee Thailand Inbound  Policy covers for expenses from the (unlucky) moment you test positive.

[ThaiEyes]

Thank you for an informative article. I too would like more info on the confusing insurance part..

“As you can see, the multi-department approach to the Thailand Pass, has been partly responsible for some of the early hiccups.”

No, it has been wholly responsible for all of the hiccups. That right there explains it. Bureaucracy is never good, but here it is at a new level. Are there really that many nepotism spots that need filling so that friends, family and other cronies can have some power?

Welcome to Thailand, Land of Hoops ️️️

 

Edited November 11, 2021 by ThaiEyes
Too big at first

[ThaiEyes]

1 hour ago, Robbie_Flyer said:

Really need to know the answer to this. I worked in travel & medical insurance, and at that time nobody did a policy that would cover you for quarantine costs unless you were actually ill enough to need inpatient treatment. This really is a huge elephant in the room...

My coverage is year round and with WrLife. While it does cover hospitalization with or without symptoms, there is no mention of quarantine hotel coverage, that is, if I have to quarantine because someone in my van to the hotel tested positive. I should probably double check with them if they would cove, but likely not since a hotel may not be classed as a health facility. 

[Stonker]

4 hours ago, Thaiger said:

It’s a small chance (about 1 in a 500-1000 chance given the current arrival stats) that you will be forced into either hospitalisation, a stay in a field hospital or confinement to an AQ (Alternative Quarantine) hotel, for at least 10 days.

If correct, that would be a major change.

"Field hospitals" have previously only been for Thais or foreigners here "before Covid", strictly not for tourists or anyone arriving with mandatory insurance.

"AQ" (? SQ / ?ASQ) in a designated hotel has only been for those who've been in close proximity to someone testing positive but who've tested negative themselves, at their own expense.

"Hospitalization" in a private hospital, specifically not a state hospital, has been mandatory for anyone testing positive at any time, covered by their insurance or paid at their own expense.

[DJB]

For me the risk is too high to travel to Thailand.Both PCR and Rapid Antigen give false positives the later being notorious for them and not been paranoid the system is open to abuse (we know how Thailand can work)not to mention being in close proximity to a person on the plane who tests positive results in expensive quarantine how the hell could you have a relaxing flight 

Until they drop all testing I’ll go elsewhere

[Stonker]

5 hours ago, Thaiger said:

For expats, there’s a bit of an issue with the Thailand Pass when it comes to insurance coverage. For expats that have a work permit and are part of Thailand’s public health care, you won’t be required to pay for additional Covid insurance.

For all other expats, and long term visa holders, in theory, you will need insurance to cover the rest of the time listed on your visa, no matter any current policies you may have. So, again in theory, if you have an Elite Visa, you could be required to purchase insurance to cover you for up to another 5 years.

Unless things have changed, any new arrivals not on a work permit who test positive for Covid at any time (after a week, a month, or a year) won't be eligible for quarantine in a field hospital but will have to quarantine in a private hospital for 14 days at their own expense if they don't have the insurance to cover it.

If so, that could prove very expensive.

5 hours ago, Thaiger said:

But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that, in all those cases, a 30 day policy should suffice (given that any demands on your Covid insurance would be less than 30 days).

That doesn't seem to make any sense at all.

A 30 day policy is obviously only valid for the first 30 days in Thailand, not for a "less than 30 days" stay in a private hospital or anywhere else after those first 30 days are up, so if you're here for more than 30 days and are no longer insured and catch Covid, and you then have to stay in a private hospital for 14 days quarantine, that could prove very expensive - well into six figures (baht); more so if children are involved.

[Stonker]

3 hours ago, TV7 said:

If I read correctly it's possible that a)  Dropping the rule to have a RT-PCR test within 72 hours of departure because a growing number of countries don’t actually have an option to have this test done; which is good news, or b) Alternatively the PCR test requirement could be required 72 hours before ARRIVAL. This could happen as soon as next week; which is even worse than what is needed at the moment? That last one means that a test needs to be done 24 - 36 hours before departure in most cases.

That's how I read it too, although it's clear as mud.

If the problem is that "a growing number of countries don’t actually have an option to have this test done" then those countries still won't have an option to have this test done and all changing it from "within 72 hours of departure" to "72 hours before ARRIVAL" is give those who can get it done less time to do it !

[bb54]

3 hours ago, Convert54 said:

I am not 100% sure but I think I read the AXA Sawasdee Thailand Inbound  Policy covers for expenses from the (unlucky) moment you test positive.

It seems like it is fairly easy to get your costs covered if you test positive, but the big worry is if you are "detained" for being in close contact with a positive case but do not test positive yourself.  I guess we are then liable for up to ten days quarantine at a hotel and the PCR tests while locked up, unless someone has found a policy that also covers negative result quarantine costs.

[JJJ]

Went to USA for a week to visit family and back already within November. ThaiPass approved in 10 minutes even applying at 1am in Thailand. Vaccinated in Thailand. Seems like the system is set up to look for auto approval based on verifying vaccination. 
 

Find it a bit odd for there to be a schedule of when you should receive 2nd vaccination since Thailand didn’t use that schedule (up to 12 weeks between). 
 

On arrival, while there was little wait (arrived at baggage with enough time to go to KP before bags even arrived), it’s obvious the system cannot handle a large number of incoming passengers.  Also Foreign airlines are terrified of having passengers sent back for lack of “paperwork.”
 

US and Europe have options with much less hassle. That seems pretty obvious by the numbers reported so far. 

[Soidog]

I spoke with a friend of mine who owns a travel agency in South London last night. He seemed really up to speed with all things relating to the Thailand pass etc. He took the decision several months ago not to market or sell holidays to Thailand at the moment. He said he took that decision for two reasons:

1. It simply wouldn’t be fair to his many customers, many of whom are regulars to book holidays to Thailand only for things to change or have problems on arrival.

2. He believes that when problems do occur, his business would become embroiled in all kinds of claims as a result of situations out of his control.
 

Speaking with many similar agents across the country, he has found them to be doing the same thing.  Thailand’s processes and rules are simply too unstable and fluid to be able to confidently market it as a destination. 

[Thommo]

25 minutes ago, JJJ said:

Went to USA for a week to visit family and back already within November. ThaiPass approved in 10 minutes even applying at 1am in Thailand. Vaccinated in Thailand. Seems like the system is set up to look for auto approval based on verifying vaccination. 
 

Find it a bit odd for there to be a schedule of when you should receive 2nd vaccination since Thailand didn’t use that schedule (up to 12 weeks between). 
 

On arrival, while there was little wait (arrived at baggage with enough time to go to KP before bags even arrived), it’s obvious the system cannot handle a large number of incoming passengers.  Also Foreign airlines are terrified of having passengers sent back for lack of “paperwork.”
 

US and Europe have options with much less hassle. That seems pretty obvious by the numbers reported so far. 

interesting i have also been vaccinated in Thailand but my application for the tp took nearly a week  within the 5 working days 

[Stonker]

50 minutes ago, JJJ said:

Find it a bit odd for there to be a schedule of when you should receive 2nd vaccination since Thailand didn’t use that schedule (up to 12 weeks between).

Agreed and my thoughts too as again it's far from clear and adding confusion, but I'm guessing those are minimums.

[BBY]

No mention of a resolution to the middle name issue then??????

[Alavan]

3 hours ago, JJJ said:

Find it a bit odd for there to be a schedule of when you should receive 2nd vaccination since Thailand didn’t use that schedule (up to 12 weeks between). 

UK gave second AZ after 4 weeks, while in EU the second AZ jab was given 8-12 weeks after the first one, as that seemed to give better protection. Anyway, after tomorrow I am going for my Pfizer booster in the EU.

 

[mrengthai]

56 minutes ago, BBY said:

No mention of a resolution to the middle name issue then??????

I got my Thailand Pass approved yesterday and I have a middle name on my passport but not on my NHS vaccine certificate. I edited the NHS vaccine certificate to add my passport number below my date of birth in the section at the top. Can't say for sure if that made any difference but you should at least try again mate. You may have just been unlucky with the person who vetted your application.

[Soidog]

20 minutes ago, Alavan said:

UK gave second AZ after 4 weeks, while in EU the second AZ jab was given 8-12 weeks after the first one, as that seemed to give better protection. Anyway, after tomorrow I am going for my Pfizer booster in the EU.

Sorry to correct you @Alavan but that’s incorrect I’m afraid. I’m in the U.K. and my first and second AZ vaccines were 12 weeks apart. I believe in the early stages of the vaccination program back in December 2020 and early 2021, they may have initially suggested a 4 week separation, however the vast majority was with a 12 weeks gap.