khonkaenjason

I don't know what SHABA stands for, but to be approved for the Sandbox you must be booked at a SHABA Plus hotel - it is some type of certification that proves their staff is vaccinated and meets other requirements set by the government I believe. You have to pay for your stay and then the hotel generated a confirmation that you submit to the Thai Consulate/Embassy in your area. That confirmation will have the exact days that you have registered and paid for. In my case, it was originally for Oct 5 - 19. I paid for those dates. As soon as the change was announced, they emailed me to ask if I wanted to now just stay for 7 days. That answer was yes, so they sent me a new certificate and refunded me half of the money already paid. It was instantaneous. That hotel confirmation is supposed to be shown along the way when you travel, but I think it is really only needed to get the COE. Without it, my understanding is that you will not get a COE in the first place for the Sandbox. Hope that helps - Cheers

We arrive ourselves in Phuket on October 5th from Los Angeles. I have already contacted our hotel in Patong who immediately issued a refund for 7 days and sent a new SHA Plus hotel confirmation with the new dates (7 nights) reflected. A new COE is not needed as long as your original one was issues before Sep 28th. Not sure what your deal is - Have you contacted the hotel? The plan for refunding COVID test fees is still being finalized - I am on the Elite Visa, so those are reimbursed already, but it would be nice for my Thai Spouse's to be refunded if only need one or two tests - I think the deal is that they have to rework how many tests and on what days they are going to be doing them - I have a sneaky suspicion they may find a way to keep it at 3 tests over the 7 days - I hope not - those tests are not my idea of a fun experience - we shall see. Hope it works out for you - Cheers -

I will be returning to America for a quick trip on 14 September. Has anybody returned using a rapid antigen test result instead of the PCR tests? I get conflicting information as to whether or not both or accepted, or only the PCR test. Any advice? We leave on a Tuesday, so was planning to get tested next Sunday in Khon Kaen. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!