Jump to content

Foreigners travelling to Thailand per announcement of 1/July


Recommended Posts

We read about various documentation necessary for foreigners under select categories to arrive Thailand from 1/July.

We read about certificate of entry, C19 tests, Fit to Fly certificates, reservation for ASQ etc as pre-requisite for entry. 

 

I am being told that we can only fly on repatriation/evacuation flights to Thailand.

 

Can anybody who has traveled to Thailand during this period share their experience on

1. Process of getting listed on the evacuation/repatriation flights with Thai embassies in your country.

2. Any other flights that you have used to fly to Thailand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've got a pretty good thread going here... you may find your answer there. A copy and paste from one of the posts. 

"

Also, relative to the US only, the Embassy has been clear that the only option for transport (in July at least) is via one of the scheduled repat flights that are currently planned.. They operate almost weekly, usually on Saturdays, and usually from LAX, JFK, ORD and IAD..  Korean Air and Asiana are the most common airlines used, but there are some Cathay Pacific flights and JAL as well.. Each day fights do operate, there is a daily cap of 200 total people - spread across all the repat flights that operate on that day (not 200 per flight)

 

In most cases, if you don't live in that city where your repat flight departs from (ie LAX, JFK, ORD, IAD) you have to buy a separate ticket and make your own way to the departure gateway city - and at your risk if the flight/bus/train etc that you chose, is late and due to their lateness you miss the repat flight.  Most people have been given a list of travel agents to contact to arrange, choose and pay for their repat flight... Once you have done so, you get a receipt and that's one of the 4 documents you'll need to upload before the CoE is cut... the ASQ paid booking, covid test and fit2fly being the other 3."



https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1172056-certificate-of-entry-process-for-spouses-of-thai-citizens/?do=findComment&comment=15601914

Edited by Tounge Thaied
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Tounge Thaied said:

We've got a pretty good thread going here... you may find your answer there. A copy and paste from one of the posts. 

"

Also, relative to the US only, the Embassy has been clear that the only option for transport (in July at least) is via one of the scheduled repat flights that are currently planned.. They operate almost weekly, usually on Saturdays, and usually from LAX, JFK, ORD and IAD..  Korean Air and Asiana are the most common airlines used, but there are some Cathay Pacific flights and JAL as well.. Each day fights do operate, there is a daily cap of 200 total people - spread across all the repat flights that operate on that day (not 200 per flight)

 

In most cases, if you don't live in that city where your repat flight departs from (ie LAX, JFK, ORD, IAD) you have to buy a separate ticket and make your own way to the departure gateway city - and at your risk if the flight/bus/train etc that you chose, is late and due to their lateness you miss the repat flight.  Most people have been given a list of travel agents to contact to arrange, choose and pay for their repat flight... Once you have done so, you get a receipt and that's one of the 4 documents you'll need to upload before the CoE is cut... the ASQ paid booking, covid test and fit2fly being the other 3."



https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1172056-certificate-of-entry-process-for-spouses-of-thai-citizens/?do=findComment&comment=15601914

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Upnotover said:

This is the only one I've seen, there are no doubt others.

 

Thank you.

 

In locations where the there are limited number of Thai Citizens, the frequency of such flights are very low. so the wait continues..

 

Anybody having flown options than evacuation flights, please tell us your story? 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, CLS said:

Regular commercial flights too, as long as they carry only the allowed groups.

 

https://www.caat.or.th/en/archives/51895

And that's a very tricky procedure under the current regulation.

I hope they allow regular lights, that now carry cargo on the way to Thailand to take the allowed groups on board.

Technically it's allowed already but there's no established mechanisms implemented, not yet at least.

But that would require an establishment of similar to the repatriation flights boarding procedures.

Can they delegate handling of such flights to the airline?

Or subcontract it to some other firms instead of just relying on the consulate personnel?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, unheard said:

And that's a very tricky procedure under the current regulation.

I hope they allow regular lights, that now carry cargo on the way to Thailand to take the allowed groups on board.

Technically it's allowed already but there's no established mechanisms implemented, not yet at least.

But that would require an establishment of similar to the repatriation flights boarding procedures.

Can they delegate handling of such flights to the airline?

Or subcontract it to some other firms instead of just relying on the consulate personnel?

Right now you can book flights from Europe to BKK. To board you need a CoE along with the other paperwork.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, CLS said:

Right now you can book flights from Europe to BKK. To board you need a CoE along with the other paperwork.

You could book regular flights from anywhere to BKK in any prior months.

How many of those have flown with passengers on board?

Zero.

No you can not board any of those regular flights, regardless of paperwork.

Edited by unheard
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, unheard said:

You could book regular flights from anywhere to BKK in any prior months.

How many of those have flown with passengers on board?

Zero.

No you can not board any of those regular flights, regardless of paperwork.

You are right. The CAAT announcement is misleading.


https://www.thaiembassy.be/2020/07/09/application-for-certificate-of-entry-for-non-thai-nationals/?lang=en

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thai Embassy in Brussels:
1.2 Non-Thai nationals who hold a valid certificate of residence, or permission to take up residence in the Kingdom.

 

CAAT:

(7) Non-Thai nationals who hold a valid certificate of permanent residency in the Kingdom, or permission to take up residence in the Kingdom.

 

Two completely different things. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

“The patient can be accompanied by 3 people at maximum and they need to be quarantined at the same hospital as the patient and the period of their stay in Thailand needs to be at least 14 days.”

 

A way for piggybacking?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Tounge Thaied said:

We've got a pretty good thread going here... you may find your answer there. A copy and paste from one of the posts. 

"

Also, relative to the US only, the Embassy has been clear that the only option for transport (in July at least) is via one of the scheduled repat flights that are currently planned.. They operate almost weekly, usually on Saturdays, and usually from LAX, JFK, ORD and IAD..  Korean Air and Asiana are the most common airlines used, but there are some Cathay Pacific flights and JAL as well.. Each day fights do operate, there is a daily cap of 200 total people - spread across all the repat flights that operate on that day (not 200 per flight)

 

In most cases, if you don't live in that city where your repat flight departs from (ie LAX, JFK, ORD, IAD) you have to buy a separate ticket and make your own way to the departure gateway city - and at your risk if the flight/bus/train etc that you chose, is late and due to their lateness you miss the repat flight.  Most people have been given a list of travel agents to contact to arrange, choose and pay for their repat flight... Once you have done so, you get a receipt and that's one of the 4 documents you'll need to upload before the CoE is cut... the ASQ paid booking, covid test and fit2fly being the other 3."



https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1172056-certificate-of-entry-process-for-spouses-of-thai-citizens/?do=findComment&comment=15601914

Thank you for the post

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, CLS said:

“The patient can be accompanied by 3 people at maximum and they need to be quarantined at the same hospital as the patient and the period of their stay in Thailand needs to be at least 14 days.”

 

A way for piggybacking?

Could be a creative route

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/12/2020 at 6:04 AM, unheard said:

And that's a very tricky procedure under the current regulation.

I hope they allow regular lights, that now carry cargo on the way to Thailand to take the allowed groups on board.

Technically it's allowed already but there's no established mechanisms implemented, not yet at least.

But that would require an establishment of similar to the repatriation flights boarding procedures.

Can they delegate handling of such flights to the airline?

Or subcontract it to some other firms instead of just relying on the consulate personnel?

Seems to me that commercial flights will restart as quickly as possible (not meaning tomorrow) because:

 

- Many airline companies (globally) desperately need revenue to ensure they don't totally collapse/failure beyond any possibility of re-start. (Simple example NOKScoot, and more.)

 

- Many have complex ownership, many are listed on stock exchanges, therefore their paid management is under big pressure/has responsibility to find magic answers/strategies to protect shareholders investments. Revenue is king, any revenue / re-start flying is king. 

 

AirAsia is making noises that it might collapse. Perhaps this is a case where various governments would seriously not want the company to collapse, therefore support funds may pop up.

 

On the other hand, Tony Fernandez and his inner team are experienced people (I understand many are very experiences lawyers and barristers), are they just 'making noises' to try to generate support, when in fact they are not really close to collapse. 

 

You can make bookings on AirAsia, Thailand to other countries and return in October 2020 and on from there (and perhaps earlier than October, I haven't checked that).

 

- In terms of Thailand there is big pressure to re-start tourism (rich Thais who want their cash flow to restart quickly and restart the very large numbers of direct and direct jobs associated with foreign tourism into Thailand.

 

However, there's also pressure to not re-start tourism.

 

I wonder if the pressure to re-start will generate a re-think/re-structuring of the required tests and the current quarantine policies because 'nobody will go on holidays to spend the first 14 days in quarantine, which is not cheap'.  Plus for many individuals, and especially for couples with kids, the cost of quarantine on top of airfares etc., etc., means that they just can't even consider a holiday. 

 

So is there a way to re-structure the Covid 19 test, say 14 days before, 8 days before, 3 days before flying, test on arrival (using very fast processing (some accepted tests can, from news reports, give a conclusive response in 15 minutes), plus some form of monitoring say 5 days after arrival? (Not a perfect plan, just repeating one news item I read a few days ago, and not sure about the number of days mentioned.) Therefore no actual quarantine.

 

Seems to me pressure to do some form of re-structuring will grow pretty quickly and with enormous support from big business.

 

We wait and see.

 

  

Edited by scorecard
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/11/2020 at 9:07 AM, Tounge Thaied said:

We've got a pretty good thread going here... you may find your answer there. A copy and paste from one of the posts. 

"

Also, relative to the US only, the Embassy has been clear that the only option for transport (in July at least) is via one of the scheduled repat flights that are currently planned.. They operate almost weekly, usually on Saturdays, and usually from LAX, JFK, ORD and IAD..  Korean Air and Asiana are the most common airlines used, but there are some Cathay Pacific flights and JAL as well.. Each day fights do operate, there is a daily cap of 200 total people - spread across all the repat flights that operate on that day (not 200 per flight)

 

In most cases, if you don't live in that city where your repat flight departs from (ie LAX, JFK, ORD, IAD) you have to buy a separate ticket and make your own way to the departure gateway city - and at your risk if the flight/bus/train etc that you chose, is late and due to their lateness you miss the repat flight.  Most people have been given a list of travel agents to contact to arrange, choose and pay for their repat flight... Once you have done so, you get a receipt and that's one of the 4 documents you'll need to upload before the CoE is cut... the ASQ paid booking, covid test and fit2fly being the other 3."



https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1172056-certificate-of-entry-process-for-spouses-of-thai-citizens/?do=findComment&comment=15601914

Has any non-Thai been able to get a repatriation seat reserved on a flight out of the US?  I had an e-mail response from the Thai Embassy 2 weeks ago that so many Thai citizens are waiting to get back, there were no seats available for the rest of us to go home and no idea when any would be available.

Edited by DrPhibes
More content
Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, DrPhibes said:

Has any non-Thai been able to get a repatriation seat reserved on a flight out of the US?  I had an e-mail response from the Thai Embassy 2 weeks ago that so many Thai citizens are waiting to get back, there were no seats available for the rest of us to go home and no idea when any would be available.

I am struggling to find non-Thais having departed from locations outside Asia 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here’s the problem with trying to book a non-repat flight out of the US..
 

When you are approved, they will ask you to please upload 4 documents—- 1) flight booking, 2) ASQ paid confirmation that matches your flight arrival date, 3) fit2fly cert and 4) c19 test. (Note: 3 & 4 cant be older than 72hrs/3days than the date/time your repat flight leaves the US (first flight, not second/connection)

 

so.. let’s say you do try to book a non-repat flight... let’s say you try booking LH via FRA.... when you upload docs #1 #2 (usually done at the same time/day) the embassy will see you didn’t book a repat flight as they require (at least now in July) and until you do, they won’t issue your CoE.

 

So, there is no way to really circumvent around a repat flight (at least from the US in the month of July)

 

What *might* be possible is to book a repat flight, upload the other docs 2,3 and 4... get the CoE, THEN try to fly out on a non-repat ... but since you had to book the repat flight to even get the CoE (and repat flights appear to be non-refundable) in the first place, you’d probably be stuck with a useless repat flight ticket that may or may not be refundable, and you might not be allowed to board at the origin or connection point by airline staff.

 

from the US at least for July, you have to use repats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/12/2020 at 4:56 AM, CLS said:

Thai Embassy in Brussels:
1.2 Non-Thai nationals who hold a valid certificate of residence, or permission to take up residence in the Kingdom.

 

CAAT:

(7) Non-Thai nationals who hold a valid certificate of permanent residency in the Kingdom, or permission to take up residence in the Kingdom.

 

Two completely different things. 

The Embassy's phrasing reflects what was actually written in Thai in the government's order, while the CAAT tried to clarify things by adding the word "permanent".

 

This section was in fact only intended to cover permanent residents, but the Thai term for the document that permanent residents hold only contains the word for "residency" - it doesn't include the word "permanent" at all. As we've seen on this forum, this has caused a lot of confusion for people who understandably think that the policy also applies to people who "reside" here according to a normal dictionary definition of that word, or who have a "certificate of residency" issued by Immigration. Unfortunately, this is a case where a literally accurate translation (as provided by the Embassy above) is misleading.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/11/2020 at 10:18 PM, unheard said:

You could book regular flights from anywhere to BKK in any prior months.

How many of those have flown with passengers on board?

Zero.

No you can not board any of those regular flights, regardless of paperwork.

This is not true. Richard Barrow on his blog mentions ppl arriving on flights which transit in BKK. You can get off with correct paperwork

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/12/2020 at 12:33 AM, mjakob007 said:

Thanks

If you don't meet the requirements for one of the 11 (I think) groups listed, you can forget about coming to Thailand. Common tourists are not allowed at all. If not working here, no Thai wife or kid, then the answer is no. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Letseng said:

This is not true. Richard Barrow on his blog mentions ppl arriving on flights which transit in BKK. You can get off with correct paperwork

We are being told to provide flight booking on any repat flight for CoE and not any others.

Technically, CAAT has not approved landing of commercial flights in Thailand. 

 

Could it be the transit flights via BKK were classified as repat flights bringing nationals home?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, new2here said:

Here’s the problem with trying to book a non-repat flight out of the US..
 

When you are approved, they will ask you to please upload 4 documents—- 1) flight booking, 2) ASQ paid confirmation that matches your flight arrival date, 3) fit2fly cert and 4) c19 test. (Note: 3 & 4 cant be older than 72hrs/3days than the date/time your repat flight leaves the US (first flight, not second/connection)

 

so.. let’s say you do try to book a non-repat flight... let’s say you try booking LH via FRA.... when you upload docs #1 #2 (usually done at the same time/day) the embassy will see you didn’t book a repat flight as they require (at least now in July) and until you do, they won’t issue your CoE.

 

So, there is no way to really circumvent around a repat flight (at least from the US in the month of July)

 

What *might* be possible is to book a repat flight, upload the other docs 2,3 and 4... get the CoE, THEN try to fly out on a non-repat ... but since you had to book the repat flight to even get the CoE (and repat flights appear to be non-refundable) in the first place, you’d probably be stuck with a useless repat flight ticket that may or may not be refundable, and you might not be allowed to board at the origin or connection point by airline staff.

 

from the US at least for July, you have to use repats.

 

 

Not just US, we hear the same from other locations too. Flight booking has to be only on repat flights.

 

1. We are being told the flight details (repat flight) submitted at the time of application for CoE will be indicated on the CoE issued by embassy.

2. ie. we cannot change the flights after issuance of CoE

 

It would be great to hear experience from others on 1, above.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, mjakob007 said:

 

 

Not just US, we hear the same from other locations too. Flight booking has to be only on repat flights.

 

1. We are being told the flight details (repat flight) submitted at the time of application for CoE will be indicated on the CoE issued by embassy.

2. ie. we cannot change the flights after issuance of CoE

 

It would be great to hear experience from others on 1, above.

 

 

To provide a flight booking, I looked online and saw which flights were landing at BKK airport. I also confirmed with a friend that Foreigners / passengers were exiting international flights (this friend was wrong) it was confirmed by the Embassy that those approved for travel to Thailand (CoE) can travel on Repatriation flights only.

 

I booked with Qatar Airways who have not yet cancelled the ticket (3 days before flight). Qatar Airways website no longer shows booking options for July. My ticket remains ‘confirmed’ on their booking system however. Qatar Airways tell me over the phone that the ticket should be cancelled ‘within a few days of travel’ when they confirm that carriage of passengers is not permitted. 

 

Thus: The list of instructions initially presented was inaccurate and misleading. We should be applying for our Certificate of Entry without any flight confirmation or booking. It is the Embassy to tell us which Repatriation Flight we can take. 

 

 

Thus: at the moment, the only passenger flights permitting disembarkation and entry into Thailand are the repatriation flights.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.




×
×
  • Create New...