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I am trying to check now how i can get back to thailand on a tourist visa waiver , but am worried about too many

things that can go wrong before i get the COE.

I checked the official web site - link below - and do not understand if i get the COE before booking and flight and hotel, or after.

Also i am not sure i can get the fit-to-fly and PT-PCR papers IN  the 72 hours before the flight.

i heard few stories of people who did not get the FIT-TO-FLY document in the exact format, hence the COE was not approved, than

they lost their money for the flight...

other stories involved the PT-PCR test not coming on time, and again all lost.

and than there is the risk of getting infected on the flight, and get positive result in a thai PT-PCR, and than

you are forced to get into a hospital, even if there are no symptoms, and in this case the insurance will not

cover the expenses (might be 200 USD per day !!and might get few weeks until the body develops antibodies !!).

 

Is it worth even trying? do you know many failures stories of visa waivers who tried to travel to thailand?

 

https://coethailand.mfa.go.th/regis/create?country=BRA&conoffice=BRA&type=1114

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A fit to fly certificate is issued after the COE is issued. My COE was issued 3 weeks before my flight.

Make sure you get insurance that covers you for covid from day 1 and hospital admitance  even if asymtomatic.

You need to book your flight and ASQ before the COE is issued as these are included in the COE.

Edited by mlkik
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9 minutes ago, mlkik said:

insurance that covers you for covid from day 1 and hospital admitance  even if asymtomatic.

can you reccomend an insurance that pay hospital even if asymptomatic? will AXA do it?

10 minutes ago, mlkik said:

You need to book your flight and ASQ before the COE is issued

well, that is the problem. if the COE is not issued, i lose the booking money !!

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47 minutes ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

can you reccomend an insurance that pay hospital even if asymptomatic? will AXA do it?

well, that is the problem. if the COE is not issued, i lose the booking money !!

TiP INSURE DHIPAYA.CO.TH

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9 minutes ago, user70 said:

After applying for special tourist visa then CoE, I don't think this is worth trying. So many headaches! Accomodation confirmation rejected, incorrect Transit date on my certificate of entry, major pain to get insurance, most physicians have no clue how to do a fit to fly certificate, getting a covid-19 test followed by the fit to fly certificate try to departure is very tight, if the flight get delayed then your covid-19 test may be more than 72 hours before departures, incoherent instructions to apply for the certificate of entry from different sources, embassy employees being indif if you miss your flight, overpriced accomodation for the ASQ etc. I've spent way too much time and money on this, which I could have better spent taking some vacation in a more friendly country (eg mexico). I created this profile on this forum to get some information to help me apply to the visa and CoE, and I've posted over 70 messages just because everything is so messed up. Not even counting several direct private messages, my dozen of calls to the embassy, etc. I've traveled to many countries and this is one of the worst experience I've had.

 

sounds like a nightmare indeed. what you mentioned are exactly the things i am worried about.

the thai have a way to complicate each small thing.

it is hard enough to get PCR test on time. why the stupid FIT-TO-FLY why?

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Quote

well, that is the problem. if the COE is not issued, i lose the booking money !!

I booked a hotel that only wanted ฿5000 deposit.

It is down to you to make a decision on whether it is worth it. I desperately wanted to return to my home in Thailand after 10 months  stuck in the U.K.so it was not a hard choice for me.

Edited by mlkik
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5 minutes ago, mlkik said:

I booked a hotel that only wanted ฿5000 deposit.

But in theory the hotel must be fully paid before paying for the visa and/or CoE, and some Thai Embassy employees do apply this rule! My application got put on hold because of that and I had to pay the hotel, then provide a proof of payment from  the hotel.

 

Just a single glance at https://thaiembdc.org/visas/ indicates that the application process is a nightmare. Meanwhile you can fly tomorrow if you want to to many fun countries without any issue.

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11 minutes ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:
51 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Most airlines doing semi commercial flights allow you to change flights or get a refund.

I ALLREADY lost 2000 USD with those so called flexible tickets.

some airlines or agencies just wont pay you.

 

£1726 (Qatar Airways) - it took the travel agent 5 months to refund me the cost of my ticket (I had to get ABTA involved)

 

IF the Airline is a member of ABTA - contact ABTA to file a refund. IF the airline cancelled the flight, or won't refund you within the terms and conditions of the ticket. 

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29 minutes ago, user70 said:

After applying for special tourist visa then CoE, I don't think this is worth trying.

I've done it twice (from UK and Qatar) - first time was more of a pain in the neck, the last time just a few weeks ago was very simple and took a few hours from application to receipt of CoE.

 

29 minutes ago, user70 said:

So many headaches!

Not really, just get the documents needed. 

 

29 minutes ago, user70 said:

Accommodation confirmation rejected,

Very strange? The MFA rejected your CoE because of your accommodation choice ? Was your accommodation an ASQ ???

 

 

29 minutes ago, user70 said:

Incorrect Transit date on my certificate of entry,

Could be troublesome - The embassy should respond with direct contact regarding this issue.

 

29 minutes ago, user70 said:

major pain to get insurance,

I've read that for some...  I received an insurance Cert within 24 hrs of making contact with April Insurance. 

 

29 minutes ago, user70 said:

Most physicians have no clue how to do a fit to fly certificate.

There is enough information out there to find someone who does - Dr Donna at Medconsult asia is the common one getting listed (400 Baht - consultation over the internet)

 

 

29 minutes ago, user70 said:

getting a covid-19 test followed by the fit to fly certificate try to departure is very tight,

Yep, this is a concern...  but for the most part easily achievable...  Most places give results within at the most 48 hrs, so someone can still receive results the day before flight.

 

29 minutes ago, user70 said:

if the flight get delayed then your covid-19 test may be more than 72 hours before departures

A major concern.. understandable. A delayed flight could cause huge problems.

Best recommendation here is to look at flight history and see which airlines have a better record of no cancellations recently. 

 

 

29 minutes ago, user70 said:

incoherent instructions to apply for the certificate of entry from different sources, embassy employees being indif if you miss your flight, overpriced accomodation for the ASQ etc.

Looking for a problem...    The CoE process is simple enough - there are of course risks. 

 

 

29 minutes ago, user70 said:

I've spent way too much time and money on this, which I could have better spent taking some vacation in a more friendly country (eg mexico). I created this profile on this forum to get some information to help me apply to the visa and CoE, and I've posted over 70 messages just because everything is so messed up. Not even counting several direct private messages, my dozen of calls to the embassy, etc. I've traveled to many countries and this is one of the worst experience I've had.

 

There is a lot of misinformation and panic on this site... 

 

PM me if you need further help I’ve been through the process twice. 

 

The first step is to apply on the MFA site for Pre-approval for CoE, the next steps can be taken from there. 

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13 minutes ago, user70 said:

The Thai Embassy rejected my Agoda booking confirmation letter because it wasn't a proof of payment from the hotel…

 

With my CoE application the  Agoda booking conformation was submitted and accepted. 

Clearly different Embassies have different interpretation of the bookings.

 

Thats said, after making the Agoda booking, the hotel will contact you, asking for some details, ID, signed declaration form etc. 

 

Hotel will also provide a booking confirmation letter. IF they haven’t, ask for a booking confirmation direct from the hotel. 

 

 

------

 

Note: the booking confirmation I received from the hotel did not have cancellation terms and conditions which matched agoda’s - I asked them to re-sent the confirmation with terms and conditions matching Agoda’s cancellation policy and they did. 

 

------

 

The Embassy not accepting Agoda’s booking confirmation is very odd...  Which Embassy was that ?

 

 

 

 

Edited by richard_smith237
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I have a good friend who just two days ago finished his ASQ.  He came into Thailand from Hawaii.  He said it really wasn't that difficult as long as you do the research and set up a timeline on a wall chart, basically a check-list with all the requirements and at which point each needs to be done.

There are now plenty of videos on YT showing the process, step by step.

It is entirely do-able to anybody willing to put in the effort.

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7 minutes ago, dddave said:

I have a good friend who just two days ago finished his ASQ.  He came into Thailand from Hawaii.  He said it really wasn't that difficult as long as you do the research and set up a timeline on a wall chart, basically a check-list with all the requirements and at which point each needs to be done.

There are now plenty of videos on YT showing the process, step by step.

It is entirely do-able to anybody willing to put in the effort.

It seemed very daunting before I started the COE process but it is very straight forward if you take the time to reserch the process and are positive.

 

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7 minutes ago, mlkik said:
15 minutes ago, dddave said:

I have a good friend who just two days ago finished his ASQ.  He came into Thailand from Hawaii.  He said it really wasn't that difficult as long as you do the research and set up a timeline on a wall chart, basically a check-list with all the requirements and at which point each needs to be done.

There are now plenty of videos on YT showing the process, step by step.

It is entirely do-able to anybody willing to put in the effort.

It seemed very daunting before I started the COE process but it is very straight forward if you take the time to reserch the process and are positive.

 

 

It was daunting 6 months ago...  and perhaps people have been put off when reading the stories of the application process back then. I applied back in July, which involved a lot of paperwork but still not the exaggerated nightmare some make it out to be. Now the process has been streamlined... 

 

If someone is already holding a visa the process is quite simple and just involves getting together a few documents. 

 

- Passport ID copy / Visa (extension & re-entry permit) / - Insurance Certificate / Others (i.e. Marriage cert etc if needed)

 

- ASQ & Flight booking only need to be secured after Pre-Approval for CoE has been issued.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

i heard few stories of people who did not get the FIT-TO-FLY document in the exact format, hence the COE was not approved

 

Lot of stories out there ... or more accurately, misinformation. The FTF has nothing to do with the COE whatsoever so I very much doubt there is any accuracy in those stories.

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I believe that guy who started Thaivisa (George?) recently wrote about coming back to Thailand via Cambodia.  Seems to be less difficult.  It may be worth trying to dig that up and reviewing it.

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1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

Scott - I think we’re doubling up on the other thread you have been posting in.

 

The CoE application process is relatively risk free.

 

1) Register on the MFA website

 - Submit Passport ID page / Visa document (or extensions) / Insurance document / Supporting documentation (marriage cert / Birth Cert if using that route)

2) Receive Pre-Approval E-mail

3) Submit final documentation

 - Submit Travel documentation: Confirmation of flight Booking / *ASQ booking

*Book ASQ through Agoda (an additional level of protection with full refund up to one day before)

4) Receive CoE

 

5) Pre-Flight Covid-19 Test (>72 hrs before flight)

6) Pre-Flight Fit to Fly Cert (Medconsultasia - online consultation)

 

Travel to Thailand !... 

 

IF you test positive before arrival you can apply for CoE again using the same documents. 

You can change your ASQ booking and flights - the cost here may be change of flight bookings, but Agoda have the risk free ASQ booking. You obviously have the additional cost of further Covid-19 tests and fit to fly cert.

 

IF testing Positive in ASQ you will have to go to Hospital quarantine, even if you have no symptoms. Your Thai secured Insurance policy covering Covid-19 up to US$100,000 is geared up for this. 

 

 

 

 

 Many thousands of folks have now gone through the process, arrived in Thailand, completed the quarantine and got on with their lives. All of them have asked for and received Fit to Fly certificates from numerous doctors and medical clinics, and there's plenty of examples of an acceptable format of the FTF form on the net and mentioned by many posters in this thread an other threads. 

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8 minutes ago, connda said:

Seems to be less difficult. 

 

It's not. George had a business visa for Cambodia which is still not open to general tourism and if it was, you'd be leaving yourself open to potentially two batches of quarantine.

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2 hours ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

can you reccomend an insurance that pay hospital even if asymptomatic? will AXA do it?

well, that is the problem. if the COE is not issued, i lose the booking money !!

You can contact the ASQ hotel directly, hold a room 5-10% down ( refundable ) with full payment pending on COE approval, they are aware of possible COE issues with planning and possible date changes, worked for me anyway, good luck 

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2 hours ago, CANSIAM said:

You can contact the ASQ hotel directly, hold a room 5-10% down ( refundable ) with full payment pending on COE approval, they are aware of possible COE issues with planning and possible date changes, worked for me anyway, good luck 

 

The issue with the refund policies is not just related to the issuance of a CoE but also impacted by a Covid-19 test result. 

 

Many hotels have a 1 week cancellation policy - that may work for the CoE but is useless if we were to test positive for Covid-19 and unable to travel.

 

Thus, the only options I have been looking at are those which offer 100% refund 1 day before travel for trip cancellation for any reason. 

Currently only bookings through Agoda offer this, but, Agoda does not include the full ASQ list (only about 30 or so hotels).

I have contacted a couple of hotels not on the Agoda ASQ listings, they have no been prepared to improve their cancellation policies - Agoda it is then.

 

It would be good to see a list of hotels which require a 1 night deposit - it is acceptable to lose that in the even of a positive Covid-19 test and trip cancellation. 

 

 

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3 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

The issue with the refund policies is not just related to the issuance of a CoE but also impacted by a Covid-19 test result. 

 

Many hotels have a 1 week cancellation policy - that may work for the CoE but is useless if we were to test positive for Covid-19 and unable to travel.

 

Thus, the only options I have been looking at are those which offer 100% refund 1 day before travel for trip cancellation for any reason. 

Currently only bookings through Agoda offer this, but, Agoda does not include the full ASQ list (only about 30 or so hotels).

I have contacted a couple of hotels not on the Agoda ASQ listings, they have no been prepared to improve their cancellation policies - Agoda it is then.

 

It would be good to see a list of hotels which require a 1 night deposit - it is acceptable to lose that in the even of a positive Covid-19 test and trip cancellation. 

 

 

Better if the Thai government adjusted their policies to allow folks who can prove they have had the full vaccine to enter without quarantine.

 

Or at least allow no quarantine entry to folks with proof of full vaccination from countries which have have very low numbers of cases and low numbers of deaths. 

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8 hours ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:
8 hours ago, mlkik said:

insurance that covers you for covid from day 1 and hospital admitance  even if asymtomatic.

can you reccomend an insurance that pay hospital even if asymptomatic? will AXA do it?

 

Below is taken from the AXA Thailand website:

 

Yes, AXA will cover for the medical expense incurred based on medical necessity if you’re tested positive for COVID-19 regardless of the showing of symptoms.

 

My issue is with regards to "medical necessity"... If you test positive and have no symptoms, then is there the risk that the hotel insists that you go into hospital quarantine even if the nurse/doctor cannot justify it as a medical necessity?

 

If so, then I can't imagine that there is an insurer anywhere that will cover this.

 

What kind of medical necessity would justify hospitalising you if you're asymptomatic? I can only imagine it's if you have some pre-existing medical conditions?

 

 

 

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