Traveling to Thailand during the Covid crisis: what you need to know

Are you dreaming of spending the winter in the sun? Is Thailand your "usual" destination or had you planned a trip for this year? The announcement was made quite discreetly, but for a few days now, it turns out that it is possible, if of course you are patient, motivated and above all, have time and a minimum of means. Because the entry conditions currently make the “Classic” stays, generally lasting two weeks, are not possible, unless you agree to spend the two weeks in question locked up in a hotel…

I have updated a separate article regarding the latest changes and easing of quarantine from April 1, 2021: https://thailand-and-asia.com/reopening-thailand-se-profile/

Summary hide

Short stay: return of visa exemption

Long-stay visas: TR and STV, what’s the difference?

Documents required to obtain TR visa

Documents required to obtain the COE

Which flights are allowed to go to Thailand?

Small FAQ

Can I stay with friends or someone other than an ASQ?

How is the quarantine going?

Once the quarantine is over, how does it go?

All these formalities are very nice, but I'm a bit lost, what should I do?

Short stay: return of visa exemption

Since December 18, 2020, the return of visa exemptions is effective for 56 nationalities including French. Now you can travel to Thailand again without having to do any complicated procedures beforehand.

However, certain conditions specific to the situation with Covid must still be respected. The first and unfortunately for a few more months I think, quarantine remains mandatory. As a reminder, the visa exemption gives the right to a 30-day stay, this duration is effective once the quarantine has been completed.

Technically, you will therefore have a 45 day visa exemption, in order to take into account the 15 days of quarantine to be spent in one of the ASQ hotels.

For clarity, the TAT has set up a dedicated site, called "ASQ Paradise" (no no, it's not a joke!) to list all possible hotels. The establishments listed offer 16 days and 15 nights packages that include the two PCR tests as well as all meals (which vary according to the hotels but are often quite basic unfortunately).

The site only allows you to search for hotels with prices and contact details, but you must contact the establishments directly to book:

https://asq.locanation.com

Another possibility recently implemented (December 26, 2020), another site which, a priori, allows you to select AND reserve directly via the site:

https://asq.ascendtravel.com

The other good news is that it is now possible to take an international flight to arrive in Phuket rather than Bangkok.

Unfortunately, all this comes with a little hiccup. Because as such, it is not possible to just take your test 72 hours before and jump on the first plane to Bangkok… No… To do this, you must request “authorization” to travel to Thailand from the Thai embassy (or Consulate), closest to you, and have the following supporting documents:

Have cash liquidity of a minimum of 20 baht (around €550) per person
Medical insurance covering Covid 19 and a minimum amount of $100 (Being a partner with ACS, I refer you to the site to protect your back: Globe Traveller – FR)
Confirmation of a reservation in one of the ASQ hotels
Copy of confirmation of your return flight tickets
~~“Fit to Fly” Health Certificate~~ no longer necessary after April 1st but a negative Covid test (RT-PCR) obtained no later than 72 hours before departure remains required.
Certificate of Entry (COE) to be obtained from the same embassy

It was also downloaded a "tracing" application to know where you are going after your quarantine. The application, called ThailandPlus, is intended to be a tool to contact tourists easily in the event of proven proximity to a contact case.

We might as well sum all this up as “false” good news, since the procedures ultimately remain identical to those for obtaining the long-stay visa that I will tell you about below.

It is unlikely that short-term travelers will have to go through these restrictive procedures plus quarantine to enjoy a peaceful stay in Thailand...

However, we must see this as a desire to slowly restart the industry, which has been at a standstill for almost a year now.

Long-stay visas: TR and STV, what’s the difference?

Before starting the subject of documents, I wanted to mention the distinction in the different long-stay visas set up to restart tourism in Thailand. And if I had not seen the information about this TR visa, open to all and for shorter stays, it is because the communication mainly revolved around the Special Tourist Visa (STV).

This is a visa intended for people wishing to make a long stay in the land of smiles, in this case, 90 days minimum and up to 9 months. ~~To date, only a few nationalities can benefit from this visa and are those from so-called "low risk" countries, the list being subject to change depending on how the situation evolves.~~

The situation has changed for the better, as of December 8, 2020, all nationalities can apply for an STV visa. The steps to obtain this visa are similar to the TR but the big difference lies in the possible duration of the stay.

However, the STV, having been created especially for this period of return to Thailand, will only be issued until September 30, 2021, after which, it will be necessary to turn to TR visas or others for long stays.

Also note that the borders with neighboring countries remain closed so the stay can only be in Thailand, not possible to hope for a little road trip through Southeast Asia.

Documents required to obtain TR visa

To save you time reading everything, I'll let you know right away that the two essential conditions for entering Thailand with this visa are:

- - Obtain a Certificate of Entry (COE), required by the Thai authorities
  - Have a balance of €2 over the last 000 months. Statements must show the name of the bank account holder.

The good news is that things are changing quickly, and previously (just a few days before changing my mind...), they were asking for an account with €15 over the last 000 months! By going back to a more reasonable amount, this opens the door to many more people! On the other hand, and instead, they are asking for your last three pay slips or proof of retirement as a financial guarantee.

Please note that the request can be made at the nearest Thai embassy or consulate.

Passport with a validity of at least 6 months and having at least two full free pages.
Copy of passport page with photo and your names, birthday, expiration date etc.
Fill out the form visa application form, duly signed. You need one for each person traveling with you, including children, you can sign for them if they are not adults, as their legal guardian. You can download the form here.
Two passport photos (4×6 cm format) with white background, less than 6 months old.
Confirmation of your flight ticket reservation round trip clearly indicating the names of the passengers as well as your dates of stay.
Bank statements of the last 3 months with an amount of 2 € minimum by applicant (or €4 for a joint account). A photocopy of the family record book is required if the bank account statement is not in the name of the applicant, aged under 000.
Copy of the pay sheets of the last three months (in the case of an employee) the amount of which must be greater than the minimum wage or extract from KBIS, proof of retirement (if applicable) or a certificate of schooling (in the case of a student or minor).
Copy of a document certifying your place of residence as being located in the country where you are applying for the visa (EDF bill, telephone, where the name and address appear clearly).
Booking a hotel for quarantine in one of the "Alternative State Quarantine" (ASQ), in addition to the link given in the short stay section, you can see the choices here or an list with prices here.

Once these steps are completed, you should be able to obtain your visa after paying the payment of 35 €. But BE CAREFUL, the latter will only give you the right to access Thailand on condition of first obtaining your entry certificate (COE).

Ready for take off?

Documents required to obtain the COE

To enter Thailand during the COVID-19 crisis, the TR visa holder must also apply for the Certificate of Entry (COE), which is an authorization to enter Thailand. This step of obtaining authorization to travel to Thailand can take up to 15 working days or more.

In order to apply for a Certificate of Entry (COE), additional documents must be submitted to the local Thai embassy or consulate.

Valid passport with visa obtained beforehand.
Complete the T8 form, document that you can find on this PDF including several forms, including the T8 on the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand website (CAAT).
Obtain a medical certificate certifying that you are fit to fly. You must therefore ask your doctor 72 hours before your flight for the document, which contains the concept, in English, of Fit to Fly or Fit to Travel. There is no official template for such a document but you have one on the Thai Airways website.
The certificate below has nothing to do with being Covid free, it is obviously an additional document attesting to a RT-PCR test returned negative 72 hours before departure.
You must subscribe to a health insurance covering at least $100 and especially covering treatment for Covid-000 during your stay in Thailand. The insurance in question must therefore clearly indicate that it covers in the event of Covid 19 infection.
Confirmation of your reservation in one of the hotels in Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ).
Tickets on one of the semi-commercial flights to Thailand.

Regarding insurance, you can either go through the one set up by the Thai government: https://covid19.tgia.org/

either you can use the link below, knowing that I am a partner of ACS insurance and that they cover Covid-19 with their Globe Traveller pack.

Globe Traveller – FR

Once you have all the documents in your possession, you can do the COE online application via the following link: https://coethailand.mfa.go.th

Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.

Regarding the quarantine, many tourism players among others are pushing the government to shorten it as soon as possible to 10 days or even a week, but it is not for now (probably not before the end of the year if I have to guess).

Which flights are allowed to go to Thailand?

I mentioned it in point 7 just above, you must take one of the flights currently authorized to go to Thailand. These are called semi-commercial because regular flights (simple commercial) strictly speaking have been prohibited since April 2020. Here is the list of companies and number of authorized flights:

– Austrian (OS25)
– Cathay (CX653)
– Emirates (EK378, EK384, EK385)
– Etihad (EY406)
– EVA (BR68, BR211)
– Gulf Air (GF152)
– KLM (KL803, KL811, KL815, KL843, KL847)
– Lufthansa (LH772)
– Malaysia (MH782)
– Oman (WY811, WY812)
– Qatar (QR830, QR836, QR978)
– Singapore (SQ976)
– Swiss (LX180)
– THAI (TG476, TG633, TG639, TG643, TG917, TG923, TG951)
– Turkish (TK68)

You can make the reservation directly with the company concerned. Important point however, they are very likely to ask you for proof of your hotel reservation in ASQ as well as your health insurance. So don't forget to do these steps before.

Small FAQ

Can I stay with friends or someone other than an ASQ?

It is not possible for foreigners… If Thai nationals can benefit from access to SQ (State Quarantine, sites managed by the State and therefore free), this is not the case for other nationalities. No choice therefore and this is part of the disadvantages.

How is the quarantine going?

When you arrive in Thailand, the health authorities will normally guide you to the ASQ of your choice. Once the formalities are completed, you will have to stay in your room without being able to go out for at least the first week. During the second week, you will then be allowed to move around in certain areas of the hotel, avoiding other people staying in the same building. Note that you will not even have access to the swimming pool...

Once the quarantine is over, how does it go?

This is one of the advantages of coming at this time, because once the quarantine is over, you will normally be free to move around Thailand like a normal tourist. However, this allows you to enjoy places that are sometimes crowded and are currently very quiet. After your first two weeks of confinement (16 days to be exact), you will then have almost 6 weeks left to enjoy the wonders of Thailand at your leisure, knowing that the visa can be extended by 30 days if ever.

All these formalities are very nice, but I'm a bit lost, what should I do?

I am aware that managing all this documentation is a bit of an obstacle course. If you still don't want to be discouraged by these procedures to enjoy the sun in the tropics, there is still the possibility of calling on companies that manage visa applications, I will give you two:

* being affiliated with Action Visa, the link allows me to receive a commission if you complete a paid application. This does not change the cost to you but gives me a helping hand that is always welcome.

This obviously adds an additional cost, but to avoid getting a headache, it can be judicious and negligible compared to the simplification of the procedures that can be taken care of by these companies.

As this approach remains rare, I don't expect much demand and I'm not necessarily the most knowledgeable to give you more information than the official ones, which I present to you in this article, but if you have other questions, I'll try to answer them in the comments.