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Post by nomadic on Nov 18, 2021 20:23:28 GMT 7
Does anyone know if all the Thai borders are open again for 100% sure? Hearing lots of things but no confirmation. Heard that Cambodia again is open to tourists a few days ago also but no details.
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Post by bear on Nov 18, 2021 23:12:57 GMT 7
I don't think so; at least not land borders. If you want to have a crack at this I'd be double crossing your "T's" and double dotting your "I's." It looks like by air only and a horror show. You need insurance; there's no visa on arrival so you have to get one from the embassy or consulate in Bangkok before you go. You need to keep strict timlines. Nope not for me......... Then you've got to jump all the hoops to get back into Thailand. Which currently means tests before you leave Cambodia, and if you come back in on a re-entry permit which you need to get before you leave to keep your current extension active, you'll need usd$ 50,000 insurance covering you till your extension finishes. Would you be bothered?? Cheers bear |
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Post by bear on Nov 19, 2021 10:24:19 GMT 7
Thailand opened it's borders for tourists 1 November. One Aussie's story laid out in detail of what he did in order to come. So I'll stick with my negative attitude in the above post, re going on a return trip to Cambodia from Thailand. Cheers bear |
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Post by nomadic on Nov 20, 2021 20:14:52 GMT 7
So looks like NO NOmadic for me as yet apart from Leo in Mai this week. I was in hope that I may be.
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Post by bear on Nov 20, 2021 21:59:30 GMT 7
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Post by Banjo on Dec 18, 2021 18:25:45 GMT 7
Heard from a member stuck in Aus today.
Yes mate I'm flying into Bangkok in mid January on Jetstar. Got a ticket for $390 from Melbourne.
Test and go scheme.
Entering on a visa exempt which I'll extend for 30 days then use the local agent to change to a non Immigrant O retirement 15 days into the 30 day extension.
Insurance 2100 baht for 30 days
Hotel one nite with stick up nose test 3900 baht.
Spoke to someone else this afternoon who says they're not enforcing the overnight stay so could be a saving there.
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Post by bear on Dec 18, 2021 19:20:30 GMT 7
Heard from a member stuck in Aus today. Yes mate I'm flying into Bangkok in mid January on Jetstar. Got a ticket for $390 from Melbourne.
Test and go scheme.
Entering on a visa exempt which I'll extend for 30 days then use the local agent to change to a non Immigrant O retirement 15 days into the 30 day extension.
Insurance 2100 baht for 30 days
Hotel one nite with stick up nose test 3900 baht.Spoke to someone else this afternoon who says they're not enforcing the overnight stay so could be a saving there. That's looks to be good news Banjo , though he hasn't mentioned PCR test within the 72 hrs timeframes. Don't think they'll board him without it; could be wrong though, as things are changing all of the time!! Cheers bear |
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Post by Banjo on Dec 19, 2021 7:06:53 GMT 7
I thought that was the "test and go scheme", I'm not really keeping up with it though.
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Post by bear on Dec 19, 2021 7:20:00 GMT 7
If he's done his homework he should be fine.
Over on the other place I've seen reports of travellers thinking "Test & Go" is only applicable to post disembarking and being caught out when trying to board because they'd assumed their fully vaccinated status didn't require the PCR pre 72 hours.
I'm under the impression it's become an IATA condition rather than Thai immigration. As such each airline may have their own individual requirements and THEY are advising people to check with the airline.
If you talk again, it wouldn't hurt to mention it. Cheers bear
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Post by bear on Dec 19, 2021 8:53:21 GMT 7
Authorities will implement special disease prevention protocols for travelers entering Thailand through the Nong Khai border checkpoint starting December 24. Dr Apisamai Srirangsan, assistant spokesperson for the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), said the center will inspect New Year celebration venues in provinces such as Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima and Nong Khai. Nong Khai, which shares a border with Laos, will be the first province to open to travellers under the Test & Go program. Thailand is due to officially open all borders on January 1, including crossings in Mukdahan, Nakhon Phanom and Ubon Ratchathani. / TAT entry processes
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Post by bear on Dec 20, 2021 19:59:53 GMT 7
Thai land borders still closed to most tourists and visa runners
Recent media publicity has highlighted the imminent reopening of some Thai border posts. However, there is no go ahead for most foreigners who wish to see the sights or obtain a new permission to enter Thailand. The imminent openings will initially prioritize border crossings for goods, returning workers and local market stall holders.
The Laos information and culture minister announced yesterday that his country will indeed reopen for tourism in 2022. But the first phase, January to March, will be restricted to organized group tours authorized under the Lao Travel Green Zone Plan. The First Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge, near Vientiane, will formally open in late December, but with those provisos. Meanwhile, the country’s Wattana international airport remains closed to foreigners unless they are “experts, technicians or needed for essential government projects.”As regards Cambodia, meetings are currently being held between the Sa Kaeo provincial governor and Thai disease control officials to reopen several border posts including Poipet and Aranyprathet. Again, there is no provision for land tourists or visa runners to cross frontiers. However, individual tourists can apply via Cambodian embassies worldwide for tourist visas to enter through the international airports of Phnom Penh and Siam Reap under a scheme similar to Thailand’s Test and Go. However, there is no longer a mandatory insurance requirement for 30 day tourists to Cambodia. The Thai-Cambodian land border post at Pong Nam Ron (Hot Water Spring) is no longer a visa-renewing facility for Thai tourists. Few tourists are interested in visiting Myanmar right now and all foreigners need “a compelling case” to enter. The coup-installed National Defence and Security Council has called for limited land border openings with both Thailand and China for trade reasons. However, no date has been set. Myanmar’s Yangon international airport remains closed until 31 December 2021, and likely beyond. Most guest workers in Thailand are Myanmar nationals who are free to stay with renewable Thai labour permits. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s land borders with Thailand remain closed and most international visitors are banned, unless they are long-stay residents under the My Second Home retiree scheme or are specifically visiting Langkawi island. All Thailand’s neighbors have stringent health regulations in place with isolation-quarantine regulations stronger than Thailand’s in most cases. Laos even threatens a jail term for non-wearing of a mask in some public places. Aware of the near-impossibility of leaving Thailand by a land route, the authorities here are allowing 60 days Covid-extensions for international visitors to the end of January 2022, and possibly beyond. Moreover, most Thai longstay visas can currently be obtained or extended without leaving the kingdom. In the past, many applicants for student visas or work permits had to travel over the border to obtain the necessary paperwork in a Thai consulate. For the time being, those journeys are suspended. www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/thai-land-borders-still-closed-to-most-tourists-and-visa-runners-383274
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Post by nomadic on Dec 20, 2021 21:00:50 GMT 7
Cheers for all that. As bad as it is. Just read a story of an Aussie aboard the first flight from SYD to Singapore. He had reems of paperwork to do and said you needed to be very computer savy also to do it. So a long way from being nomadic still, me thinks. Seems things are still getting worse when we all thought the vaccinations would see this over at last. Next variant anyone? Leo in Mai or coffee in Rai is all that is getting me excited for now.
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Post by bear on Dec 21, 2021 10:09:15 GMT 7
‘Test & Go’ Country List To Change
The government is expected to revise its list of “Test & Go” countries following the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 as details on Monday emerged of the country’s earliest recorded local case of the strain.
Gen Supoj Malaniyom, chief of the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration’s (CCSA) operations base, said the list of low-risk countries eligible for the tourism opening scheme will be reviewed and COVID-19 screening measures will be intensified.Gen Malaniyom said the CCSA’s operation centre will identify “high-risk” countries before holding a meeting on Friday to decide on the extent to which the “Test & Go” scheme may need to be revised. If the risk of further infections is considered high, the scheme may be suspended completely. “We’re monitoring the spread of Omicron in other countries, not just the UK. The situation is alarming and we must take necessary precautions,” he said. The entry programme, which started in November, applies to fully vaccinated visitors from specific countries in an attempt to revive the tourism and service industry. “We have to be more stringent [with the “Test & Go” scheme] and COVID-19 screening of travellers,” said Gen Malaniyom. His remarks came after the Public Health Ministry said it would back suspending the programme and require even fully vaccinated arrivals to spend time in the sandbox and state quarantine schemes. Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the ministry forwarded the proposal to the CCSA for consideration after more Omicron cases were detected. Dr Chakkarat Pitayawong-anant, director for epidemiology at the Department of Disease Control, on Monday confirmed the local transmission of the Omicron variant. A 49-year-old-Thai woman contracted the virus from her husband, a Colombian pilot who arrived from Nigeria and entered the country via the sandbox programme on 26th November. The man, who had received two shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine prior to entry, tested negative for COVID-19 upon arrival and received a booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine on 1st December. However, he spent the 4th to the 6th of December suffering from a fever, tiredness and a sore throat. His antigen test was negative. On 7th December he was taken to hospital where the RT-PCR test came back positive. On 10th December both he and his wife were confirmed to have contracted the variant. His wife’s Omicron infection was later confirmed as the country’s earliest recorded case. Dr Pitayawong-anant also backed the temporary reimposition of travel curbs. “To slow the spread of Omicron we need to do three things — slow the arrival rate, especially under “Test & Go”, speed up vaccinations and wear masks,” he said. Dr Supakij Sirilak, director-general of the Department of Medical Sciences, said on Monday that as of 19th December, there were 63 confirmed Omicron cases but noted that the detection rate had increased to 3%, from less than 1% the week before. He also noted that of arrivals who tested positive for COVID-19, about 25% were found to be infected with the Omicron variant. Details of the infections came as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday announced that the country reached its goal of administering 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. chiangmaione.com/featured/test-go-country-list-to-change
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Post by bear on Dec 21, 2021 16:25:37 GMT 7
Thailand Rolls Back Reopening, Slaps All Arrivals With Mandatory Quarantine.
The source gaurds it's copyright zealously, so to see the full story you'll need to use the link.
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Post by bear on Dec 22, 2021 20:43:45 GMT 7
Like a chook let loose with its head cut off; NFBI from one minute to the next. Cheers bear 
No quarantine for travelers already OK’d to visit Thailand: TATAfter pouring cold water on the kingdom’s hope for tourism recovery – and muddying that water with confusing details – tourism officials last night clarified that travelers already approved for entry may proceed as expected.The 200,000-or-so visitors who have received their QR codes under the so-called Thailand Pass program will only need to submit to a second RT-PCR test at the government’s expense, the tourism authority announced, acknowledging the “very fluid and fast changing [sic] situation.” The program was abruptly suspended yesterday in the face of several dozen cases of a worrying COVID-19 variant that, while still under study, is highly transmissible and expected to ignite outbreaks worldwide. The announcement had the effect of pouring gas on the smoldering remains of the tourism industry and fit an established pattern of announce first, figure out details later. The move was widely slammed as an overreaction with little hope of achieving more than keeping families apart and harming the economy. “Virus doesn’t give a shit about Thailand pass, test and go, or sandboxes,” Luke Hubbard tweeted. Once you have local spread it’s just a matter of time.” The COVID-19 task force ordered a stop to all new applications under the tourism regimen in place since November that allowed vaccinated travelers free movement once they had passed a test upon arriving. The authority said additional contact-tracing measures would be imposed, and the second required test would take place at “government-designated facilities [at] no additional cost.” “Applicants who have registered, but have not received their QR Code must wait for their Thailand Pass to be considered / approved,” the authority said in a statement. “Once approved, they can enter Thailand under the scheme they have registered.” Travelers may still apply to enter via the “sandbox” scheme that requires them to remain in a designated travel area and submit to a battery of tests, as well as something the government calls “Happy Quarantine,” which they probably do not realize sounds much worse. The suspension will be reviewed in two weeks. coconuts.co/bangkok/news/travelers-already-okd-to-visit-thailand-will-only-need-2nd-covid-test-tat/
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