We have covered the opening of two Sandboxes of Phuket and Koh Samui in Thailand despite the rising overall Covid-19 rates in the country.
Last week (read more here), I wrote that I had purchased a premium ticket on Singapore Airlines for the end of August to take me to Phuket, and I decided to begin the Certificate of Entry process yesterday.
You can access the Thailand COE website here.
Instructions on the website:
YouTube Video:
You need to go scroll through the following instructions whenever accessing the website:
You then need to fill out the following web form:
Not sure why there was a requirement to have “documents for further consideration,” but I double uploaded one file.
You get a number that you can use to pull up the status of the application on the website.
You essentially need to have the following information available BEFORE submitting the form:
An electronic image of your passport information page
An electronic image of the vaccination certificate
Proof of insurance
When uploading the images, you need to attach them to the form first by browsing and then uploading each individually.
You need to confirm few times that everything in the form is correct before submitting the form.
You then get an email that they have started to process the form, and I realized a problem with my sex. So you can go back using the file number, your passport number, first and last names, and modify the information that I did.
A couple of hours later, I received a call from the Thai Embassy in Helsinki asking why my EU Covid-19 certificate only shows the first jab.
I had attached, in Finnish, the proof of vaccination of both shots + page from my Yellow Fever Certificate booklet with names and stamps that both jabs had been processed. Unfortunately, there is a data transfer delay with several healthcare IT systems in Finland, and it can take weeks before the second shot is registered in the system used for the EU cert.
The embassy lady told me that if the application is not approved, I should reapply when the certificate is complete.
I wrote a few lines about why the EU cert didn’t show both jabs and uploaded it to the documents.
Singapore Airlines ticket to Sandbox:
Purchased Singapore Airlines Paris – Phuket (Sandbox) Business Class Ticket
Singapore Airlines email about entry and transit requirements:
Singapore Airlines Email: “Changes To Your Travel Advisory” (My Sandbox Ticket)
Conclusion
This is the first step to getting the COE. The second phase, which you need to complete in two weeks, is to prepay the hotels and get them to issue the SHABA certificates, pay for the Covid-19 tests in Thailand, and issue the airline ticket to/from Thailand I already have.
If the COE’s first step is approved, I plan to approach the two hotels that I have booked and make sure that they can charge my CC on file in two weeks (I want to see how the situation evolves in Thailand) and that they have no issues of providing refunds if the Sandbox-program is canceled by the time I am scheduled to arrive.
As of Thursday morning, I have not received approval from whoever processes these in Finland or Thailand.
