To follow up on our previous articles about the quarantine situation for travelers to Thailand, it’s now official that the isolation period for fully vaccinated passengers has been reduced to seven days applying to both ASQ as well as the Sandbox project.
Travelers can now apply through their embassies for fresh Certificates of Entry (issuance was briefly suspended while new regulations were pending) as well as for the Special Tourist Visa which was extended for another year.
Eligible passengers who already got their COE issued will have to amend their application to get a new one and also contact their accommodation to arrange amendment of the booking (as well as refunds of their prepaid rooms – good luck).
Here is my piece from to days ago regarding the reduction in quarantine.
Here are two graphics posted.
This one from the Royal Thai Embassy in Sydney:
Fully vaccinated travelers who are accompanied by unvaccinated children will be subject to the 10 Days Quarantine.
As well as from Tourism Authorities regarding the Phuket Sandbox:
This is definitely a positive sign for the interim period until the quarantine for vaccinated travelers will be dropped entirely from November 1, 2021 as reported by Reuters though I still wait to hear definitive word regarding this from the government.
It remains to be seen how long the COE process and related requirements (Testing, Health Insurance with Covid Coverage etc) will be maintained.
In related news, the government has decided to extend the Special Tourist Visa (STV) for another year. This visa is valid for 90 days and can be extended twice for another 90 days up to a total period of 270 days in Thailand.
The cabinet resolved on Tuesday to extend the Special Tourist Visa (STV) programme for one year until Sept 30 next year to woo well-to-do visitors.
Deputy government spokesperson Traisuree Taisaranakul said the cabinet approved the proposal from the Tourism and Sports Ministry to extend the special visa programme for visitors’ long stays from its original end this Thursday. …
The downside is the stringent application process.
Applications have to be lodged through the Thailand Longstay Company and there is a 10,000 Baht processing fee in addition to visa fees at the Embassy / Consulate. They even require a police clearance certificate as I recently saw by coincidence when renewing my own (different type) visa in Germany. The STV also doesn’t allow a re-entry which would be interesting in case travel is once again possible without too much stress.
The STV website hasn’t been updated yet with the new dates as of today.
Conclusion
It’s good that Thailand is finally kicking things off with a certain speed, reducing the quarantine for the month of October and beyond, reportedly waiving it from November and to extend the STV. Pressure from industry leaders of the hospitality industry might have caused a ruckus in recent weeks as Thailand – despite all these sudden measures – is likely to lose the bulk of it’s high season business from overseas visitors.
It’ll be exciting to see what will happen here over the next 1-2 months. I’m still bracing for some unexpected last minute changes.
