The day has finally come as Thailand is opening to travelers from 63 countries today who are eligible for quarantine free entry provided they are fully vaccinated and use the Thailand Pass App that has just gone live.
Travelers seeking to enter for purposes of tourism or return to Thailand from abroad have to use this website and generated QR code as part of the travel requirements.
I’m expecting there will be a huge rush in the beginning for people to get their applications in so congestion in this system is to be expected, when it comes to filing for a code with entry in the coming two weeks probably the sooner the better.
This is the website for Thailand Pass where the application will be filed.
One of the most important parts of the conditions outlines from where travelers have to originate:
Travel from a port of departure in eligible country / territory and have stayed in eligible countries / territories for at least 21 consecutive days
This is irrespective of their nationality. Thai nationals, residents and expats (long term visa) can return at any time without having to adhere to these 21 days, meaning they can go to one of the eligible countries for a shorter time and simply return.
The list of eligible countries at this point is:
- Australia
- Austria
- Bahrain
- Belgium
- Bhutan
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hong kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Kuwait
- Laos
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Malta
- Mongolia
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Oman
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Republic of Korea
- Romania
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Vietnam
I wrote about the expanded list in my article yesterday:
Thailand Increases List Of Quarantine Exempt Countries To 63, Alcohol Ban Lifted In Blue Zones
For travelers from any other of the listed countries, the Sandbox and Alternative Quarantine program will remain in place and available as well.
Here are the FAQ recently released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
Travelers are required to spend one night at the arrival point and wait for clearance of their negative RT-PCR Test result. There are plenty of hotels now listed as SHA+ for the purposes of this program and a lot of them such as the Marriott Marquis Queens Park are offering a comprehensive package including transfer, 1 night stay and the PCR test. The price in MMQP’s case is 5,800 Baht including tax. Not too unreasonable I think and I’d expect other properties to be in line with this rate.
The First SHA+ Hotels Have Been Certified In Bangkok Ahead Of November 1st Reopening
Conclusion
Thailand has finally opened the Thailand Pass website to request the entry QR code, straightened out entry conditions and even expanded the list of eligible countries to now 63 nations, three times as many as originally expected.
The list is expansive and the conditions for traveling are easy to comprehend. The clarification and fact that the list of countries represents the actually location where travelers have stayed prior to arriving in Thailand also makes much more sense, rather than simply attaching it to the nationality of the traveler.
If you’re planning on arriving in Thailand within the next 7-14 days I’d recommend to start the application process fast before it gets clogged up.
