As we covered yesterday, Thailand will have new entry regulations in place that are valid from a now-confirmed date of January 9, 2023 08:00am local time.
Thai Airways and most other carriers operating flights to Thailand have issued respective notice to passengers and either published them on the website or informed passengers directly via email in case one is associated with an existing reservation.
All flights that land in Thailand on Monday morning after 8:00 am are subject to the new entry rules, which mandate foreign arrivals to present certificates of vaccination to the airline at the time of check-in or will be denied boarding if they can’t be produced.
Here is the email that was just sent to a friend of mine who is taking a Thai Airways flight tomorrow:
Another source is the website of Qantas:
Travel from 9 January 2023
All passengers entering Thailand must provide evidence of being fully vaccinated according to Government of the Kingdom of Thailand guidelines.
- This means having completed a full course at least 14 days before your day of travel. Your vaccination certificate must show your full name as per your passport and be written in English.
- Exceptions apply for:
- passengers travelling on a Thai passport,
- children under 18 years,
- passengers with a medical certificate showing recovery from COVID-19 within 6 months (180 days) of travel, or
- transiting/transfering passengers who are connecting onto another international flight (passengers will be subject to destination country requirements).
- Passengers who are not vaccinated must have a letter from their doctor to provide the medical reason.
Passengers travelling to Thailand from a country where your return may be prevented due to COVID-19 (for example, requiring a negative pre-departure test) must also have travel insurance that includes treatment for COVID-19 for the duration of your time in Thailand plus 7 days. This excludes passengers holding a Thai passport or transit/transfer passengers connecting onto another international flight.
All other passengers may also consider purchasing travel insurance. Qantas Travel Insurance policies (which are available to Australian and New Zealand residents) can provide cover for some COVID-19 related events. Terms, conditions, limits and exclusions apply. Consider the PDS and TMD (AU) or Policy Document (NZ) available on our website. Issuer: Pacific International Insurance.
The list of accredited vaccines is the one we posted last night as well:
There is no expiration date listed mandating the vaccines received have to be recent. Neither is there any booster requirement based on the list above.
Passengers are requested to provide the proof either in digital or hardcopy form, although it’s always better to have key things like these printed on paper in case your cellphone is running out of battery or data coverage once abroad.
Here is my article from yesterday evening:
Up In The Air: New Entry Requirements For Thailand From Monday, January 9th 2023 !?
And John’s writeup of the initial announcement on Thursday:
Thailand Reinstates Covid-19 Vaccination Requirement For All Visitors
Thailand relaxed its requirement for foreigners to be vaccinated in order to travel to the Kingdom last November.
Now all of a sudden, this is supposed to be required again without any advance warning. Travelers who can’t produce the respective documents will then (depending on the airline, tour company, and hotel) most likely have to eat an expensive cancellation fee or lose the majority of their prepaid services. All to appease China or, better said the CPP overlords of the Thai government. What a disaster!
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has released absolutely nothing since the end of December when they last promoted the New Years’ Countdowns. Unbelievable!
Conclusion
The new entry rules for Thailand will come into effect from Monday, January 9th, 2023 arrival in Thailand. This means that flights departing tonight (Sunday) and arriving after 8 am will be affected as well.
Airlines will be responsible for checking the vaccination certificates of travelers as per the above list, and if they can’t be produced, then passengers will be denied boarding. Penalties for missed flights and cancellations will, in all likelihood, be at the passenger’s expense.
I have a feeling we’re suddenly back in 2021, and Thailand is moving backward rather than forward just to please the Chinese, something that could very well backfire in a very bad way. The country was on a rather good trajectory without them after having eased most Covid related rules, both related to entry and daily life. The coming weeks and months will show the end result of this folly, welcoming them back at al costs.
