Visa and Covid Insurance question

You really need to contact the Thai consulate for answers they were extremely helpful to me.
Try this https://thaiconsulatela.org/en/home-2/

As a tourist pre-covid-19, there were only one tourist visa, the 60 days TR. Then there was the 30 days visa exempt, which is no visa. Now those two options doesn't really exist because of the pandemic and a lot of restrictions. IF it goes back to normal this year, I personally doubt it, those two options are the ones to go for as a tourist. The 90 days Non-immigrant O Visa based on retirement is a completely different story. You need to be at least 50 years old and show an income for the last three months (you can check the amount online at the Thai embassy in your home country). Then you'll have 90 days. If coming as a tourist and wish to stay less than 60 days, you just need the 30 days Visa exempt, but you need to extend it another 30 days at the local immigration office. Cost: 1900 Bath. With the 60 days TR, you have 60 days from day one. But you have to apply for it at home. BUT, this is if it goes back to normal. Don't forget that.

I don't understand why you would want to be traveling when things are not normal here. Are you married to a Thai? Do you like spending a lot of time in hotels? One does not know when this Pandemic will be over so why not wait until then as you will have a much better holiday.

Please don't come to Thailand... Everything is closed .. The country will not recover until next year at the earliest. Don't believe what you read ... Wail till the country reopens.. If you want to help the people of Thailand please donate to a charity...

He didn't say he was coming now. He said  maybe in mid-october.

Thanks for all of your feed back guys. My plan is to come to Thailand this fall of winter as it allows.

New question.

COE: When I do my paperwork for my COE am I required to have a round trip ticket purchased of can I get a one way and not be set to a fixed time frame. I may stay 45 days or maybe more and I am considering visiting other countries when I finish in Thailand..Your thoughts?

Ontheriver wrote:

Thanks for all of your feed back guys. My plan is to come to Thailand this fall of winter as it allows.

New question.

COE: When I do my paperwork for my COE am I required to have a round trip ticket purchased of can I get a one way and not be set to a fixed time frame. I may stay 45 days or maybe more and I am considering visiting other countries when I finish in Thailand..Your thoughts?

I can tell you what I went through during my application process in late May.

Things might be different now but I think the general principles still hold:

You definitely are required to present proof of an ”ongoing” ticket as a part of your final package (part 2) that is submitted to Thai immigration.

Many people suggested to me that I use what's called a dummy ticket option, where a third party agency having access to the airline reservation system makes a reservation for you that will expire within a few days.

The instructions I received were that I would pay them a fee between $15 and $30, depending upon the company.

There is even an online option to simply buy a cheap bus ticket to a destination outside Thailand, but that would not work if the borders to that country are closed.

I decided not to take this deceptive and therefore probably illegal action to convince the Thai government that I was entering legally.

In retrospect I think I should have purchased a cheap flight to India.

Of all of the options I saw online, that was probably the best.

Yes I would end up forfeiting that ticket because it probably wouldn't be refundable, but for a price less than $100, that really would have been a good investment in retrospect.

But I didn't do that.

Largely because when I submitted for the first part of the COE submission package, I assumed that I wouldn't need to purchase the Thai insurance and that I would be allowed to do that after they confirmed my basic information.

But that's not so.

When you are filling out the first part of the online COE application, you must have already purchased the insurance.

If you don't (as I didn't) your application will be most certainly denied before you can ever get to part 2.

As for the Visa exemption which normally allows 30 days, the Thai government has temporarily made that a 45-day visa exemption to accommodate the two weeks of quarantine you will spend when you arrive.

The last I heard that 15-day extension on the Visa exemption was set to expire in September.

So you'll want to check with the Thai Embassy and see if that has been extended further.

I have heard through the grapevine that the restriction may be lessened on Phuket Island, but I can't say that for sure.

In any case, if your goal is to be there long-term, after you arrive and have gotten through quarantine, you will then extend your stay with a true new tourist visa (and not simply an approval of an extension of the exemption) and then at that point you will be able to apply for the non-immigrant Visa.

My cousin who lives there in Chiang Rai uses an agent for this purpose and he finds it very convenient and affordable.

It's definitely a doable option, and I think the biggest stumbling block for a lot of people is the requirement to have that ongoing ticket to not only include with your part 2 application but also to present to Thai immigration as you are entering the country.

If I'm able to go from Mexico to Thailand within the next year as I hope, I will definitely use the option of booking a real ticket to a border city in India as my ongoing ticket, just to be absolutely safe.

Good luck to you!

WoW ..Lots of useful information. Can you share the booking agent's contact info? I have contacted one booking agent thinking the same thing that the first trip might worth the extra $$ because the rules are so fluid..

Did you do your 14 days in Phuket? Do I have the option of doing my 14 days in Krabi or Koh Lanta rather than Phuket? What type of visa are you on if you arrived in May?

Walt

Ontheriver wrote:

WoW ..Lots of useful information. Can you share the booking agent's contact info? I have contacted one booking agent thinking the same thing that the first trip might worth the extra $$ because the rules are so fluid..

Did you do your 14 days in Phuket? Do I have the option of doing my 14 days in Krabi or Koh Lanta rather than Phuket? What type of visa are you on if you arrived in May?

Walt

Even though you didn't use the quote function, I'm assuming this reply is to me.

Please reread my post.

I didn't enter Thailand and my ability to advise you about what's going on in Thailand is very limited, and thus I also encourage you to search for most of your answers on the website of the Thai Embassy.

Why don't you bookmark this thread and if and when you successfully enter Thailand, then you can send me a private message and I will be happy to give you the information for my cousin's agent.

Until then you are getting way way way way way ahead of yourself.

Cheers!

Don't come here until everything is back to normal. No COE or other crazy paperwork and no quarantine or sandboxes.

Hello ,

About Phuket, I just finished the sandbox schedule.

When you have your Visa and CEO , you can join Phuket airport only if you come directly from foreign country by plane .

You need to get 3 PCR tests organised by your SHA hotel when you booked ( arrival , one week after and 2 weeks after) for 8000 baths.

You are free  to go where u want in Phuket ( please to note that Lockdown starts a 9:00 PM until 05 AM , all is open except bars are closed  and opened some days , depends on gouvernement, rules changed here every day !)

After 14 days , you can go where u want in Thailand but now there is no plane for BKk or ...

About me , I traveled lat week to Krabi ( Green zone ) by Taxi

I think that this situation will be the same until end of December

Ps : sorry for my poor English writing

Pierre from France

"After 14 days , you can go where u want in Thailand."
You do know there are 29 dark red provinces in lockdown in Thailand at the moment and there are no inter-provincial buses or planes from and to those provinces. So, you have to pick a place in a non-dark red province. Get it?

Well with that advice and the way Thailand is going dealing with Covid you will be dead and I will be 80!

Great information..Can you suggest a modest prices SHA and what did it cost to take a Taki to Krabi?

Thank you!

Leeds: 

I can see from your tenor that you are a bit of a difficult person to be around. Get It?

This is a Ex-Pats form so I guess if you have nothing to add dont..

Have a nice day!

Leeds forever! wrote:

"After 14 days , you can go where u want in Thailand."
You do know there are 29 dark red provinces in lockdown in Thailand at the moment and there are no inter-provincial buses or planes from and to those provinces. So, you have to pick a place in a non-dark red province. Get it?

Instead of trying to reinforce absolute decisions you have about what other people should do, maybe just ask the guy if he has been vaccinated?

I assumed he has been vaccinated so I didn't even think to challenge him about that.

Many people are not nearly as scared of living life as others appear to be.

Your are a size guy!! I think he is just one of those bitter old men but I plan of living life to its fullest!!

I've been living in Thailand for years and I know like 1000% more than you ever will. Your questions shows that you're a tourist and not an expat and know nothing about Thailand and the current situation. Don't you know how to use Google?

Leeds: I never suggested that I was anything other than a tourist and I have no doubt that you do know more than I do, kinda what I posted the question on this site..Why are you so nasty and negative??

Did someone pee in your cherieoos ?

Hello,

I recommend a nice SHA hotel in a Patong , not far from beach and Patong city
The owner Karim  is Belgium ,, English spoken

The price include the 3 PCR tests for 14 days

Tel 062 8947923

About Taxi , roughly 2500 baths

Please note that when you back Phuket that u need a new PCR test 72 hours before ( 2800 baths)

Krabi is in green zone and all is open except bars

Regards

Krabi is an orange province. There are no green ones.

Thank you!

What is the name or the URL for the hotel?

Ontheriver wrote:

Thank you!

What is the name or the URL for the hotel?

Not to attack you, but it's clear you have not followed the advice of reading all the information on the Thai Embassy website or you would have discovered that there are lists of government approved quarantine hotels.

I'm not sure why the moderators have not deleted that person's promotion of a single business, but here is the section of the Thai Embassy website that deals with the approved hotels where you can stay:

thaiembdc.org/asq/

But again as I said before, based on your timeline, you are getting way way way ahead of yourself.

Because these deals are changing all the time and many hotels join the program and many hotels leave the program.

It's not like buying an airline ticket where you can lock in your price.

Hotels will change your fees and the only recourse you have is to cancel your reservation.

Currently the Thai Embassy says that the entire process of having a COE approved is about two weeks.

So I wouldn't get too serious about hotel hunting until three or four weeks before your planned date of arrival.

Also note that hotel booking sites such as Agoda and Booking..com contain specific lists of quarantine hotels you can book through them at the best possible discount, usually.

And I know at least one major hotel group, Marriott, has all of their approved hotels in a special list on their website.

If I were you--and in a way I am, because I am looking to return to Southeast Asia as soon as possible--the first thing I would do is watch for an affordable airline ticket.

Because you were going to need that in order to build the rest of your package, not vice versa.

Get a flight reservation and know your day of arrival, and then about three to four weeks ahead of time you can start getting serious about putting your package together.

Of course you could wait on your airline ticket, but I'm assuming you'd like to find the lowest fare possible, and that's usually obtained well in advance.

I do hope that this is coming across as me trying to be helpful.

Ontheriver wrote:

Thank you!

What is the name or the URL for the hotel?

Also, in order to have the greatest ability to use the site and have people know who you are responding to in context, it is very very highly recommended that you learn how to use the quote system.

I have no idea what device you are using to access the website, but on my Android phone you look in the lower right corner of a post for the word "reply" and click the three dots ••• and you should get a pop-up option to either quote or report the post.

Please begin doing this so that we can give you the best assistance possible.

Thanks!