Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19Situation Administration is allowing 11 groups of tourists to enter the Kingdom with shortened quarantine times for those who have been fully vaccinated. Those who are vaccinated are able to complete a 7 day quarantineupon entering as long as they can show proof along with registering at Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health.
The registration process or approval by the World Health Organisation must be completed no less than 14 days before travelling. For those who are unable to present a valid vaccine certificate, an original paper or a print-out of an online vaccine certificate, to the International Port Health Control at the port of arrival, will be subjected to no less than a 10 day quarantine.
For those who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19, the mandatory quarantine time will be cut from 14 days to 10 days. But, for travellers coming from countries that feature a mutated strain of Covid, none of the reduced quarantine measures apply. Countries with mutated strains include: Botswana; Cameroon; Congo; Ghana; Kenya; Mozambique; Rwanda; South Africa; Tanzania; Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Thailand’s National Communicable Disease Committee has also updated its conditions on issuing a Covid-19 vaccination electronic or paper certificate for those already residing in Thailand. In order to receive the certificate, the vaccine taken, must be approved and registered with the MoPH, or approved by the WHO to be eligible for issuance.
All international arrivals still must undergo an RT-PCR test on certain days during their quarantine periods. And, they must have all other documents and requirements in order before arriving.
Documents include:
-A valid visa or re-entry permit
-A Certificate of Entry issued by the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate
-A Covid-19 health insurance policy with a minimum coverage of US$100,000
-A confirmation of Alternative State Quarantine hotel booking
-A medical certificate with a RT-PCR laboratory result indicating that Covid-19 is not detected and issued no more than 72 hours before departure
All arrivals are still subjected to being traced by a tracking system for a specific period of time. The 11 groups of people currently permitted to enter Thailand include:
1. Thai nationals.
2. Persons with exemption or persons being considered, permitted or invited by the Prime Minister, or the head of responsible persons accountable for resolving state of emergency issues to enter the Kingdom, pertaining to necessity. Such consideration, permission, or invitation may be subject to specific conditions and time limits.
3. Persons on diplomatic or consular missions or under International organisations, or representatives of foreign governments performing their duties in the Kingdom, or persons of other international agencies as permitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pertaining to necessity, including their spouse, parents, or children.
4. Carriers of necessary goods, subject to immediate return after completion.
5. Crew members who are required to travel into the Kingdom on a mission, and have a specific date and time for return.
6. Non-Thai nationals who are spouses, parents, or children of Thai nationals.
7. Non-Thai nationals who hold a Certificate of Residence, including their spouses and children.
8. Non-Thai nationals who have a work permit or have been granted permission to work in the Kingdom in accordance with the Thai laws, including their spouses and children, or foreign workers who have been granted exemption from the government to temporarily stay in the Kingdom and permitted to work through their employers or licensees who are permitted to bring in foreign workers to work in the Kingdom.
9. Non-Thai nationals who are students of educational institutions approved by Thai authorities, including their parents or guardians, excluding students of non-formal educational institutions in accordance with the law on private schools, and of other similar private educational institutions.
10. Non-Thai nationals who are in need of medical treatment in Thailand, and their accompanying persons. However, this shall not include medical treatment for Covid–19.
11. Non-Thai nationals who have been granted permission to enter into the Kingdom under special arrangements between Thai government agencies and other countries, or persons or groups of persons who have been granted permission by the Prime Minister upon the submission for consider after the examination and review by the Ad Hoc Committee for the Consideration of the Relaxation of the Enforcement of Measures to Present and Suppress the Spread of the Communicable Disease Coronavirus 2019, and shall comply with disease prevention measures determined by the Ad Hoc Committee.
Ann Carter is an award-winning journalist from the United States with over 12 years experience in print and broadcast news. Her work has been featured in America, China and Thailand as she has worked internationally at major news stations as a writer and producer. Carter graduated from the Walter Williams Missouri School of Journalism in the USA.
