Thailand Entry Schemes

UPDATED 1ST MARCH

Thailand has opened it’s doors further to welcome overseas visitors to enjoy their beautiful country and both fully vaccinated and non vaccinated travellers are able to enter under 3 entry schemes
The schemes Test & Go, Sandbox and ALQ Quarantine can be applied for through the Thailand Pass a Government & Health web based system and from our personal experience and that of our guests this blog contains an insight into procedures and what to expect on your arrival into Thailand after which it is all about relaxing and and enjoying a wonderful holiday.

In general applying for a Thailand Pass involves a number of documents relating to your stay to be uploaded to the system in order to receive approval in the form of a QR code.
When booking your villa, it must be designated as SHA Plus approved and it plays a key role in getting approval of the Thailand pass. The list of approved villas or their management company will appear in the drop down menu in the application.

The standard waiting time for approval is 3 - 6 days however if you have all the documents ready and they are in the right format then approval can be received in a matter of hours and you will be on the plane in no time. 

Further details for obtaining your Thailand Pass are set out in the graphic towards the end of this blog

TEST & GO

The Test & Go scheme (also known as "Exempt from Quarantine") for fully vaccinated visitors is proving to be the most popular of the schemes. With effect from 1st March, overseas visitors need to book their first night in Thailand at SHA Plus approved villa before moving on to any other accommodation elsewhere.

ACCOMMODATION BOOKING

1. When booking your Day 1 in a SHA+ villa the managment or villa agent will require the following details for each member of the party travelling.

Name - booking period required – nationality - passport number - date of birth - phone number - email Address and flight details.

2. The villa accommodation needs to be paid in full together with the cost of an arrival RT-PCR test for each member of the party travelling (2,200THB) for a Certificate of Confirmation of Booking to be issued for each of the guests to upload for their Thailand Pass application.  

On arrival at the airport you will be given an ATK for self-testing on day 5/6 and the result is to be uploaded on a Government Ministry of Health App.

It is not possible to leave your accommodation after day 1 testing without a negative result and if you wish to leave before the 6^th/7^th day antigen test it is only possible on a direct flight out of Thailand

SANDBOX SCHEMES

The Samui Sandbox entry scheme has been in place for several months and is ideal for those fully vaccinated visitors arriving by air from overseas wishing to enjoy a minimum of 7 days in a particular sandbox destination before moving on to explore the rest of Thailand.

We are delighted that a selection of our private villas have now been approved to enable guests to book straight into their villa after receiving the RT-PCR test on arrival.  As with Test & Go, guests will be required to take a self administered a ATK test on day 5/6.

The conditions for application for the Test & Go and Sandbox schemes are similar as set out in the image below 

Check out our COLLECTION OF SHA+ VILLAS IN THAILAND

To view all our Thailand villas please visit our Thailand Retreat website

ALQ - Alternative Quarantine

Unvaccinated travellers will need to stay in quarantine for 7/10 or 14 nights stay on entering Thailand after which they will be able to travel throughout Thailand.

A booking will need to be made in a designated ALQ hotel (fully paid or least the equivalent of 15,000THB deposit) and include the fee for 2 RT-PCR tests for 7/10 night stay and a fee for 3 tests if a 14 night stay.

All oher documents required for the Thailand Pass are the same as Test & Go and Sandbox schemes.

THAILAND PASS

Applications for any of the above sandbox schemes can be processed through the Thailand Pass - an online digital platform set up for streamlining the entry process to Thailand.

To obtain a QR entry code or Thailand Pass ID, travellers will have to:

• Register at Thailand Pass web portal https://tp.consular.go.th/en/plan
• Input personal details
• Choose which sandbox scheme and name of accommodation
• Submit the required information and documents (jpeg format))
• Wait for the Thailand Pass approval QR code (average 3 - 7 days)

Requirements

• Bio page of passport (6 mths remaining until expiry)
• Any Visa (if not visa exempt country)
• Flight Number and arrival date
• Vaccine Certificate (fully vaccinated = at least 2 shots of approved vaccine)
• Health Insurance Certificate with medical cover of at least $20,000 including Covid cover
• Confirmation of prebooked fully paid accommodation, airport transfer and payment of 1 arrival RT-PCR For each guest.

There is a support email/telephone contact for the Thailand Pass should applicants experience difficulties

A pre-departure negative RT-PCR test is required taken within 72 hours before departure.

FLIGHTS

International flights arriving in Bangkok

There are a number of international flights operating to Bangkok's international airport and sealed flights are available for the Test & Go and Sandbox schemes to Koh Samui & Phuket but must be booked on one ticket. Travellers are held in a transit area in Bangkok before boarding the onward flights that operate daily at the current time. If the two flights are booked on 2 separate tickets, the current rules are that the traveller will have to choose the Test & Go or Sandbox scheme for Bangkok first before getting a flight to Koh Samui or Phuket.

The Chon Buri and Trat sandboxes can be accessed by a pre-arranged vehicle on sealed routes. 

There are a number of airlines that also fly direct to Phuket and the Phang Nga and Krabi sandboxes can be accessed by pre-arranged vehicle on sealed routes. 

The sealed flight numbers with Bangkok Airways from Bangkok to Koh Samui are PG 5125 (12.00pm) and PG 5171 (5.00pm) and they do not carry any domestic travellers from Bangkok.

Bangkok Airways also operated flights from Singapore to Koh Samui 3 times a week and those from other countries can transit through Singapore providing they are on a list of Singapore's approved airlines. Again, if flying with an international airline to Singapore and onward travel to Koh Samui with Bangkok Airways, it is recommended that both flights are on one ticket as unless you plan a long stop-over in Singapore the entry requirements for Singapore are occasionally quite strict

CHECK IN

The Thailand Pass QR code together with copy printouts of the relative documents plus the results of the negative test will need to be presented at check in and will be needed again by immigration on arrival at your chosen destination Thailand province. The documents can also be shown on your phone as images however it is quicker to pass over the printouts rather than search for each of the images with a queue growing behind you.

ARRIVAL

On arrival at the airport staff will check your temperature and double check your documents and place them in order for immigration. After collecting your baggage you will be guided to the testing area for a very gentle nose swab and given an ATK self-testing kit to use on day 6/7 the results of which neds to be uploaded to a Government Health App. Help will be on hand if guests have difficulty with the app.

Outside the airport, transport wil be waiting for you to take you to your chosen villa/hotel.

Happy Travels