Rants, Stupid Shit and Coronavirus in Thailand

[Huacho]

The most you have to do is flash a vaccine card or negative test. Why does Thailand complicate things so much?

Could it possibly be because of all the assholes flying around with fake vax cards like you brag about doing?

[Mr Enternational]

Getting the Thailand pass was really easy. But the risk of testing positive on arrival or day 6 and being sent to a hospital is the crap part. Gave me too much anxiety in my first week of vacation.

I will not make a new trip to Thailand until the mandatory PCR testing is over and / or the nightlife is more open.

The juice is not worth the squeeze. There are too many countries that you can go to right now that do not have the hoops of "applying" for a pass beforehand, mandatory insurance, taking 10 million Covid tests, and quarantining. The most you have to do is flash a vaccine card or negative test. Why does Thailand complicate things so much?

[Finnish Fucker]

Pretty sure not many people will go through the hassle of getting a Thailand Pass, purchasing asymptomatic COVID insurance, pay for a RT-PCR test before departure and again on arrival, be stuck in a SHA+ quarantine hotel for 1 night, only to leave a day or 3 later. But if you don't mind risking 10 days hospitalization there is nothing stopping you from leaving on day 3 or 4 if you tested negative. Keep in mind you will be there a minimum of 11 days if you test positive on arrival. You also may raise red flags for a sharp Immigration Officer too.
If you are really interested in doing this, ask on a Visa board like The Thaiger or AseanNow.

Getting the Thailand pass was really easy. But the risk of testing positive on arrival or day 6 and being sent to a hospital is the crap part. Gave me too much anxiety in my first week of vacation. And combined with all the bars closing at 21, no agogos open, this trip was definitely the worst what I have experienced in Thailand in my 14 years of travelling. Not worth the stress if you have 2 weeks vacation. If I´d have 2 months trip then I would not give a shit if I get infected or not.

I will not make a new trip to Thailand until the mandatory PCR testing is over and / or the nightlife is more open.

[Explorer8939]

Exactly. This is not needed for Cancun or Mexico City, but is required for Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos. So what disinformation are you talking about? If you had actually been there then you would have known this instead of thinking you can google your way through the rest of your life.

That mold in the basement must be getting to you. Come out and live real life and go somewhere cool like the rest of us. Or maybe your kids are doing the right thing keeping you locked down there. You know grandpa is not allowed to come out for any fresh air. Just make sure his computer stays charged.

The questionnaire is a vestige from last year, and has officially been abandoned. There is nobody to process any questionnaire.

[Downandup]

Hello folks,

First time on ISG. Nice to meet you all.

I am flying in to Thailand this week on the 30-day stay and have some questions regarding visa and extensions; if any of you could help me out with them that would be great:

1. Is it possible to apply for a tourist visa after I arrive in Thailand? Google seems to say no but I couldn't find a clear answer.

2. Is the maximum extension on the 30-day stay the 60-day Covid extension? Making the maximum stay 90 days? Any way to stay longer than 90 days, perhaps through multiple extensions?

Oh boy! You won't be flying into Thailand unless you are heading to Phuket or another sandbox area for two weeks, once you get to the airport you will have to show your Thailand Pass to prove this. The visa waiver program is suspended right now and does not restart until February 1st. What's more there are testing requirements that it appears that you are unaware of and should have been checking on since you booked as the requirements keep changing.

[Allover]

Governments are flip flopping as they balance the views of their focus groups with those of their more draconian overlords. Travelling anywhere in these times, as I am, involved a lot of extra uncertainty. Added to that, one has to deal with all kinds of min or ass holes, some of whom let the authority go to their heads. To take an ongoing example. And let's hope Mr Entertainment or some other ghetto dweller does not weigh in.

Thanks for supporting my decision but I'm very unimpressed with the rest of your post.

[Mr Enternational]

The Questionnaire of Identification of Risk Factors in Travelers. Once

Completed, arrivals to PVR International Airport will receive a QR.

Complete the health questionnaire.

Exactly. This is not needed for Cancun or Mexico City, but is required for Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos. So what disinformation are you talking about? If you had actually been there then you would have known this instead of thinking you can google your way through the rest of your life.

That mold in the basement must be getting to you. Come out and live real life and go somewhere cool like the rest of us. Or maybe your kids are doing the right thing keeping you locked down there. You know grandpa is not allowed to come out for any fresh air. Just make sure his computer stays charged.

[IGotBottle]

Hello folks,

First time on ISG. Nice to meet you all.

I am flying in to Thailand this week on the 30-day stay and have some questions regarding visa and extensions; if any of you could help me out with them that would be great:

1. Is it possible to apply for a tourist visa after I arrive in Thailand? Google seems to say no but I couldn't find a clear answer.

2. Is the maximum extension on the 30-day stay the 60-day Covid extension? Making the maximum stay 90 days? Any way to stay longer than 90 days, perhaps through multiple extensions?

[Banana Boi]

What if you are not staying 5 days? You want to go over just for the weekend. Can you just leave on day 3 or4?

Pretty sure not many people will go through the hassle of getting a Thailand Pass, purchasing asymptomatic COVID insurance, pay for a RT-PCR test before departure and again on arrival, be stuck in a SHA+ quarantine hotel for 1 night, only to leave a day or 3 later. But if you don't mind risking 10 days hospitalization there is nothing stopping you from leaving on day 3 or 4 if you tested negative. Keep in mind you will be there a minimum of 11 days if you test positive on arrival. You also may raise red flags for a sharp Immigration Officer too.

If you are really interested in doing this, ask on a Visa board like The Thaiger or AseanNow.

[Locamotive]

No one is going to sign up for this PCR test on the 1st and 5th day crap. I predict these rules will be amended over the next few days after they hear all the negative feedback people have. Then it will be posted in the Royal Gazette.

Example how silly this rule is. Guy flies in to Bangkok and does 1 night stay in Sha+ hotel. He came back to Thailand to be with his family in Rayong. So after 1 night he drives 3-4 hours to Rayong. On the 5th day he has to book a SHA+ hotel for 1 night and drive 3-4 hours back to Bangkok to get a PCR test. If he had COVID he's already spread it around Rayong so at the very least let him just get the 5th day COVID test in Rayong.

I think the thought process was that people would be lazy and book 5 straight nights at the Test and Go hotel instead of booking nights 1 and 5. One of the things SHA+ hotels were complaining about is that people only stay 1 night and leave.

What if you are not staying 5 days? You want to go over just for the weekend. Can you just leave on day 3 or4?

[ElMexicant]

Staying at an airbnb for the first time ever in Thailand and the owner upon me checking in informed me that I had to file paperwork with immigration with my passport showing my current residency. But I recalled reading in the Cambodia forum that travel agents would for a fee go to immigration on your behalf for a fee. So I stopped by a local visa agent and for 500 baht they went and filed the paperwork with my passport, just had to pick it up the next day. Anyway got their LINE ID and said I would be stopping by to do the 30 day extension and was informed I could now increase that to 60 days for an extra 2000 baht. Have plans to go to Cambodia but for 2000 baht this gives me some extra insurance if I am delayed, flight cancelations etc.

This is from Richard Barrow. No more COVID extensions for Non Immigrant Visas like work or education. Looks like they are kicking them out and those who came on VOA. You will also have to do a 30 days automatic extend before applying for a 60 day COVID extension.

🔴 Good news for people on the special covid stamp. On this Immigration letter released today, it says that the deadline to apply for the stamp has now been extended to 25th March 2022. However, they add that they will be even stricter than before.

I will need to consult with some visa experts, but it looks like people with Visa on Arrival (Section 3) and Non-Immigrant Visa (Section 5) can no longer use the covid stamp to extend their stay in #Thailand. I will add more information soon.

Update: I've spoken with someone in Immigration and this is what I understand from that conversation:

If you have VOA you cannot change to Covid stamp.

If you have a Tourist Visa you can change to Covid stamp after you've extended it for 30 days.

If you have a Non be, for example, and you lose your job, you cannot change to Covid stamp.

On some other questions they will get back time. But Immigration should be releasing some infographics tomorrow.

[PedroMorales]

I wish we had a definitive answer to this question. Either way the thought of having to quarantine for an extra 10 days, even in a nice hotel, will keep me away from Thailand for the time being.

Governments are flip flopping as they balance the views of their focus groups with those of their more draconian overlords. Travelling anywhere in these times, as I am, involved a lot of extra uncertainty. Added to that, one has to deal with all kinds of min or ass holes, some of whom let the authority go to their heads. To take an ongoing example. And let's hope Mr Entertainment or some other ghetto dweller does not weigh in. In ordinary times, you have two passports, one for the Peoples Republic of China and another for the Republic of China (IE Taiwan). Taiwanese I have bonked have claimed they ran into problems many times with airport / immigration staff mistaking one passport (and visa criteria) for the other. Fancy where we stand with non stop Covid flip flops.

We have seen such BS already with countries in Africa being on green lists (unrealistic for logistics) and others being on other lists. In the civilized world, a Dutch could fly from Portugal with no problem, or go from Spain to Portugal with no problem and then fly onwards but could not fly from Spain. Then the situation was reversed, Spain ok, Portugal not ok. If a simple hop like that is so problematic, what chance has a longer one (with stop overs)?

[Allover]

But is it a steadfast rule that you have to go to hospital if you tested positive on either day 1 or 5 or can you stay isolated in your hotel?

I wish we had a definitive answer to this question. Either way the thought of having to quarantine for an extra 10 days, even in a nice hotel, will keep me away from Thailand for the time being.

[Explorer8939]

The latest Test and Go rules.

[Tomasb]

That's a good description to line out the risk you undertake by going to Thailand now. Because Omicron virus does not always appear on first test, there is always the potential that you were infected on your journey to Bangkok so even if you stayed in your hotel for day 2- 5, you could still test positive because of a prior contact. The whole reason for the the additional testing on Day 5 is because some tourists and citizens entering the country in late 2021 were tested as negative and then discovered afterwards that they had been infected on their flight or traveling to airport or whatever.

But is it a steadfast rule that you have to go to hospital if you tested positive on either day 1 or 5 or can you stay isolated in your hotel?

It would still suck as you pointed out as that means up to 16 days you are in limbo, either in a hospital or quarantined. The risks might be small but who knows given the virulence of Omicron. IMHO, I am taking a hard pass on traveling there at the present time. Also, since the clubs are closed and the drink curfew is at 11 pm, it is also another reason not to bother. It seems the joy has left the city for late night carousing, mongering, or just wandering about in the wee hours.

You are correct you can get the 2nd test in any province but not every province will have SHA+ hotels. We'll see the SHA+ hotel list and what the Royal Gazette ends up publishing after the backlash this new proposal generates.

Correct Tomas. Now your 1st 16 days in Thailand could be wasted. Day 1 SHA+ hotel waiting for test. Days 2-5 for anyone smart is really don't go with any girls and more or less stay in your hotel. Day 5 SHA+ hotel waiting test. Day 6 test is positive even though you are symptomatic. Days 6-16 you're in a hospital with all other COVID Farang. At least for other countries you get to stay in the hotel for quarantine and not go to a hospital.