How to travel to Thailand during COVID-19

In November, entry to Thailand should be possible for vaccinated tourists without quarantine!

This is very good news for us — if it also so arrives. We had already planned more often to travel to Thailand and have then ultimately always decided against it due to the strict entry requirements and also the associated, very high costs. Since the beginning of the pandemic there are rumors that Thailand will open the borders again or that it will be possible to travel to Thailand under certain conditions.

Projects like the Phuket Sandbox, which were eventually extended to Koh Samui and other districts, have made it possible to travel to Thailand without a long quarantine period in the selected ASQ hotels in Bangkok for some time now. Thus, although one has to book a SHA+ hotel in these projects (now only for 7 days instead of 14 days) and with a negative PCR test after entry, one can then move freely within Phuket. After the stay in the SHA+ hotel and existing negative test, it is then also allowed to travel outside of Phuket the country.

From November onwards, it should even be possible again to enter Thailand — for fully vaccinated persons from certain countries — without quarantine. Whereby “without quarantine” is not quite correct. You have to stay in a quarantine hotel for one day after entering the country, you have to do a PCR test and if this test is negative, you can travel all over Thailand without any further restrictions. In contrast to the 14 days quarantine for a “normal” entry is one day significantly less but it is still a short quarantine, which you must undergo.

But also here it is of course always to note that regardless of the entry requirements and possible restrictions for tourists, there are still restrictions and rules within the country, which must be observed for locals as well as for tourists. Although these are gradually being relaxed, some things and activities — such as visiting a club or a bar are still not allowed.

Which visa for the trip to Thailand?

If you travel to Thailand and want to stay longer than 30 days, you have to apply for a visa beforehand. Depending on how long you want to stay, how often you want to enter and for what reasons you are traveling to Thailand, there are many different types of visas. A list of the possible visas and their regulations can be found here: https://www.thaigeneralkonsulat.de/de/visaarten-und-erforderliche-unterlagen.html

However, I would recommend anyone who wants to travel to Thailand to contact the relevant foreign office or the Thai Embassy beforehand and ask them again what the documents and conditions are. You can find most of the information online, but especially during Covid-19 there are so many changes in the rules that the information online is not always up to date.

We have been in Sri Lanka for about two months as two Germans, fully vaccinated. Even if Germany is one of the countries that are allowed to enter again without quarantine from November, we are unfortunately not one of them. A prerequisite is namely that one has been in the country of origin for at least 21 days. Therefore we decided to stay in the Phuket Sandbox and now we want to apply for the Single-Entry Visa for Thailand.

The application for the visa

To be on the safe side and to be able to present all necessary documents for the visa, we called the Thai Embassy in Colombo in advance. There we also — unlike in Germany — directly reached someone and shortly thereafter received a check list by mail. What I find very impressive and also super good is that the Thai Embassy of Sri Lanka responds very quickly to e-mails and the questions asked in them.
For the Single-Entry Visa we need the following documents:

• our passport
• two recent passport photos/per person
• the completely filled out visa application
• a copy of the first page of the passport
• bank statements of the last 6 months with a final account balance of at least 500€
• the printed confirmation of the appointment
• the flight booking
• the visa fee in cash (about 30–40€)

For the application of our visas we have already sent all documents (excluding the flight booking visa fee and the appointment confirmation) to the authority in advance by mail. Here we also got an immediate feedback if the documents were incorrect or something was missing. For example, Marc still had to show a confirmation of his employment with the company. Afterwards, we also received an appointment via e-mail to apply for the visa on site.

Since we want to get to Thailand as soon as possible, we decided to go to Colombo for one extra day to apply for the visas. Early in the morning we apply for the visas and then drive back to Galle. The drive to Colombo takes about 2.5–3 hours and back the same. We have now organized a driver for the whole day and pay 65§ for both routes.

After we have applied for the visa, it takes about 5 days until it can be issued. Then we have to go to Colombo again to pick up the visa and afterwards we have to apply online for the CEO or Thailand passport. In this regard, there should also be some changes at the beginning of November, so we do not know yet which type we have to apply for. But this will take another 3 days.
Since we have booked into our apartment in Galle until the beginning of November, we will then go to Colombo, pick up our visas, book a hotel room there and then wait a few more days to also get the COE or the Thailand passport.

The travel planning

We have already made the preparations for the visa and now we only have to print out the documents in a copy store. After that we go to the visa application and then still the CEO or the Thailand passport. For the CEO or Thailand passport the following documents are needed:

• Passport
• Visa
• completed Declaration Form (for the CEO)
• COVID-free health certificate
• Proof of international health insurance
• Flight booking
• Hotel booking of a SHA+ hotel for 7 nights

In addition we need a negative PCR test before departure, which must not be older than 72 hours. In addition, you must have already booked 2 more PCR tests in Phuket. One directly after arrival and the second on the 6th day after entry. In this regard, however, there may still be changes, so we want to wait as long as possible with the bookings.

We have already picked out a flight and also a SHA+ hotel. However, we had already booked a flight and also an ASQ quarantine hotel in Bangkok before the start of our trip and these were then cancelled at short notice without giving any reasons. Therefore, we now wait as long as possible with such bookings and go on the safe side that we also get the visa and are up to date in terms of entry requirements and and and.

If everything works out as we expect — and I believe and hope that it will — we will travel from Sri Lanka to Thailand at the beginning of November. There we will be at the same time as Marc’s uncle and we are both very happy to do something with him and also very happy to be back in Thailand. It feels a bit like we are coming back to a kind of “home”. We are also thinking all the time what we want to do first. For me, a roti is at the top of the list. But also going to the movies in Bangkok, walking through a street food market or working in a cafe are things we can’t wait to do!