As I wrote yesterday, Thailand has made some changes to the Thailand Pass Entry system effective June 1st and I decided to give it a try to see how this works for foreign applicants – I was pleasantly surprised!
Previously the Thai government had promised that the new system would issue the codes very fast and in many cases instantaneously which – to my surprise – was actually the case.
As mentioned in my article yesterday this system is now reserved for foreigners as Thai nationals no longer require the TP registration for entering the country.
You can access the official Thailand Pass website here – don’t fall for any scam sites!
The following details are quoted on the website:
Announcement
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Starting 1 June 2022, Thai nationals (Thai passport holders) are no longer required to register on Thailand Pass and may enter Thailand without quarantine or COVID-19 tests upon arrival. However, they must bring either their certificate of vaccination or, if unvaccinated / not fully vaccinated, a COVID-19 RT-PCR or Professional ATK test result issued within 72 hours before departure.
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Foreign nationals arriving in Thailand by air and by land from 1 June 2022 are required to register on Thailand Pass with details, as follows;
1. Fully Vaccinated Persons must :
- Register on Thailand Pass
- Attach passport and certificate of vaccination
- Attach proof of insurance with at least 10,000 USD coverage for medical treatments in Thailand (COVID-19 test, both prior to and after arriving in Thailand, is no longer required)
2. Unvaccinated / Not Fully Vaccinated Persons must :
- Register on Thailand Pass
- Attach passport and COVID-19 RT-PCR / Professional ATK (NOT self-ATK) test result issued within 72 hours before traveling (must attach on Thailand Pass only)
- Attach proof of insurance with at least 10,000 USD coverage for medical treatments in Thailand
* Starting 1 June 2022, foreign nationals can also use a COVID-19 Professional ATK (self-ATK is not permitted) test result issued within 72 hours before traveling to enter Thailand
* Foreign nationals can also use their Thai social security or certifying letter from employer/agency/company in place of insurance.
* Please be advised that, starting 1 June 2022, every foreign national entering Thailand is required to have either a certificate of vaccination (for fully vaccinated persons) or COVID-19 RT-PCR / Professional ATK test result issued within 72 hours before traveling (for unvaccinated / not fully Vaccinated persons) as the mandatory quarantine option (AQ scheme) is no longer granted.
* Starting 1 June 2022, Thailand Pass QR Code will be automatically issued within 1-2 hours once you have completed your registration. Please note that your entry to Thailand is not determined solely by the Thailand Pass QR Code, but also by the validity of your documents attached therein.
* Unvaccinated / not fully vaccinated travelers who wish to be exempted from quarantine must attach a negative RT-PCR / Professional ATK test result issued within 72 hours before travel in Thailand Pass, including unvaccinated / not fully vaccinated children aged 6 – 17 who travel with unvaccinated / not fully vaccinated parents (children aged under 6 do not have to attach the test result). Please be advised that this does not apply to children aged under 18 who travel with fully vaccinated parents who will be automatically granted the same entry scheme as their parents.
* Applicants can use their approved Thailand Pass QR Code to enter Thailand on different date of arrival if the new date of arrival is within 72 hours (3 days) after the original date of arrival as indicated on the QR Code (no need to re-apply or modify your application). Be advised that for those entering Thailand using an RT-PCR / Professional ATK test result, your test result must remain valid by the time of your departure from the port of origin. Further note that each Thailand Pass QR Code can be used only once.
* Application on Thailand Pass is free of charge
Pretty much self-explanatory, however one elementary change has been made to the validity of the pass as it has now been reverted to the +3 days from original date of entry the traveler applied for. No longer a +/- 7 day range from the said date as it has been for the last few month(s).
This is rather annoying as now you have to register all over again should your travel date change even a day before the date listed on the TPass QR Code.
Here is the article I wrote yesterday about the June 1st changes in general:
I left Bangkok today to spend a week in Malaysia and while sitting at the lounge this morning I decided to get the Thailand Pass matter for the return flight out of the way and registered quickly.
It was all done within 5 minutes as I have all the required documents in a folder on my desktop.
Funny enough the actual code arrived faster in my email than the confirmation email that I had actually applied:
So yes, the codes are being issued pretty much instantly now. I registered with vaccine certificates that have a QR code which in the past was said to speed things up. Not sure if that’s still the case right now.
What I like about this is, that I could theoretically decide to fly to Thailand today and get my code immediately. It also helps people who totally forgot about getting the code at all as they can now do it at the airport and will most likely still make their flight IF they have all the required documents (including insurance certificate – there is no way anyone or anything verified the [genuine] certificate I attached).
Conclusion
I was successful in registering for a new Thailand Pass and this time I received the code within seconds similar to how it worked when I visited Korea and Canada.
The change in the way the Thailand Pass now works means that it has moved from an approval system to a registration system. If this entails further document checks at the point of entry isn’t clear. I pretty much doubt it, that would be counterproductive.
I start to wonder what purpose the Thailand Pass serves at all anymore at this point. The system doesn’t verify anything except maybe the vaccine and even that isn’t possible if the document is analog such as the CDC cards issued in the U.S. (some with a plain ballpoint pen). This could just as well be done by the airline because airlines have checked vaccine passes for things such as yellow fever for a long time.
