Big news today as a Thai Government meeting today concluded that the country would end the Test&Go scheme and remove the arrival PCR-Test and hotel booking requirement from May 1, 2022.
This will be valid for fully vaccinated travelers who will still have to carry insurance (min. $10,000 coverage) and utilize the Thailand Pass system which is basically just there to verify the vaccination and insurance status.
Travelers are then “encouraged” to take a self-administered ATK Fast Test and notify authorities if there are any positive results, this won’t be checked however and there is no reporting requirement so this is basically an honor system.
This was relayed by the Prime Minister today who also chaired the CCSA meeting where the relevant groundwork was being discussed.
Bangkok Post has just reported that Test&Go will be terminated by the end of April.
The Test & Go process for foreign arrivals will be terminated at the end of the month and vaccinated travellers will require only self-antigen tests for Covid-19 from May 1, to stimulate tourism and the economy, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Friday.
“Tourism is recovering and antigen tests will be more convenient and faster for visitors,” Gen Prayut said after chairing a meeting of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) at Government House.
“Many countries are relaxing travel restrictions significantly and our country depends considerably on tourism to support our economy,” the prime minister said.
CCSA spokesman Taweesilp Visanuyothin later said that from May 1 there would be no Test & Go entry scheme. The government would have different measures for vaccinated and unvaccinated foreign arrivals by air.
Vaccinated visitors would not be tested for Covid-19 upon arrival anymore. It would be recommended they self-test using antigen kits during their stay. If they tested positive, they could enter their Covid-19 insurance process or take care of their own treatment, he said.
Unvaccinated travellers would be welcomed if they presented proof of a negative RT-PCR test no more than 72 hours before their trip.
They would be quarantined for five days, with another RT-PCR test on day 4 or 5. They would also be advised to do self-antigen testing during their stay. …
This is a drastic turnaround in the approach Thailand takes to international arrivals but since Covid is rife in the country it has made less and less sense to upkeep stringent measures while at the same time countries all over the world are opening without testing requirements. Especially those immediate neighbors of Thailand who have started to welcome many of the tourists that Thailand has lost.
As the article suggests the follow-up ATK tests post-arrival are recommended, therefore not mandatory. I can honestly not imagine anyone taking such a test, let alone reporting a positive result.
Travelers will still have to provide an insurance certificate and of course, their certificate of vaccination verified through the Thailand Pass system.
John has arrived this week in Bangkok under the current Test&Go conditions and this was his experience:
Thailand Pass Test & Go Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Arrival Experience April 2022
It has already been vastly improved since I had my last international arrival in January when two PCR tests and a pre-departure test were still mandatory.
I’m glad this new system is in place just in time when I return in a few weeks’ time as it will save a lot of headaches, concerns, and most especially costs. I will be able to just go home following my arrival.
Conclusion
After several weeks of floating proposals, Thailand has finally decided to drop all testing and accommodation requirements for fully vaccinated travelers arriving in the Kingdom from abroad.
This will come into effect starting May 1, 2022 however I’d like to emphasize that nothing is yet official until the regulation has been published in the Royal Gazette. Since the Thailand Pass will still be required one also has to wait until that system is amended to only accept the two required items: Insurance Certificate & Vaccination Certificate.
