Region: Southeast Asia

Pandemic Travel Alert

OPEN: to international leisure travel

Most recent update: 2022-02-01 - Fully vaccinated travellers departing from any country/territory are eligible for quarantine-free entry

Entry

General Policy

Starting 26 March 2020, all travellers are denied entry or transit/transfer. Travellers with a Certificate Of Entry are exempt and permitted entry. Non-Thai nationals with work permits, or who have been granted permission from Thai government agencies to work in Thailand, are exempt and permitted entry.
Starting 1 November 2021, all travellers arriving by air are required to register with “Thailand Pass”, via https://tp.consular.go.th, in order to travel into Thailand by air (replaces Certificate Of Entry). Not required for transit. Registering at least 7 days before departure date is advised.

Sources:

Leisure Travel

Test and Go
Starting 1 February 2022, fully vaccinated travellers are eligible for quarantine-free entry under the “Test and Go” scheme.
Requirements:
- Fully vaccinated travellers departing from any country/territory are eligible
- Booking of approved SHA Extra+ or AQ hotel for 2 days (Day 1 and Day 5). For a stay of 5 days or departure on Day 5, a confirmed flight itinerary stating departure date is required instead of Day 5 hotel reservation.
Blue Zone Sandbox Program
Fully vaccinated travellers coming to Phuket, Krabi, Phang-nga and Surat Thani (Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan) can travel freely in these “Sandbox” areas for a mandatory stay of 7 days. After completing the 7-day stay within the Sandbox area, travel to any destination in Thailand is permitted.
Requirements:
- Fully vaccinated travellers departing from any country/territory are eligible
- Booking of approved SHA Extra+ or AQ hotel for 7 days. For a stay of less than 7 days, a confirmed flight itinerary stating departure date is required
Alternative Quarantine (AQ)

Travellers, regardless of vaccination status, from any country/territory can travel to any destination in Thailand after staying in quarantine for 7/10/14 days. Requires booking of approved AQ hotel for 7/10/14 days.

(Source: Thailand Pass FAQs )

COVID-19 Related Entry Requirements

Visa

Ways To Enter For Tourism:
Visa Exemption
- Starting 7 December 2020, visa exemptions have been reactivated for eligible passport holders of 56 countries and territories (including USA). Travellers from five countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and South Korea) can stay up to 90 days. Travellers from the remaining points (including USA) can stay up to 45 days. Tourist Visa Exemption does not apply to travellers holding Travel Document for Aliens issued by visa-exempt countries.
- Entry through land/sea border checkpoints under Tourist Visa Exemption is permitted only twice in a calendar year. Nationals of Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, and Singapore however may enter Thailand through such checkpoints more than twice in a calendar year.
- Travellers entering under Tourist Visa Exemption Scheme must possess adequate cash of or equivalent to 20,000 Baht per person or 40,000 Baht per family.
Single Entry Tourist Visa

Stay up to 60 days, may be extended for another 30 days, for a maximum stay of 90 days.

Special Tourist Visa

Starting 29 September 2020, long-staying visitors can apply for the ‘Special Tourist Visa’ from Thai embassies and consulates worldwide. This is a single-entry visa to Thailand, valid for 90 days and can be extended twice, each for a further 90 days.

On 29 September 2021, the Special Tourist Visa scheme (in effect from 30 September 2020, and originally due to end 30 September 2021) was extended until 30 September 2022.
All travellers (including visa-exempt) arriving are required to register with “Thailand Pass”, and must also fulfill the testing, data collection, quarantine, and insurance requirements as listed below.

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Vaccination

The vaccines approved by Thailand include:
- CoronaVac (Sinovac)
- AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria, Covishield)
- Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty)
- Moderna
- COVILO (Sinopharm)
- Janssen (Johnson & Johnson)
- Sputnik V
- Covaxin
- Medigen (For Sandbox only)
- Sputnik Light (For Sandbox only)
To be considered fully vaccinated, final dose must be administered at least 14 days before travel.
Travellers vaccinated with Medigen and Sputnik Light vaccine are eligible to enter Thailand via Sandbox Program only.
Travellers previously infected with COVID-19 are considered fully vaccinated if they have received a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine at any time after their recovery. Proof or medical record of COVID-19 recovery must be submitted with the single-dose vaccination certificate.

(Source: Thailand Pass FAQs )

Testing

All travellers (except Thai nationals arriving through Alternative Quarantine) must provide a COVID-19 (RT-PCR) test result issued within 72 hours before travel to the officers at the airport. Test result must be obtained using the RT-PCR testing technique (ATK is not permitted). Similar testing techniques including PCR, qPCR and RT-qPCR are also accepted. Test result must be in hard copy and in Thai or English language only. Failure to provide a COVID-19 test result may result in being denied entry.
Thailand Pass registration requires payment of fee for 2 RT-PCR tests.

(Source: Thailand Pass FAQs )

Data Collection

Starting 1 November 2021, all travellers arriving by air are required to register with “Thailand Pass”, via https://tp.consular.go.th, in order to travel into Thailand by air (replaces Certificate Of Entry). Not required for transit. Registering at least 7 days before departure date is advised. Currently, Thailand Pass is for travellers who plan to travel to Thailand by air only. Travellers who plan to arrive by land or sea must contact a Royal Thai Embassy/Royal Thai Consulate-General for Certificate Of Entry issuance. Required documents include:
- Copy of passport
- Vaccination Certificate (Not required for entry via Alternative Quarantine)
- Proof of medical insurance (Not required for Thai nationals)
- Hotel Reservation
- Visa, if required
Additional requirements for Special Tourist Visa:
- A letter issued from a state or Federal Bureau of Investigation stating that the applicant has no criminal record
- Evidence of long-stay accommodation, fully-paid for the whole duration of intended stay
Requirements for contact tracing application are not clear. The non-mandatory MorChana contact tracing application was replaced by the mandatory ThailandPlus application (Foreign tourists are now required to download ‘ThailandPlus’ app prior to arrival), but the most recent guidelines (23 February 2022) state that: “All travellers must download and install the MorChana application”.

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Movement Restrictions

Test and Go

No quarantine, but traveller must stay at the hotel while waiting for the results of RT-PCR tests taken on Day 1 and Day 5.

Blue Zone Sandbox Program

Traveller must stay in Sandbox area for 7 days before being permitted to travel to other parts of Thailand.

Alternative Quarantine (AQ)

Traveller must stay in quarantine for 7/10 days and will be able to travel in Thailand thereafter

(Source: Royal Thai Embassy, Washington D.C. - COVID-19 Situation in Thailand )

Insurance

All travellers, except Thai nationals, must have health insurance with a minimum US$50,000 coverage for Covid-19 medical treatment.
Additional health insurance requirements for Special Tourist Visa are detailed at the source (2) linked below.

Sources:

Exit

No info

Other

Note:

The websites of both the Thai Embassy (Washington D.C.) and Thai Consulate-General (Los Angeles) state, for each tourist visa type and for visa exemption, one of the required documents is:
“A copy of flight confirmation/ reservation, showing going from US to Thailand. ”
Not clear whether entry to Thailand from outside US is permitted for holders of US passport.

Pre-pandemic visa rules

Requirements

Passport Validity: 6 months
Other Documents: Immigration officials may ask for an onward/return ticket.
Transit: - Holders of confirmed onward tickets through Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK), are permitted transit without visa in international transit area for up to 12 hours. Passengers must have a connecting flight booked on the same ticket. Not applicable to all airlines: check Timaticweb for details.; - Holders of confirmed onward tickets on Thai AirAsia (FD) or Thai AirAsia X (XJ) through Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK) , are permitted transit without visa in international transit area for up to 12 hours. Passengers must have a connecting flight booked on the same ticket.
Dual Nationality: U.S. policy on dual nationality can be found here.

Additional Notes

The Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State warns: 'Thailand’s entry/exit information is subject to change without notice.'