Thailand: Foreigners with work permits to be allowed back, but..
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Foreigners with work permits or permission from the Labour Ministry (and other some other government agencies) will be allowed to enter the country after registration, under phase 3 of the lockdown relaxation, which begins Monday. The Foreign Ministry made the announcement today.
The Foreign Ministry has told Thailand’s foreign chambers of commerce about the relaxation. Eligible foreign nationals are invited to apply at Thai Embassies in their home countries. They must have health insurance covering Covid-19 treatment valued at at least 3 million baht and a health certificate. They will also be subject to 14 day quarantine on entry to Thailand, either in a state facility or in a private facility, at their own cost.
“Permission to enter does not cover all groups as, we are proceeding step by step.”
Here are the details of the letter sent to all foreign chambers of commerce in Thailand…
1. The Royal Thai Government’s invocation of the
Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations BE2548
(2005) (No I) dated 25 March BE2563 (2020) to control the outbreak of
the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19), closes the entry into the Kingdom of
non-Thai nationals, in accordance with the laws on communicable
diseases and immigration. However, clause 3 of the Regulation issued
under the said Emergency Decree, also allows non-Thai nationals who
either possess a valid work permit or have already been granted
permission from a Thai government agency to work in the Kingdom, to
apply for permission to enter the Kingdom.
2. It is, however, requested that only those in
urgent need to enter the Kingdom submit an application for entry. The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in consultation with the Board of
Investment and the Ministry of Labour, will consider all requests for
entry on a case by case basis, taking into account urgency and economic
importance, among others.
3. The procedure for non-Thai nationals who wish to submit an application for entry are as follows:
3.1 Contact the Royal Thai Embassy or the Royal Thai Consulate-General in their country of departure to apply for ‘Certificate of Entry into the Kingdom of Thailand” at least 10 working days before the date of intended departure. The applicants must present:
(1) a copy of his work permit or copy of a letter of permission issued by a Thai Government agency (in most cases, by the Ministry of Labour) to work in Thailand;
(2) a valid health insurance policy covering all expenditures of medical treatment, including Covid-19 worth at least 100,000 US dollars.
3.2 The Thai Embassy/Consulate-General will forward the application to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok. If the application is approved, the Thai Embassy/Consulate-General will be instructed to issue the “Certificate of Entry into the Kingdom of Thailand” and appropriate visa to the applicant.
4. At the port of departure/embarkation (eg airline check-in counter), the approved applicant is required to present (I) a “Certificate of Entry into the Kingdom of Thailand” issued by the Royal Thai Embassy Consulate-General; (II) a completed and signed “Declaration Form” obtained from the Embassy/Consulate-General; (III) a “Fit to Fly Health Certificate” issued no more than 72 hours before departure; and (IV) health insurance covering all expenditures of medical treatment, including Covid-19, while traveling to Thailand in an amount of at least 100,000 US dollars.
5. Upon entry into the Kingdom, non-Thai nationals will be subjected to a 14-day state quarantine at a government-designated Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) facility at their own expenses, and obliged to comply with the government’s disease prevention measures pursuant to clause 11 of the Regulation issued under Section 9 of the said Emergency Decree.
No date for resumption of international arrivals: PM
In an apparent effort to quell rumours and undue optimism, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is downplaying the notion that international tourists will be allowed to return to Thailand in July. The government had set a tentative deadline of 1 July for lifting all restrictions put in place under the Emergency Decree to combat the spread of Covid-19. Last week it was reported the lifting of restrictions would mean that international arrivals would resume from July 1.
But yesterday the Thai PM said Thailand still has a long way to go in its fight against the virus before international tourists can be allowed to return. He added that the issue hasn’t yet been even discussed by the Cabinet, and that only tourists from certain countries may be allowed to visit Thailand, namely those where the outbreak is deemed to be under control.
When tourists are eventually allowed back in, he said, they’ll face “a number of restrictions” which he didn’t specify. This will include so called “travel bubbles,” using bilateral agreements with individual governments to help limit any further outbreak or second wave of infections.
The idea is similar to those enacted elsewhere as countries try to safely kickstart their tourism sectors.
In May, a “travel corridor” allowed people to travel between Seoul and 10 regions in China, including Shanghai, and in Europe, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania established their own travel bubble on May 15.
Australia and New Zealand have discussed plans to resume travel between the 2 countries, potentially as early as September.
The news comes as Tourism Authority of Thailand’s governor said last week he doesn’t expect international tourists to return to Thailand until later in the year.
“It is still dependent on the outbreak situation, but I think at the earliest, we may see the return of tourists in the fourth quarter of this year.”
If and when foreign tourists can return to Thailand, there will likely be restrictions in place to determine where they can visit. The resumption of any form of tourism will also rely heavily on airlines, most of which are struggling with huge financial losses and grappling with restarting flights in a very new international travel paradigm.
The PM has said he is in no rush to open up the borders, reminding reporters that all the new infections are now coming from repatriating Thais.
“We are not going to open all at once. We are still on high alert, we just can’t let our guards down yet. We have to look at the country of origin to see if their situation has truly improved. And lastly, we have to see whether our own business operators are ready to receive tourists under the ‘new normal’.”
A ban on all international travel in and out of Thailand remains in place until at least the end of June. The CAAT have made no comment at this stage about dates for a possible resumption of flights from Thailand’s international airports. Phuket Airport remains closed to all traffic.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand; thaivisa
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