The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) would like to provide an update on the latest announcement published last night (15 December, 2021) in the Royal Thai Government Gazette that further ease the rules for travellers entering Thailand under the Living in the Blue Zone Sandbox programme, effective from 16 December, 2021.

 

• Eligible travellers
  • Thai citizens.
  • Foreign travellers including diplomats, guests of the government, Thai work permit holders, students and their family, and patients seeking medical treatment.
• Eligible countries
  • All countries/territories except African countries.
    • Currently, travellers from 8 African countries – Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, which are listed as high-risk countries are not allowed to enter Thailand.
    • The rest of the African countries are listed as low-risk countries. Travellers from these countries or those who have stay in these countries in the last 21 days will not be eligible to enter Thailand under the Sandbox Programme.
  • Returning Thais and eligible foreign expatriates, who previously travelled from Thailand, are exempt from this requirement, except for those from the 8 high-risk African countries.
• Points of entry
  • By air at Thailand’s international airports.
  • By land at Nong Khai’s border checkpoint, which will reopen from 24 December, 2021.
  • By water, provided that everyone on board the vessels meet the vaccination, testing, and entry requirements.
• Eligible destinations within Thailand
  • 8 Blue Zone Sandbox provinces.
  • Designated Blue Zone Sandbox districts/islands within 18 other provinces.

Pre-Arrival Requirements

All eligible travellers travelling from eligible countries must have the following documents for entering to Thailand:

• A Thailand Pass, which can be applied via https://tp.consular.go.th/.
• A Medical Certificate with an RT-PCR lab result indicating that COVID-19 is not detected issued no more than 72 hours before travelling.
  • Travellers under 6 years of age, travelling with parents with a negative RT-PCR test result within 72 hours before travelling, are not required to have a pre-arrival negative RT-PCR test result and can have a saliva test when entering the Kingdom.
  • For arrivals by water, everyone on board the vessels must have a medical certificate with an RT-PCR lab result indicating that COVID-19 is not detected within the officially specified time frame. Anyone on aboard with a history of COVID-19 infection within a period between 14-90 days must have a medical certificate of recovery.
• An insurance policy with coverage no less than US$50,000.
  • Thais and foreign expatriates under Thailand’s national healthcare coverage are exempt from this requirement.
• A confirmed payment for at least a 7-day stay at an approved accommodation; such as, a SHA++ hotel, within a Blue Zone Sandbox destination. The prepayment must also include the expenses for the RT-PCR and self-antigen (ATK) tests.
• A Certificate of COVID-19 Vaccination/Recovery
  • Everyone 18 years of age and older must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 with an approved vaccine at least 14 days before travelling to Thailand.
  • Travellers 12-17 years of age travelling to Thailand unaccompanied must get vaccinated with at least 1 dose of an approved vaccine. Those travelling with parents are exempt from this requirement.
  • Travellers 6-11 years of age, travelling with parents, are exempt from this requirement.
  • For arrivals by water, everyone on board must be fully vaccinated. This is except for travellers under 18 years of age, travelling with parents or guardians.
  • Travellers with a history of COVID-19 infection who have recovered by medical treatment and travellers who have received at least 1 dose of an approved vaccine after post-infection must have a certificate of COVID-19 recovery.

All travellers must undergo ‘exit screening’ at the point of departure, i.e., at the airline check-in counter and present the required documents to the person-in-charge to carry out the checks.

On-Arrival Requirements / During the Stay

• All travellers must undergo ‘entry screening’ including body temperature check at the point of entry.
  • Travellers arriving on a direct flight to the international airport at the Blue Zone Sandbox destination must present the required documents to the Immigration/Health Control officer to carry out the checks, then proceed through the Immigration procedures.
  • Travellers with a transit flight to the airport at the Blue Zone Sandbox destination must undergo entry screening at the first point of entry or at the final destination:
    • At the first point of entry, present the required documents to the Immigration/Health Control officer to carry out the checks, then proceed through the Immigration procedures before boarding the transit flight;
    • At the final destination of entry, present the required documents to the Immigration/health Control officer to carry out the checks, then proceed through the Immigration procedures.
• Proceed to the prearranged accommodation or medical facility to undergo the RT-PCR test. The trip must be by a prearranged vehicle on a sealed route within a 5-hour journey from the point of entry. Then all travellers must wait for the test result within the hotel only. Travellers under 6 years of age, travelling with parents, can have a saliva test.
  • If testing negative for COVID-19, travellers are free to go anywhere within the Blue Zone Sandbox destination. They will receive an ATK for a self-antigen test on Day 5-6.
  • If testing positive for COVID-19, travellers will be referred to a healthcare facility for appropriate medical treatment, for which the expenses must be covered by the required insurance, or national healthcare coverage for Thais and eligible foreign expatriates.
• Travellers with negative test result can enjoy travel activities within the designated Blue Zone Sandbox areas throughout the 7 days, but must return to their prearranged accommodation on a nightly basis. They are not allowed to stay overnight in any other places.
• Travellers must stay at least the first 7 nights within a Blue Zone Sandbox destination if planning to continue the journey to other destinations in Thailand. If staying less than 7 nights, the traveller must leave Thailand to another country immediately.
• All travellers must download and install the MorChana application, and set it on at all times for the COVID-19 precautionary measures and to record the result on Day 5-6 in the application.

Guidelines for Domestic/International Departure

• For international departure, it is the responsibility of travellers or their organisations to make sure that the travellers meet the requirements of their specific international destination regardless of the point of departure.
• For domestic departure, after having completed the required 7-day mandatory stay within a Blue Zone Sandbox destination, travellers are free to go anywhere in Thailand.

We wish all visitors an enjoyable, safe, and rewarding holiday in Thailand during this exciting time in which we are able again to welcome travellers from around the world.

Kindly note the information is to serve as reference only and is subject to change without prior notice. It is especially important to check in regularly on www.tatnews.org to stay current on what remains a very fluid and fast changing situation.

 

 

TAT News