05 Nov, 2021
PHUKET: While officials are boasting the high number of successful registrations through the Thailand Pass website in order to enter the country, many people are still finding themselves confounded by the lack of information being made available to successfully register for their Thailand Pass permit.
The Thai Department of Consular Affairs was inundated with complaints on Monday by Thais and foreigners unable to register through the web portal, https://tp.consular.go.th/. The main complaint was the registrants receiving an “API Error”, and not even receiving recognition that their registration had been accepted.
Anucha Nakasai, the Minister attached to the Office of the Prime Minister, on Tuesday announced that “some issues” with people registering through the Thailand Pass website, in order to be issued a permit to enter Thailand as a tourist, had been noticed.
He also said those issues had already been addressed.
Tanee Sangrat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director-General of the Department of Information and Spokesman, yesterday (Nov 4) boasted that 65,338 Thailand Pass applications had been received since Monday, with 12,607 applications approved within the same period.
Mr Tanee also acknowledged “some issues” with the system, which he said was mostly due to “external interferences”.
The MFA is now working with the Digital Government Development Agency to constantly improve the system, with the latest feature being the official support on mobile devices, noted a report by state news agency NNT.
However, the slew of complaints are continuing with people still unable to register.
One Phuket expat explained to The Phuket News that he was stuck in London, where he has returned to attend his daughter’s wedding.
“I was not coming here initially as Thailand was a red area for the UK and once this changed so did the requirement for 2 weeks quarantine on arrival. So I immediately booked my flight, then contacted Thai Elite on 8 October to start the process for a COE,” the expat wrote.
“I departed Phuket 3 weeks later on 29 October with the intention of staying 10 days and then returning arriving 9 November. I was double vaxed [sic] with AstraZeneca on 28 June and again 27 August ? so well past my 14 day requirement.
“I booked and paid for a Sandbox SHA+ hotel, COVID tests on arrival and day 6 as well as travel insurance. Simple and I thought all OK,” he explained.
“Then the Thai Government announced that the COE would be replaced by a Travel Pass [the Thailand Pass] and declared that those arriving after 8 November would need a Thailand Pass but the registration system would not start until 9:00 am on 1 November. I then received an email rejecting my COE application.
“So I got up at 2:00am in London on Monday (9am Bangkok time) to register for a Thailand Pass. I was concerned with the rules changed, that as I was leaving on 8 November, in just 7 days’ time, I needed maximum time to get the Thailand Pass,” he noted.
“I spent over 9 hours on a keyboard, chat sessions and chatting to people trying to get an application received by MFA. To cut a long story short, the lessons I learnt were"
a) copy of photo page of passport
b) copy of vaccination certificate for each vax jab
c) the QR code for each vax jab - need to copy and trim just the QR code image
d) evidence of SHA+ accommodation confirmation
e) copy of travel insurance
“Finally I had problems with email. The system responds best to Gmail.com email addresses. I gather it doesn’t respond at all to Hotmail,” he added.
“All up, I have spent almost 15 hours researching and inputting on my laptop. I have made 3 calls and 5 emails to Thai Elite - they can’t help. Apart from having a Thai Elite visa, I also have an APEC card,” he added.
“I visited the Thai Embassy in London and chatted and explained in seeking help. The staff were nice and all I heard was, ‘We know, we know but can’t help as it is managed by MFA in Bangkok.’
“He [the embassy official] confirmed hundreds or thousands globally were having this problem. Those returning so far were the last of those with a COE,” he said.
“If I fail to get a Thailand Pass in time then I have to delay my flight, change the hotel booking and COVID tests, book extra days in a hotel, BUT if I change the date then I have to put in a new application. The application needs definite dates for flight arrivals and hotel bookings ? so how long do you allow?” he posed.
“Having started the process a month before my return travel date, I am essentially faced with ever-increasing hurdles. Essentially I picked a date of November 9 a month ago not knowing how crucial one day is.
“I need to be back in Phuket, but if I were a tourist, I would have given up,” he said plainly.
One American who contacted The Phuket News was unable to register, despite the “fixes” given by other travellers, as no official advice has been issued.
“It also looks like their system does not work with Microsoft email systems (Hotmail & outlook),” he noted.
“No submission receipt and no QR code received,” the American confirmed.
One woman who has been trying to register since Monday explained to The Phuket News this morning (Nov 5), “We are a family of 5 people. We are coming from Paris and we are supposed to fly on Sunday [Nov 7].
“When I wanted to apply for the COE at the end of October I was told to wait for Nov 1st and the Thailand Pass. I have submitted my application since Nov 1. I have tried several times. In the end, we managed to get my husband and my eldest daughter a QR code. I still haven’t heard anything for me, because I am submitting my request including dependent children. And it simply doesn’t work!” she wrote.
“They amended their website between yesterday and today, I submitted each time but still no QR code. It is a total nightmare. Any suggestions on where to call, reach? I am desperate to find a solution,” the woman pleaded.
The woman, whose children attend school in Phuket, confirmed she first submitted my application on Monday using a hotmail address. “First I got the API error and then at the end of the day it worked and got the successful green tick screen but never received a confirmation email,” she said.
“Then I read on Facebook that we should use a Gmail address and not a hotmail. So I did it again. It then worked for my daughter, who is older than 12, and my husband. The QR code was received immediately,” she confirmed.
“Then I did mine which includes two children under 12. There was nowhere to input their insurance and got the API error. The next day, about 7 hours later, they had amended the website and I did it again and was able to input the insurance for the kids, but there is still nowhere to include their booking number for the hotel,” she noted.
“Anyhow, it worked and I received the confirmation email. It has been 24 hours since my last successful attempt and I haven’t heard anything from Thailand Pass.
“It is Friday morning here in Paris and we fly Sunday morning, Nov 7, arriving on Nov 8. I am very worried. We need to do our PCR test but still don’t know if I will receive the approval or not. Are they working 24 hours a day even on weekends? Are they considering the requests depending on the departure date? I hope so,” she added.
