The Real Cost Of “The Special Tourist VISA”

[Manforallseasons]

https://www.pattayamail.com/featured/what-it-will-actually-cost-right-now-to-fly-as-a-tourist-to-thailand-334660

About the author of the article: https://www.pattayamail.com/books/honorary-consul-pattaya-41313


Earlier this week, Thai embassies worldwide removed the requirement that applicants for the two months’ single-entry tourist visa (SETV) needed to show a home-country bank account with the equivalent of 500,000 baht (12,800 pounds) in foreign currency sitting there for six months prior to application. It is very rare for announcements of this sort to be made first by diplomatic posts overseas rather than by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

To ascertain the replacement instructions, you have to search individual embassy websites. The Thai embassy in London specifies only that “sufficient funds” for the vacation must be shown in a bank statement, whilst the Washington DC post actually specifies a very reasonable US$700 per person. But the Thai embassy in Helsinki specifies 30 euros per vacation day, with the additional clause that you must show a bank statement for a three months’ period prior to application. Individual embassies rule the roost.

The newly promoted SETV allows holders a stay of 60 days, presumably with the option to extend for a further month at a Thai immigration office. Unlike the more controversial Special Tourist Visa (STV), which appears to be linked to charter flights, the SETV is available from most countries and not only from those with a very low Covid-19 transmission rate. The STV is also more expensive as it requires general medical insurance on top of Covid-19 cover. Indeed, it is far from clear what the STV potential markets are or will be. The Thai tourist authority admits that STV arrivals over the next month will not even reach one thousand.

That said, the SETV is not cheap if all the elements for the embassy-awarded certificate of entry are totaled. Applicants need to pay in advance for a fortnight’s quarantine on arrival in a registered hotel (40,000 baht or around a thousand pounds) and the air ticket (average 22,000 baht or 550 pounds for direct flight cattle-class seat). On top of that, a variety of coronavirus tests and health certification must be provided (20,000 baht or 500 pounds). The Covid-19 insurance is easily obtained online from Thai General Insurance, the price dependent only on the country of flight origin and the length of cover. A British applicant, any age 0-99, will pay 4,400 baht or just over 100 pounds). Finally there is the registration fee with the embassy and ancillary costs which brings the grand total to about 100,000 baht or 2,500 pounds.

[Dodger]

Barry Kenyon's article states the following:

.......the SETV is available from most countries and not only from those with a very low Covid-19 transmission rate.

Barry's article, about yet another half-baked tourist scheme (yawn), never once mentions the CCSA, who we all know makes the final determination regarding who enters, who who doesn't enter Thailand. Does anyone really believe that the CCSA would approve general tourists traveling from the UK or USA in the middle of their galactic Covid-19 spikes???

Here they go again!

[goji]

Does anyone really believe that the CCSA would approve general tourists traveling from the UK or USA in the middle of their galactic Covid-19 spikes???

The protection against spread of covid is a test & quarantine regime.
Embassies confirm we can apply for a visa.
There are already farang in quarantine.

[Dodger]

The protection against spread of covid is a test & quarantine regime.
Embassies confirm we can apply for a visa. There are already farang in quarantine.

Do you know of any confirmed cases of tourists from the U.S. or UK who have received this visa, who are in fact here in Thailand under quarantine?

Please advise.

[goji]

Do you know of any confirmed cases of tourists from the U.S. or UK who have received this visa, who are in fact here in Thailand under quarantine?

I know of British tourists who have received the Tourist Visa recently, from the embassy in London (Tourist Visa, rather than the Sucker Tourist Visa).

I also know of people who have made it from the UK to quarantine in Thailand. What I don't know is which visa they used.

So whilst what I said in the previous post is correct, I cannot yet quote examples of people from the UK with the tourist visa who are already in Thailand. Bear in mind, this was only announced recently and it takes a while to sort all the process steps out.

[Dodger]

I know of British tourists who have received the Tourist Visa recently, from the embassy in London (Tourist Visa, rather than the Sucker Tourist Visa).

I also know of people who have made it from the UK to quarantine in Thailand. What I don't know is which visa they used.

So whilst what I said in the previous post is correct, I cannot yet quote examples of people from the UK with the tourist visa who are already in Thailand. Bear in mind, this was only announced recently and it takes a while to sort all the process steps out.

Thanks for your response:

Agree, that it will take a while to sort all the process steps out as you mentioned, although, when all the process steps were sorted out with that Special Tourist Visa, it ended up being a flop.

Understanding that this SEV is identical to the standard Tourist Visa they've been issuing for decades, with the exception of mandatory quarantine requirements, covid insurance, etc., it's just be a matter of the CCSA allowing general tourists entry from high risk countries such as the U.S. and UK. If this is happening, that's great news/

[goji]

I now have a Tourist Visa (TR).
Not the STV, which is obviously for either the desperate or suckers, but a Tourist Visa.


I applied online one evening & posted the passport the next morning. Then just over 3 working days from the time I sent the passport off to receiving it back.
Certificate of Entry: Part 1 was approved in 4 hours 8 minutes after submission.
Certificate of Entry: Part 2 TBC They could still decline it, but there is no logical reason to do so. I understand that logic is not guaranteed.

Key points:
1 The online visa application website for UK applicants is very clunky. You need to be able to downsize all the attachments to under 500Mb

2 You are asked to attach flight bookings. According to an e-mail sent from the Royal Thai Embassy in London to someone on Facebook, tentative flight info is OK. Not knowing this, I attached real flight bookings.

3 The COE website works properly & did not reject any attachments based on file size. There is a slight quirk that after dragging and dropping or selecting the file for upload, you need to click the upload button (below).

[Jellybean]

Certificate of Entry: Part 1 was approved in 4 hours 8 minutes after submission.
Certificate of Entry: Part 2 TBC They could still decline it, but there is no logical reason to do so. I understand that logic is not guaranteed.


Hopefully, a Certificate of Entry will be approved shortly and congratulations on a successful application will soon be in order, goji. :)

[goji]

Certificate of Entry part 2 now received :). It seems they are working all hours.

Remaining tasks are the Covid 19 test & a fit to fly certificate, plus a couple of minor forms which need no pre-approval.

Also dodging hazards such as being grounded by the UK test and trace team.

[Blueskytoday]

Sounds really like a big hassle all around really,,,plus the quarantine 14 days upon arrival......I will wait until I get a vaccine, and the country says one can enter without quarantine at a hotel..if this happens

[StevieWonders]

Sounds really like a big hassle all around really,,,plus the quarantine 14 days upon arrival......I will wait until I get a vaccine, and the country says one can enter without quarantine at a hotel..if this happensA well-known phrase that includes the word “money” is one I apply to these endeavours. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs has listed Thailand as one of the top five countries with citizens and permanent residents wanting to return home. I guess it’s an example of that old phrase “a standing cock has no conscience” or more generally the blood in the brain rushes to the penis in order to sustain the erection thus leaving little to feed the brain’s usual functioning.