International travelers arriving in Thailand from May 1 are required to obtain the Thailand Pass prior to travel. The government’s COVID-19 task force says it will not remove this entry requirement at this stage, despite no longer requiring an RT-PCR test result.
The Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) recently clarified that international arrivals must still obtain the Thailand Pass via online registration. The registration however requires fewer documents for people arriving from May 1, in line with the government’s relaxed entry measures.
Dr Sumanee Wacharasint, an assistant spokeswoman for the CCSA, said prepaid hotel bookings and a negative pre-departure RT-PCR test will no longer be necessary, but travelers will need to submit their vaccination certificates, along with travel insurance with eligible health coverage.
She also said the CCSA may consider eliminating the Thailand Pass system altogether once the situation improves further.
Meanwhile, some land border crossings between Thailand and neighboring countries are set to reopen on 1 May. These include border crossings in Loei, NakhonPhanom, NongKhai, Mukdahan, BuengKan, Sisaket, Surin, Sa Kaeo, Chanthaburi, Trat, Tak, Kanchanaburi, Ranong, Songkhla, Narathiwat, Yala and Satun.
Thai nationals returning through one of these land borders will not be subject to quarantine if they are fully vaccinated. Unvaccinated Thai nationals can meanwhile present a negative RT-PCR test result performed within 72 hours prior to arrival to skip quarantine. The travel insurance requirement is not applicable to Thai nationals.
The quarantine period for unvaccinated and untested Thai citizens is for 5 days, with an exit test performed on Day 4 or 5.
Foreign nationals arriving by land will be required to obtain their Thailand Pass beforehand. Nationals of Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Malaysia can opt to obtain their Border Pass for entry, which does not require travel insurance.
Only fully vaccinated citizens from the four neighboring countries are eligible to enter Thailand using their border pass, whereas unvaccinated travelers are subject to the same entry requirement as unvaccinated persons under the Thailand Pass scheme.
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