Recent media publicity has highlighted the imminent reopening of some Thai border posts. However, there is no go ahead for most foreigners who wish to see the sights or obtain a new permission to enter Thailand. The imminent openings will initially prioritize border crossings for goods, returning workers and local market stall holders.
The Laos information and culture minister announced yesterday that his country will indeed reopen for tourism in 2022. But the first phase, January to March, will be restricted to organized group tours authorized under the Lao Travel Green Zone Plan. The First Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge, near Vientiane, will formally open in late December, but with those provisos. Meanwhile, the country’s Wattana international airport remains closed to foreigners unless they are “experts, technicians or needed for essential government projects.”
As regards Cambodia, meetings are currently being held between the Sa Kaeo provincial governor and Thai disease control officials to reopen several border posts including Poipet and Aranyprathet. Again, there is no provision for land tourists or visa runners to cross frontiers. However, individual tourists can apply via Cambodian embassies worldwide for tourist visas to enter through the international airports of Phnom Penh and Siam Reap under a scheme similar to Thailand’s Test and Go. However, there is no longer a mandatory insurance requirement for 30 day tourists to Cambodia.
Few tourists are interested in visiting Myanmar right now and all foreigners need “a compelling case” to enter. The coup-installed National Defence and Security Council has called for limited land border openings with both Thailand and China for trade reasons. However, no date has been set. Myanmar’s Yangon international airport remains closed until 31 December 2021, and likely beyond. Most guest workers in Thailand are Myanmar nationals who are free to stay with renewable Thai labour permits.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s land borders with Thailand remain closed and most international visitors are banned, unless they are long-stay residents under the My Second Home retiree scheme or are specifically visiting Langkawi island. All Thailand’s neighbors have stringent health regulations in place with isolation-quarantine regulations stronger than Thailand’s in most cases. Laos even threatens a jail term for non-wearing of a mask in some public places.
Aware of the near-impossibility of leaving Thailand by a land route, the authorities here are allowing 60 days Covid-extensions for international visitors to the end of January 2022, and possibly beyond. Moreover, most Thai longstay visas can currently be obtained or extended without leaving the kingdom. In the past, many applicants for student visas or work permits had to travel over the border to obtain the necessary paperwork in a Thai consulate. For the time being, those journeys are suspended.
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