Thailand will from 1st May deny entry to all foreign nationals arriving from India, in light of concerns over the spread of the Indian variant of coronavirus, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has refused to approve charter flights from India to Thailand in recent days.
In response to reports claiming some people from India have arranged chartered flights bound for Thailand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has refuted this claim while stressing there has been no such arrangement.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Spokesman Tanee Sangrat, said today the report implying wealthy Indian nationals seeking refuge from the COVID-19 crisis in their country, had arranged flights to Thailand is misinformation from an inaccurate translation, as it is only the interviewees’ opinions.
The Royal Thai Embassy in New Delhi confirmed it has not been issuing Certificates of Entry to non-Thai nationals in India in the recent period.
The embassy had on 9 April posted a list of 114 non-Thai nationals registered for a 17 April Air India flight to Thailand on its Facebook page. The embassy yesterday posted the latest announcement of a Certificate of Entry cancellation for non-Thai nationals, effective from 1 May until further notice.
The cancellation of the issued Certificate of Entry and the suspension of issuance for non-Thai nationals in India means foreign nationals who plan to arrive in Thailand on 1 May or later will no longer be permitted entry.
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has confirmed it did not authorize any charter flight from India to land in the period mentioned in the circulating report.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, only authorized persons from India will be allowed to travel to Thailand in the current period, along with the once a week repatriation flight for Thai nationals.
Seven Indian nationals were permitted to enter Thailand on 17 April, including a work permit holder and 6 students.
Four repatriation flights from India to Thailand are planned for May, with 131 Thai nationals already signed up for their return on one of these flights. (NNT)
