UPDATED - The Complete Guide to entering Thailand in 2022
** UPDATED TO THAILAND PASS WEBSITE - January 12, 2022 ** Despite what everyone is saying, it's not difficult to enter Thailand, On our YouTube channel, we see many people complain that the restrictions are too onerous. Here is our ultimate quick guide to enter. What insurance to buy, where to get the hotel and what websites to visit.
Let's get ready!
Book your flight at least 30-45 days ahead of time. This way you are prepared if there are any delays. Save your flight details as a PDF file for the later process. Keep all your bookings of hotel, copy of passport, insurance, hotel, vaccination and any other paperword in a single folder on your computer and save that to your phone as well.
Do you even need a Visa?
Most countries do not need a visa to enter Thailand. Check this list to see if your country qualifies for a Visa Exemption.
List of Countries for Visa Exemption.
Ok, so you need a Visa
All Thai visas applications are now online. Once accpeted, you mail your passport to the Embassy via courier service. A few embassies allow you to drop it off. Check with your local embassy first if you can do that.
Official Thai Visa Application Website
Thailand Pass
Regardless of what kind of visa (or no visa) you have, you still need the Thailand Pass to enter Thailand.
The website is quite easy and you can make the initial application within 5-10 minutes. You will need:
- Certificate of Vaccination
- Medical certificate of PCR Test before entering Thailand (not more than 72 hours old)
- Hotel booking for at least 7 nights if you are vaccinated. 10 nights if you are not.
- Travel Insurance policy with at least 50,000 USD in coverage.
Children under 12 years old do not need to be vaccinated. However children do need to have their PCR tests completed.
The Thailand Pass Website is Here:
https://tp.consular.go.th
Insurance
You need to buy travel insurance that is worth about $50,000 US Dollars. You can buy this travel insurance starting at less than $100 USD for your initial 30 day visa. For longer periods of time, you pay slightly less than $100 extra per additional month.
** NOTE ** Insurance coverage will be reduced to 50,000 USD requirement on November 1st 2021. This means the cost of coverage could go down. As soon as this is changed we will update this guide.
We always recommend LumaHealth for health insurance since they explictly are approved by the Thai immigration authorities and will pass muster with the Thailand Pass application process.
However the Thailand Pass can accept other travel insurances, but it must have explicit coverage of at least 50,000 USD.
Buy your health insurance and you will get your insurance certificate within 30 minutes or less. You can upload this PDF to your Thailand Pass application.
Luma Thailand Pass Travel Insurance
Quarantine Hotel
** UPDATED January 12, 2022 -- READ THE NEW RULES **
Test & Go has been suspended, so we are back to 7 or 10 day qurantines until further notice. The Thailand Pass website will reflect this status.
Getting a quarantine hotel is pretty easy. Just like any hotel, there are different tiers, levels and features. We generally recommend the following website to book your hotel.
This website has hotels for Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket. So pick a hotel that is close to where you want to be. You can filter by price and location on this website. All the hotels listing on this website are officially government approved, so you can indeed, relax.
*** UPDATE January 12, 2021: The Hotel Search Engine has already been update to reflect the new 7 day , 10 and 14 day packages. ***
ASQ Hotel Search Website
Once you've bought your hotel and received your booking email, save it as a PDF and upload it to your account in the Thailand Pass website.
Finishing Up.
The Thailand Pass should be approved between 1 to 3 days. This is now a QR Code, which you should put on your mobile phone, or at least print out so it can be scanned on entry into Thailand.
Finally, Your PCR Covid Test
Try to get your PCR Test a day before you leave. This might be a bit tricky, because depending on where you fly from, it might take several days. You need to be tested at most 3 days before entering Thailand.
The cost of the test varies depending on your city of origin, but we recommend using a private lab that offers same day service.
Take the test on the day before your flight.
it costs a bit more, but is one less thing to worry about. Especially if you are flying through Japan or South Korea who are quite strict about that test.
That's it boys are girls!
If you still want help doing all of this, we can do everything for you, including purchasing your insurance, booking your hotel and doing all the paperwork. Sit back, relax and just get ready to fly.