Stuck In Uk

[monsterman]

Hi Guys ,, went back to UK march 1st for work, business and to see my Dad ,,a nd play with my Bikes in UK ,, of course Covid was a factor and has been very disruptive in Europe ,, but I have had a busy time worked on a Job in Barents sea only 600 miles from North pole ,, so my bank account is topped up ,, one big problem was having a heart attack but NHS was wonderful and im OK now ,, but coming back to Thailand is not going to be possible in near future dure to COVID restrictions and baffling THAI Red tape and exorbitant costs of complying with Thai regulations ,,which also change literally weekly ????

According to Thai Embassy in UK I need an approved flight ticket which is Not available as there are no regular flights and the probably prices are at least double Normal rates so think minimum 60k instead of usual 30k ,, also private covid test 3 days before flying 7k,,and an approval for travel permit from Thai Embassy cost 2k ,,, then once in Bangkok I cant go to my house but must choose quarantine in one of 6 approved hotels at 6k per day plus meals for 14 days ,,, on top of all that my Gold plated international Boots worldwide medical insurance which give me up to $10m medical cover even in USA ncludin COVID and only costs me now 10k per year is not accepted and I must buy a Thai approved policy with a paltry 100k cover for 38k baht from thir approved supplier before I will get andy travel permissions from Thai embassy in UK ,,,

well I reckon Just to come back for the winter to my house and lady and BIke will cost me at least 200k for the privelige which is a stupid waste of money and a lot of hassle so for now I have decided to have Xmas in Uk for first time in 16 years with my family there and play with my bikes here 3 ducatis and a HD ,, gonna buy some heated gloves though ha ha

 

[Grubman]

Hi Monsterman

I a in france at present working and have been looking at getting back to thailand myself, as per the Thai embassy in paris there are semi-commercial flight to thailand with Emirates,Qatar, Etihad, Eva and Thai airways,i have checked flight prices and they are around 500 euro obe way, you need to have the CoE and a valid visa to enter thailand and medical insurance covering covid 19 (minimum $100000 usd) coverage), quarantine hotel booking, Covid 19 test within 72 hours of departure. you don't need to book the flight through the Embassy just book it via the airline. as for the Quarantine hotel there is a list of over 70 hotel you can book
Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) Hotels in Thailand | THAIest
that is the link for the available hotels ranging from 30k baht up

I hope this gives you a little more info on return, best of luck with it, as it not a simple procedure

Myself i have the CoE already and flight booked via my company for late november and hotel booked and paid for Quarantine, now i am just having issue with the Thai embassy in Paris, because i am not a french citizen or have residency with don't want to issue me with a Non O visa, so my company which is based in Monaco are now dealing with the embassy to get the visa.
My last call to the embassy i was told to have a friend here in france write a letter stating that i am living at his address and a copy of their passport and a copy of their utility bill and they will issue me a via.

Not easy during these times to get back to Thailand to see our loved ones

Cheers
Grubman

 

[monsterman]

Hi Grubman ,, its a real paperchase for sure but due to the recent Heart Attack im thinking its wiser to hang in UK for now ,, also things are so uncertain and regulations in Thailand change so often at present it will be interesting to se what is the rules after XMAS

 

[monsterman]

Latest news from Thai embassy and also my Dutch pals say same in Holland is NO travellers fro ANY EU countries allowed into Thailand even if Elite card holders ,, or Married ,, there are still thousand of expats and Thai nationals trapped in Europe with no possibility of return this year

 

[Grubman]

I applied today via the Thai embassy in Paris for my CoE, sent the email at 1pm and had a reply by 4pm with the CoE approved and will be sent to my email address 3 day before the flight in November, they also mentioned to apply for a Non O visa for my travel in November, so as per paris embassy no new regarding a no fly from EU

Finger crossed it will not be the case that they ban EU travelers

 

[monsterman]

my mate Dan from worthing just made it back to Hua Hin today he has a wife and 5 year old kiddy in Hua Hin ,, he got permission from Thai embassy london based on marriage ,, costs were

embassy permision £50
covid test £150
flight on emirates £690 return
Isolation in Thai hotel 2 weeks £700
Thailand covid tests £110
food and misc costs £300

so for about £2000 all in but he is with his family until march when he returns to UK for work

up to 4 weeks ago one had to book Thai at £720 one way and only more expensive hotels were available so it was about £4k

i still wont be doing it but will review situation after New Year ????

Only those with wife can do it They wont let tourists , business or retirees travel

 

[Grubman]

Hi Guys

I have just send off for my visa to the Thai embassy in paris

my total cost have been
Visa cost €70
Visa agent €105
Medical insurance €220

Certificate of Entry No cost

As for my covid test, flights and ASQ hotel i am lucky that my company will take care of the cost

so in that regard i am lucky not to be out of pocket a huge amount to return home to see my wife after being away for work

I can totally understand that it is a large expense for people to get back to see family and the whole process is not straightforward, however if you follow the requirement is not that bad just a lot of things that need to be arranged, i am lucky that my company arrange flights and PCR tests so that's a few less things i need to worry about, however as i am working on a ship dock in Marseille France i am not able to leave the ship so i have had to use a visa agent, which in turn has turned out cheaper than going to Paris to lodge my passport myself and saving my 14 days quarantine on return to the ship which i am working.

I will be arriving back i thailand on the 23rd November so i have made sure that i have given myself plenty of time to arrange my return as there are a lot of steps that need to be take just to be able to return to see loved one and i feel for the one that are not able to return at present, however it is getting easier with more airlines allowed to fly back into Thailand and the large amount of hotel involved with the ASQ program, let's hope that it gets better as time goes on as Thailand needs to have people entering to kick start their tourism once again

 

[monsterman]

Good luck Grubman

 

[blackb15]

I’m in ASQ in Bangkok at the moment having flown in from Birmingham England with Emirates v Dubai.
It as been difficult as above post’s.
I am up to Chiang Mai on 10th November after 15 days quarantine at the hotel as long as negative Covid tests.
Best of luck Grubman.
Safe riding

 

[monsterman]

If you dont leave UK by midnight wednesday there is No travel from Uk for at least one month also Thai immigration have raised financial requirment for ASQ to having minimum of 500,000 baht in a bank for minimum 6 months as of last Thursday so the bar is even higher unless you have a Thai wife .,

Apparently there are still at least 800 Thai citizens s trapped in UK alone awaiting repatriation .and many more in rest of EU

 

[Grubman]

Hi Guys

Well i have just found out that i have been issued my Non O visa through the Thai embassy in Paris, however i got a call from the embassy yesterday afternoon telling me that me already pre approved CoE now has to be applied for again as it is not being done on line instead of emailing all documents to the embassy, i have completed the on line application today and now have to wait up to 3 day for again pre approval , once i have rep approval i then have to up load my flights and ASQ hotel and will be issued my CoE 3 days before i fly, At present i am in France and airports are still open for departures and incoming only for citizens of EU countries, i am scheduled to fly on the 22nd of this month so fingers crossed that nothing will change in the mean time, and if it does at least i'm working and keeping busy and in a safe bubble on board the ship in which i work.

looking forward to my quarantine once i return, i could only be so lucky to have them reduce it to 10 day before i return.

Monsterman i think the numbers are so high for Thai's wanting to return as they are waiting for repatriation flights with Thai Airways and they then get the free government quarantine, if they are to fly with the semi-commercial flights they have to pay for their own quarantine hotel.

Blackb15 enjoy the last week of your quarantine and hope you get out riding soon, i am so looking forward to getting back on my bike once i am finally home

 

[Heineken]

^ Look forward to having a drink with you soon Grubby

 

[canthai]

At gate 68 YVR - board in about one hour YVR HKG BKK
Cost to return LOS -
Cathay Pacific - 44,000 THB
Xtra health insurance - 62,000 THB
ASQ hotel - 40,000 THB
C-19 tests (3) - 22,000 THB
Hotel YVR awaiting test results - 26,000 THB

Total - 194,000 THB

 

[Ian Bungy]

At gate 68 YVR - board in about one hour YVR HKG BKK
Cost to return LOS -
Cathay Pacific - 44,000 THB
Xtra health insurance - 62,000 THB
ASQ hotel - 40,000 THB
C-19 tests (3) - 22,000 THB
Hotel YVR awaiting test results - 26,000 THB

Total - 194,000 THB

Bloody Hell that's a lot of Money! The sooner they finish this Bullshit Virus Scam the Better!

 

[canthai]

Bloody Hell that's a lot of Money! The sooner they finish this Bullshit Virus Scam the Better!

Agree 100% -
All they doing is spreading fear, making the poor much more poor and the rich much more rich.
As an example - Google what the garment industry in Bangladesh is going thru.
All for a made-up threat, which if you are not old and have a pre-existing condition or conditions is SFA to worry about

 

[Oddvar]

As Napoleon said: "History, a set of lies agreed upon".

 

[Eoin Christie]

Looks like I’m heading over to West Africa very soon. Visiting 2 Countries means 2 weeks quarantine for each, plus another 2 weeks on my return to Malaysia. Perhaps I can embark on a new career of reviewing quarantine facilities.

 

[monsterman]

UK Thai embassy has changed the rules again on Wednesday ,, now to get COE u must show £15,000 in a UK bank all my savings and employment money is in Thai bank and thats not acceptable to the bureayucrats ,, spoke with a few people here who made it back to Thailand and 2 week isolation average spend £ 2,800 plus air ticket ,but other mates are finding it a bureaucratic hassle as well , the other issue is now many Travel insurance policies have been voided due to NO covid cover under government travel warnigs ,, its a risky area ,, I have to have good medical cover due to my health history although im fit to work again .I can travel on employers insurance for work but not for my own use I must therfore wait until I cxan get decent travel policy and the damn 14 day rule goes away ,,

Nearly completed my Monster 750 rebuild in UK she is looking gorgeous ,,

 

[canthai]

My C19 insurance from NowCompare. See what they want. All done online. No problem on the Thai end - they took one look, stamped, and I was on my way.
My agent - [email protected]

 

[Fritzltouw]

I entered Thailand on the 1st of Oct from Holland and it was a real pain. Non-O visa. It took me 6 weeks to get everything done and the RTE in the Hague were as unhelpful as practically possible.

I've heard things have become a lot easier though. There is a really helpful facebook group called "Thai Expats Stranded Overseas due to COVID-19 Restrictions". That's been a great help for me.

I spent over 100K baht to return including additional health insurance, reasonably overpriced repat flight through KLM, ASQ, Covid tests, Fit to Fly cert, visa, traveling to the embassy multiple times for no reason and so forth.

The latest I heard is that they are actually issuing TR visas now and that the financial requirement has gone down to 'adequate financial means' which basically means 20K thb per month I believe.