How To Get A Thai Visa & The Thailand Pass Entry Process In The Age Of Covid

Hello from Thailand! We made it safely across the pond to our first international destination since 2019 and are having a great time settling in. Getting here was understandably a whole process during a pandemic. Getting all the documents ready for this trip took up a lot of my and my Mom’s time over the last few months, but it was all worth it!

Would y'all be interested in a post about the steps we had to go through to get a Thai visa during a pandemic🤔🇹🇭✈️? It was quite complicated and I'd love to help others avoid the pitfalls I fell into if possible, but it's also super niche so let me know🤷🏾‍♀️.

— A Purple Life (@APurpleLifeBlog) January 27, 2022

Now that we’re on the other side, I thought it might be helpful (and hopefully interesting 😉 ) to share everything we had to do to get this visa as well as tips we learned along the way. I put out that question on Twitter (above) to confirm and y’all seemed to agree! So in case you’re thinking of heading to an international destination or are just nosy about the process, here’s how we got into Thailand.

Thailand Visa Process

To apply for a Thai visa as a fully vaccinated US Citizen, you need to have the below information handy for the online application:

1. Passport 
2. Credit Card
3. Vaccine Card 
4. Flight Arrival and Departure Information
5. SHA+ Accommodations Name and Receipt

Once you have all that information, you need to go through the following steps and then print all of this stuff for immigration.

Step 1 – Purchase COVID Health Insurance

Thailand requires that you have health insurance that would cover you in Thailand in case you get COVID. The policy has to cover at least $50,000 USD. Here is the link to buy the insurance the Thai government recommends.

A few things to be aware of when going through this process:

• The date for your insurance starts on your first day in Thailand (not the day you depart the US)
• The date formats on this website are DD/MM/YYYY
• After selecting a plan and going to the payment page, make sure to change the country to United States (It defaults to Thailand)
• Make sure to write down the order number once you complete payment since the email confirmation is not immediate
• Once you receive your confirmation email and the certificate, you will receive the actual policy number. Here’s what the document you need for the visa looks like:

Step 2 – Prepay for (2) COVID Tests

The rules around this keep changing so be sure to check the Thai Embassy website to check the latest rules. However, in Phuket, for the Phuket Sandbox and Test & Go program, it is required that you get tested upon arrival at the Thai airport and again 5 days after your arrival. You need to schedule and pre-pay for these tests before applying for a visa.

Here is the link to schedule and pay for these tests. Here are some tips:

• Heads up that these tests cannot be scheduled more than 40 days before your departure
• Note that on this site the format for your date of birth is YYYY-MM-DD
• The date for your test on Day 5 is pre-selected for you based on your arrival date and time – you cannot modify that date during this process
• When paying, we were not able to use our Visa or Mastercard credit cards. It kept saying the transaction failed. Instead, we switched the payment method to the option that included AmEx and used that card
• You will receive an email with a link to a document showing these scheduled tests – that’s what you need to upload for the visa. It looks like this:

Step 3 – Apply for Thailand Entry QR Code

Now it’s time to actually apply for the visa here. The website at our time of applying said the acceptance process can take 3-7 business days. However, ours took 10 business days so plan ahead accordingly.

First you need to upload the following documents in only one of the formats listed. Please make sure you use the correct file format for each document because their system allows you to upload documents even if they aren’t in the correct format and that is enough reason for the Thai government to reject your application.

• Passport (.jpg, .jpeg, .png)
• Vaccine Certificate (.jpg, .jpeg, .png)
• SHA+ hotel confirmation document showing a Booking ID number (.jpg, .jpeg, .png)
• COVID insurance policy you purchased in Step 1 (.jpg, .jpeg, .png)
• RT-PCR Tests receipt you purchased in Step 2 (.pdf)

Once you go through all the screens to upload this information as well as the info I listed at the beginning of this post, your application will be submitted and you’ll be given an access code. Feel fee to write down the code, but it will also be emailed to you.

Waiting & Acceptance

If you’re impatient like me, you can check the status of your application here. Scroll to the bottom where it says “Check your Status” and then enter the application access code, passport number and email.

Once your application is accepted, you will receive an email with the subject line “Your registration on the Thailand Pass system has been approved.” Attached to that email will be a QR code that you need to print to show that you have a Thai visa. This will be checked by your airline when checking in for your flight and in Thailand when you arrive. Here’s what the Thailand Pass looks like:

Phew! That was a lot. So after all that paperwork is done, what is it actually like to put all this stuff into practice and enter Thailand? I’m here to tell you 🙂 .

What To Expect When Arriving In Thailand

So this is based on my experience landing at the Phuket airport in Thailand. Your experience may vary 🙂 .

When boarding our plane to Phuket, we received an immigration form to fill out while on the plane. Heads up: Be sure to bring a pen on the trip. 

Disembarkation

When I got off the plane, I was directed to sit in white chairs and asked for the following documents:

1. Passport
2. Thai Pass with QR Code
3. PCR Negative Test Result
4. Thai Immigration Form

Once I showed that I had those documents, I was directed to the next stage:

Thai Visa Check

The employees asked for the below documents and did not give me my PCR test result back. I should have made sure I had extra copies so heads up about that!

1. Passport
2. Thai Pass with QR Code
3. COVID PCR test result (Note: You might not get this back)
4. Thai Immigration Form

Immigration

The immigration officers required that each person go through immigration by themselves instead of as a group even though my Mom and I were traveling together. They asked to see the below documents:

1. Passport
2. Thai Pass with QR Code
3. Thai Immigration Form

They then took the longer portion of my immigration form and let me keep the short section in my passport. Heads up: Make sure you have a way to safely store this little form because it’s easy to lose and you will need it when you leave Thailand. They also took a picture of my face and scanned my fingerprints. 

Baggage Claim

We then grabbed my Mom’s checked bags as they came off the conveyer belt and proceeded to customs. We had nothing to declare so we walked right through.

Pre-Test

After we left customs, we were asked for the below documents:

1. Passport
2. Thai Pass with QR Code
3. Proof of 2 PCR Test Pre-Payments

Once we confirmed that we had those documents, we were directed to a line of people who gave us each a vial for our PCR test. In front of the employee is a printed sheet with a QR code we scanned and took a picture of (just in case 🙂 ).

That QR code directed us to a URL which allowed us to sign up to have our PCR results emailed to us. If we hadn’t signed up for that, our hotel said they would call us with our results. Anyway, we received our results via email in 6 hours despite being given a 8-24 hour window. Sweet! 

PCR Test

We were then directed out of the building. We left our luggage cart to the right of the walkway and were directed to the left of the walkway. We were then assigned someone to do our PCR test. They were dressed in amazing sci-fi gear 🙂 . 

They took my vial, had me confirm my name, and then performed the test. Heads up: They will go deep with the swab (though it doesn’t hurt) so be prepared for watery eyes and fighting the urge to sneeze.

Transportation

Right after the PCR test section, a person with a microphone asked what hotel we were going to. Heads up: It’s required for the Thai visa that the hotel you’re staying in provide transportation and not have anyone else but your party in the car since you’re awaiting COVID test results. 

Once we told them our hotel, they announced the hotel name over a loudspeaker and our hotel rep stepped forward. They had a sign with my name on it along with the hotel name.

We were then directed to a covered part of the sidewalk where we waited for the driver to bring the car around. The car rolled up, they loaded our bags and we were off! The whole process took less than 30 minutes and I was VERY impressed 🙂 . 

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Hotel

The fun didn’t end once we left the airport though 🙂 . Once we arrived at the hotel, we went to the check in counter and were asked for the following documents:

1. Passport
2. Vaccination Card
3. PCR Negative Test Results
4. PCR (2) Pre-Payment
5. Thai Pass

After they got all of that information, we were asked to download the Morchana app, which allows the Thai government to track where you are on the island in case of exposure. Once they helped us set the app up we were directed to our room where we stayed until we got our negative test results email, which as I mentioned took 6 hours. We arrived at 6pm and when I awakened I saw that they had emailed us at midnight. Amazing! 

Conclusion

Overall, I was very impressed with this immigration process and how it was handled at the Phuket airport. Thailand seems to be taking a wonderfully cautious approach to letting in tourists that I appreciate and made me feel safer deciding on Thailand for our first international destination in almost 3 years. Anyway, I hope this post was helpful, interesting or both 🙂 . Safe travels!

What’s the most you’ve done for a visa process?