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Certificates of Entry into the Kingdom of Thailand & COVID-19 Lock Down

Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Certificates of Entry to the Kingdom of Thailand. We are specifically discussing them in the context of this COVID-19 pandemic.

A recent article from the Bangkok Post; that is bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Work Permit Holder Boost but No News for Separated Families. Quoting directly:  “The Thai Embassy or Consulate General will forward the application to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok. If the application is approved, the Thai Embassy or Consulate General will be instructed to issue the “Certificate of Entry” into the Kingdom of Thailand and an appropriate visa to the applicant, the letter said.”

So first of all to be clear, we are talking about a recent announcement. Specifically quoted in this article is Natapanu Nopakun, the Deputy Spokesman of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They are talking about the lift or the phasing out of certain of these restrictions that have been imposed as a result of the travel ban pertaining to COVID-19. So this Certificate of Entry to the Kingdom of Thailand, this is apparently becoming a piece of the puzzle if you want to get into the Kingdom and I want it noted that when applying for a visa to get in, first of all they note further in this article and we have already made a video on this, work permit holders are to be provided some preferential treatment in obtaining a visa to get into Thailand and obtaining entry to the Kingdom of Thailand

They have noted in this article that not only is a Work Permit necessary, but things like insurance are going to be necessary, a fit-to-fly certificate but also this Certificate of Entry and a Work Permit itself but it should be noted that this application, the visa application, in a sense it is like 2 visas.  There is a visa issued by the Embassy but the Embassy also has to forward the application to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok to get one of these Certificates issued.  So, it is quite a layered process. It is not just a matter of getting a visa, it is also a matter of getting a Certification first which will then allow a visa to be issued and presumably in order to even get on a plane, you are going to have this Certificate on top of any visa. So if you have go a multi-entry B visa and a Work Permit and you are thinking you can get on a plane and come to Thailand after these rules come into force, think again. It is probably a good idea to contact a legal professional because there is extra documentation associated with being able to travel to Thailand now. A visa is not in and of itself sufficient apparently.  Nor is a visa and a Work Permit, there is more.

We get into all of this in other videos on this channel which will be forthcoming  shortly but as I noted before fit-to-fly certificate, insurance, a visa itself, you have got to have a Work Permit under this recently announced new set of rules during this “limbo period” we are going through.

So it is not just a matter of having a visa and a work permit; there are other requirements. They have also noted there are quarantine periods; we have gone through that on this channel already. There is a lot going on with respect to this. So those who are trying to urgently get back into Thailand that have a Work Permit and a Business Visa, it is probably a good idea to contact a legal professional to get some further guidance, get some further insight and possibly assistance in getting all the documentation necessary for a journey to Thailand to be lawfully admitted into the Kingdom.