Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the Thailand Pass again. This is something that is on the lips and on the minds of many who are looking to come to Thailand in the coming weeks and months as Thailand has transitioned from the quarantine system we were using which made most people who were arriving have to stay in quarantine 14 days. That has effectively gone down to what I am calling and some are calling "Quarantine Free". There is a bit of a delay, an interregnum when one arrives to ascertain the results of a PCR test upon arrival. Barring that, once that is ascertained for the most part people coming in under this new scheme if you will, can go ahead and go on their way. 

A major question that has been coming up, we are making this video November 1, 2021, the Certificate of Entry is being phased out in favor of the Thailand Pass. The question on many folks' minds and that has come to us too in correspondence and things, "How long does it take to get a Thailand Pass issued?" To refer to Thailand Pass FAQs from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, mfa.go.th. This is specifically issued by the Department of Consular Affairs and the question posed right here under bullet point 5: "How long does the approval process take with Thailand Pass?" and the answer from MFA: "It is required that applicants submit their registration at least 7 days prior to their intended travel date." 

As I have discussed in other videos, it is a good idea for those looking to travel to Thailand to reset some of your expectations at least for the near term with respect to making arrangements to come to Thailand. There are a lot of folks that probably are presuming and have presumed that you just need to book your flights and you are on your way. Well in a way, the Immigration process especially this Thailand Pass and perhaps a visa application, kind of now go hand in hand with dealing with travel arrangements. For this reason it may not be a terrible idea to contact a legal professional to gain some insight and guidance into not only how to deal with the overall system which in my opinion is far more Byzantine than most folks like to deal with, but also to probably gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed especially from a timing standpoint.