Thailand suspends ‘Thailand Pass’ and ‘Test & Go’

 Thailand has suspended its ‘Thailand Pass’ and ‘Test & Go’ schemes due to fears over the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-O-Cha has ordered the immediate suspension of new registrations for Thailand Pass and at the same reinstated mandatory quarantine effective immediately.

The PM announced on Tuesday afternoon that Test & Go will be put on hold until at least January 4, 2022.

The so-called ‘Sandbox’ programs will also be suspended.

"After Dec. 21, there will be no new registrations for 'Test and Go', only quarantine or Phuket sandbox," said deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhanadirek.

However, those who had already registered and are due to travel will still be able to enter the country, but they will be required to take a second RT-PCR test. When the test is required was not clear at the time of posting.

The PM took the decision following a meeting with the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) on Tuesday morning.

This is a developing story. This post will be updated without warning.

Source - ASIAN NOW

VISA AGENT  /  How to register for: THAI PASS

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Australia finally reopens international borders

Australia eased its international border restrictions on Monday for the first time during the pandemic, allowing some of its vaccinated public to travel freely and many families to reunite, sparking emotional embraces at Sydney’s airport.
After 18 months of some of the world’s strictest coronavirus border policies that banned citizens from either returning to the country or leaving it, unless granted an exemption, millions of Australians in Victoria, New South Wales and Canberra are now free to travel.

A flight by flag carrier Qantas Airways from Los Angeles touched down in Sydney at 6 a.m. local time, Australia’s biggest airline said, with COVID-19 vaccinated travellers allowed to walk off the plane without quarantining.

International travellers also arrived in Sydney via Singapore Airlines early on Monday.

While the initial flights are limited to Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families, it sets in motion a plan to reopen the country to international tourists and workers, both much needed to reinvigorate a fatigued nation.

Thailand is also welcoming vaccinated tourists, without quarantine, from Monday, as is Israel, in a boost to global air travel after a trying 18-month period.

Australia’s Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told the Australian Broadcasting Corp on Monday that the travel changes would immediately aid the economy.

“It’s a day for celebration – the fact that Australians can move more freely in and out of our country without home quarantine, if they’re double-vaccinated,” Frydenberg said.

Television and social media footage showed tearful family reunions, with strict travel rules previously prohibiting many people from attending significant events, including weddings and funerals.

The relaxation of travel rules is tied to rising vaccination rates with more than 80% of people aged 16 and older in Australia’s two most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria, fully vaccinated.

Australians and permanent residents living abroad may now return, with foreign ministry data showing about 47,000 people are hoping to do so.

Most tourists – even vaccinated ones – have to wait to come to Australia, although vaccinated tourists from New Zealand will be allowed in from Monday. Citizens of Singapore will be able to travel to Australia, without quarantine, from Nov. 21.

Unvaccinated travellers will still face quarantine restrictions and all travellers need proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to boarding.

The change in travel rules, however, is not uniform across Australia, as the country’s states and territories have differing vaccination rates and health policies.

Western Australia, which takes in one of the world’s biggest iron ore precincts, remains largely cut off from the rest of the country – and the world – as the state tries to protect its virus-free status.

Australia previously let only a limited number of citizens and permanent residents return from abroad, with a mandatory 14-day quarantine period in a hotel at their own expense.

But the change has come as it switched a COVID-zero pandemic management strategy towards living with the virus through extensive vaccinations.

While the Delta outbreak kept Sydney and Melbourne in lockdowns for months until recently, Australia’s COVID-19 cases remain far lower than many comparable countries, with just over 170,500 infections and 1,735 deaths. – Reuters

Source - BangkokJack

VISA AGENT  /  How to register for: THAI PASS

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UAE launches multi-entry tourist visas for all

The United Arab Emirates on Monday introduced a multiple-entry visa scheme valid for five years for all nationalities, with the aim of turning the Gulf state into a tourism hub.

"#UAE Cabinet, approves new amendment for tourist visas in #UAE," the government of Dubai Media Office tweeted, referring to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE prime minister and ruler of Dubai.

"The new tourist visa will be valid for 5 years and can be used for multiple entries and is open for all nationalities," the Dubai Media Office wrote.

Sheikh Maktoum said on Twitter that the UAE currently attracts 21 million tourists a year.

Travelers from Africa, some South American countries, Arab states outside the Gulf, and European states from outside the European Union and former Soviet Union previously needed visas.

In October, Dubai is to host Expo 2020, a big-budget global trade fair.

Source - TheJakartaPost

Visa ‘Runners’ denied entry at Laos, Vientiane

For decades tourists, or ex-pats who are below the retirement visa age limit, have extended their stay in #Thailand by so-called ‘visa runs.’

One example is when people travel to a nearby country to apply for a tourist visa and extend their stay for another two to three months.

This is commonly called a ‘visa run.’

Companies providing ‘Visa Runs’ leave every tourist town in Thailand on a daily basis in convoys of mini-vans and coaches to head for the nearest border.

Tourists typically travel to border towns such as Aranyapratet on the Cambodian border, Nongkhai on the Lao border, Mae Sai or Mae Sot on the Burma border, Vientiane in Laos or to Penang near Malaysia’s border.

Visa runs may be a unique (or even traditional) part of Thailand’s tourism scene.

But, now reports are coming in of tourists and ex-pats being DENIED new visas at Vientiane, on the Laos border.

The Royal Thai Embassy at Vientiane, usually one of the easiest to pass through with a new stamp, has begun turning foreigners away.

Yesterday one American reported to a Visa Forum, ‘Just got denied my second tourist visa at Vientiane. Have one visa in my US passport and 3 exempt stamps. The guy simply said ‘my boss didn’t give you a visa, you have to go back to your country.’

Another American in the same queue was also denied and new visa.

When his Thai girlfriend asked for an explanation she was told that there is a ‘new rule’ and foreigners can only have ONE tourist visa every twelve months.

One tourist visa would only be enough to qualify for a three month stay. IE, one two-month visa plus a thirty day extension at a local immigration office.

At that point it is usually time for the famous VISA RUN, but not any more it seems.

Not for these two Americans it isn’t.

Please share your recent visa run experiences in the comments below.

Source - BangkokJack