On January 20, Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) approved the resumption (effective February 1, 2022) of the Exemption from Quarantine (Test & Go) entry scheme for vaccinated travelers. The resumption comes with a few changes. Most importantly, travelers from any country who have been vaccinated with approved vaccines are now eligible for no-quarantine visits under the Test & Go program.

From February 1, 2022, fully vaccinated travelers can apply for a Test & Go Thailand Pass. Complete details of all requirements for the new Test & Go program are here. I covered the terms of the original Test & Go scheme in the The Strange No Quarantine Quarantine and they are summarized in this chart.

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Thailand has modified the terms of the Test & Go program slightly. In addition to now making the program available to residents of any country, noteworthy changes under the new program include

  • considering applications only within 60 days of proposed arrival;
  • staying at a government-approved hotel on day 5 (in addition to day 1) of the stay, taking a PCR Covid test and remaining at the hotel until the results are received; and
  • travelers must show proof of prepayment for staying in government approved hotels and PCR Tests on Day 5 of the stay (in addition to day 1).
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My RT-PCR sample in Bangkok in November 2021.

The new requirement for a second PCR test at a government-approved hotel applies to those who have already received a Thailand Pass as well as new applicants.

Final Thoughts

It is great that Thailand has reinstated what it calls entry without quarantine (actually, there is a quarantine on days 1 and 5). The new requirement for a second PCR test at a government-supervised facility on day 5 makes sense. Previously, the second test was a self-administered rapid antigen test. Antigen tests are cheaper but less accurate than PCR tests, and reporting the results was on the honor system. Now the health authorities will know of positive results immediately and won’t need to track down the infected person.