If you are unsure whether you can travel to Asia during the lockdown. My short answer is yes, but you will have to make sure that you have to plan well.
I’m sharing this from my experience from travelling back to Thailand when the UK announced that it will be going back into lockdown for 4 weeks from November. Below are the 5 most important things you need to know before you plan to travel to Asia during the pandemic.
1. Check which visa and documents are needed to travel to Asia
This first step is especially important during the pandemic because countries that may have waived a tourist visa before will now require application prior to your flight departure. For example, Thailand has suspended all visa exemption and visa on arrivals. In addition, entering Thailand will require another set of documents.
Bottom line is, with the travel restrictions would have changed, so don’t expect to be able to just rock up at the airport, especially when travelling to Asia. The best way to get the most up-to-date travel information is to head over to the official embassy website. Do your research!
Travel to Asia – Thailand for non-Thai nationals
If you are travelling to Thailand during the pandemic, you will need what is called Certificate of Entry issued by the embassy. Good news is that you can apply for it online and from my experience, this is super easy.
I’ve put together a summary of the documents needed for the application outlined below. Although, I’d still recommend visiting the Royal Thai Embassy‘s official website.
- A valid visa (note that the visa exemption and visa on arrival is suspended)
- Flight booking (only from a list of approved airlines)
- Alternative State Quarantine booking confirmation (unfortunately, this has to be fully paid for in advance to secure the booking)
When you have all the documents above, you can now head over and apply for Certificate of Entry via the online portal. It takes between 1-5 days for it to be approved. After which you can proceed to hunt down more documents which you will need to show during check-in and when you arrive in Thailand. Which are:
- Certificate of Entry
- Declaration form
- Fit-to-fly health certificate
- COVID test result
- Insurance policy
- Confirmed Alternative State Quarantine booking
- T.8 Questionnaire form
2. Check destination country restrictions before travelling to Asia
Knowing how long to quarantine for will be essential when planning for the trip. This will include questions like, do you have to quarantine and if so for how long. Where can you quarantine, is it at home or does it have to be at a provided state facility.
For other countries, you might have to quarantine at the allocated facility but may have to adhere to other restrictions.
3. Check restrictions when returning from your travels in Asia
If like me, you are looking to return to the UK, do check whether you are required to self-isolate upon returning. Thailand is now on the travel corridor exemption list so I will not have to.
But I know some Italian friends that had gone back home during the lockdown and will require to self-isolate for 14 days upon returning to the UK. So if your field of work requires that you are physically there, then plan well.
4. Getting a fit-to-fly certificate before travelling to Asia (optional)
You’ll have to check whether this is needed by the airline and the country of destination. Again, just be sure to check with the embassy. To Thailand, I will need a result for a PCR test that is no older than 72 hours before departure. There are a few options to do this, both through a private clinic and online clinic. As for Hong Kong and route via a specific airline e.g. Cathay Airways, which can be done at Heathrow but I highly recommend you arrive early.
5. Check the cost involved before booking your travels to Asia
Considering the deals available right now, you may be able to pick up a really good deal but do keep in mind that there will be additional costs involved as well. Below are some of the things from my experience.
- Visa fees (if needed) for each country will vary.
- I paid £150 for Fit-to-fly certificate (including the COVID PCR Test).
- I used the Alternative State Quarantine facility at Ibis Styles in Bangkok and because it is not the state provided, the cost was £1,000. This includes full-board accommodation and full medical assistance during stay with 2 COVID-19 tests during the stay.
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