[K1ngston]

I thought some of you may like to hear of the predicament my husband and I are in currently? We reside for the moment in Phuket Thailand where to be fair the authorities have done a great job in stopping the spread of COVID I dont think we have had any additional reports for about 6 weeks now!

We were going to be buy a property here but to cut a long story short we decided against it and will be moving back to Singapore at the end of the year. As I am on a tourist visa ( I would normally be travelling Mon-Fri every week) there has been an amnesty in place now since March which initially ran out at the end of July and was extended until the 26th Sept but now there are stipulations around this. You have to get a letter from your Embassy to state why you are in the Kingdom before you can extend again and every Embassy except the British Embassy have said that they will do this without hesitation ..The British Embassy has said they will not be doing this!

Therefore having to leave the Kingdom I have to decide where to go! I can arrange to go to Singapore as I am a Work Permit Holder there but I will have to go into 14 days quarantine (at my cost) and then try and get back to Thailand which currently is impossible as there are no International flights in. If you manage to get on a repatriation flight you will have to go into 14 days quarantine (at my cost) when getting back to Bangkok whereby my passport will be stamped for 30 days and then youve guessed it we start again!

Fine you say, head back to your home country which is the UK whereby they are not allowing anyone in from Thailand without quarantining for 14 days in the UK whereby I would then look to head back to a) work in Singapore or b) home in Thailand and start again….

I understand about COVID and being careful and stuff but to renew my visa here in Thailand at the lowest level ie pay for minimal quarantine and flights is going to cost me $5K SGD …. welcome to the new normal!!!!!!!!

Update I have decided to stay in Singapore after quaratine go into a serviced apartment and find us somewhere to live come the end of 20, but still the cost and seperation from the packing and shipping will not go down well!

2 users thanked author for this post.

MartynSinclair, TerryMcManus24

[SimonS1]

Very frustrating for all concerned.

It’s times like this you need a bit of help from your Embassy but there are complaints from many countries that consular staff have been as much use as a chocolate teapot.

On the other hand didn’t Thai immigration ask you on arrival what the purpose of your visit was? Is it really the job of the Embassy to tell them what they already know?

[BillShiphr]

Even though the whole thing with facemasks and testing is quite annoying, I totally understand why we should all be cautious. At the beginning of the pandemic, I didn’t believe that it is such a serious thing but then a few of my friends got ill and their condition was awful, I am so glad that they are fine now.

2 users thanked author for this post.

TerryMcManus24, travelworld

[TerryMcManus24]

Not a lot of help but for some…Brunei and Malaysia have been Added to the UK government’s travel corridor list following a decrease in confirmed cases of coronavirus.
From 04:00 on Tuesday 11 August 2020, Passengers arriving to England from these Destinations will No Longer need to self-isolate, so long as they haven’t been in or transited through any other non-exempt countries in the 14 days Preceding their arrival.

[MartynSinclair]

..but is it only a one way corridor, not reciprocal?….

[TerryMcManus24]

Travelling to the Netherlands from abroad..as a follow up…just checked…Travellers from these Countries are exempt from the Self-Quarantine rules. The travel ban currently does Not apply to travellers from:
Australia;
Canada;
Georgia;
Japan;
Morocco;
New Zealand;
Rwanda;
South Korea;
Thailand;
Tunisia;
Uruguay;

This list of countries is Reviewed regularly. If it is necessary to remove a country from the list, this can be done at any time.

https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-19/tackling-new-coronavirus-in-the-netherlands/travel-and-holidays/visiting-the-netherlands

[TerryMcManus24]

…unlikely to be reciprocal at the moment but things can…must change…Latest update 28th July..
https://esd.imi.gov.my/portal/pdf/Guideline_expatriate_A_2.pdf

[K1ngston]

[postquote quote=1006142][/postquote]

Thank you for this, why can the Netherlands recognise countries that have done far better than most and the “people in charge” in the UK cannot? The term “lunatics in the park” comes to mind!!!!!

Literally as typing this Thailand has announced today that they will probably not open their borders to International flights and tourists until March 21, now that is ballsy as basically here in Phuket the people are starving, the Tourist industry is on its knees and the new job of the moment is security as crime is on the uptake. Oh yes and demanding 30K THB about 750 GBP to renew my visa if I want to stay …. got to recoup their losses somewhere I guess?

[SimonS1]

[quote quote=1006445]why can the Netherlands recognise countries that have done far better than most and the “people in charge” in the UK cannot? The term “lunatics in the park” comes to mind!!!!![/quote]

Of course different countries have different methodologies and priorities, so to suddenly reach an opinion about “lunatics in the park” really sounds a bit silly.

Many of the countries listed above are either closed to UK nationals (US, Canada, Japan, NZ, Thailand etc) or hardly at the centre of demand (Rwanda, Uruguay). But hey ho, clearly if you don’t evaluate and produce a list of places that no-one can travel to then you get labelled a lunatic.

Personally I would prefer the Government focused on places that are in demand with borders actually open to travellers.

[MartynSinclair]

[quote quote=1006458]Personally I would prefer the Government focused on places that are in demand with borders actually open to travellers.[/quote]

It’s sadly out of the Government’s control. The idea of the air corridors, when initially mooted was to have reciprocal travel agreements – now it appears to be more about where can us Brits go without needing to quarantine way out or in.

[quote quote=1006445]Literally as typing this Thailand has announced today that they will probably not open their borders to International flights and tourists until March 21,[/quote]

Not sure K1ngston if you read / subscribe to “Thai Visa The Nation”. They reported that TAT have created a worst, medium and best case scenario for foreign flights to restart. Best case appears as you suggest March 2021, worst case is reported to be December 2021.

It really is incomprehensible how a country so reliant on tourism and business travel could possibly keep their borders shut for nearly 1 3/4 years, as a worse case scenario…

[K1ngston]

[postquote quote=1006461][/postquote]

Martyn as you say the best case scenario is March 21…. that will effectively bankrupt 40% of the Island of Phuket which is tragic in itself!

[SimonS1]

[quote quote=1006461]It’s sadly out of the Government’s control. The idea of the air corridors, when initially mooted was to have reciprocal travel agreements – now it appears to be more about where can us Brits go without needing to quarantine way out or in.[/quote]

Indeed it will always be a fluid model , as we have seen with the changes on Lux and Belgium. Whilst changes are inevitable, I do think there is merit in having a list of places where we can travel without having 2 weeks isolation on return. Countries are changing their guidance every day (eg yesterday UAE announced returns were now possible without an ICA permit being needed). I’m not sure corridors will ever really work, as we are not talking about sterile areas at each end. Even countries that have sealed themselves off from the outside world like Australia and NZ have their issues.

My point was to describe people as “lunatics” simply because they have not produced a list of countries where we cannot actually go (like the Dutch model) is a bit odd.

[LuganoPirate]

One of the big problems is people being honest. For example, entry to Switzerland from some countries requires 10 days isolation / quarantine. However you can travel to your place of isolation by public means, stop for lunch and shopping on the way etc.

But, some arrivals into Italy do not require quarantine, even though they do in Switzerland. So you can fly into Milan, and simply get the train to Switzerland and no-one compulses you to isolate. Likewise coming from certain areas in Spain, where you do have to isolate. Travelers are simply saying they came from elsewhere and are escaping isolation.

There are so many examples and variations of this and of people who simply think they have not caught the virus who then go off infecting people. It does make you wonder if destroying economies is worth it or whether we should all adopt the Swedish model, with sensible precautions, especially for the sick and elderly, and let the virus run its course?

2 users thanked author for this post.

ASK1945, MartynSinclair

[MartynSinclair]

[quote quote=1006584]There are so many examples and variations of this and of people who simply think they have not caught the virus who then go off infecting people.[/quote]

..or people who stupidly believe the rules and laws, apply to everyone but themselves…or the business owners who refuse to enforce laws…

3 users thanked author for this post.

Johnnyg, LuganoPirate, TerryMcManus24

[LuganoPirate]

[postquote quote=1006589][/postquote]

Yes, and even in Italy and Switzerland some establishments are not taking the proper precautions. If we see that at restaurants we do not go in and cancel our reservation by phone telling them the reason why. If it’s a shop we just walk on by!

[Author]

Posts