Thailand has announced that it will be reopening to a total of 46 countries including Singapore from 1 November 2021, allowing fully vaccinated travellers to enter without quarantine.
| ⚕️ Exemption From Thailand Quarantine (from 1 November 2021) | |
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Travellers will only be permitted to enter Thailand by air, and must undergo two COVID-19 PCR tests: one prior to departure, and one on arrival. Additional requirements like medical insurance and a one-night reservation at an SHA+/AQ (formerly known as ASQ) hotel apply, but otherwise, Singaporeans can enjoy relatively frictionless travel to Thailand once more.
Singapore travellers exempt from Thai quarantine
From 1 November 2021, travellers from Singapore may avoid quarantine on arrival in Thailand provided they meet the following conditions:
- Have a 21-day travel history only featuring Singapore and/or the other 45 eligible countries
- Be fully vaccinated with a recognised vaccine
- Purchase medical insurance with min. coverage of US$50K
- Present a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of flight to Thailand
- Make a reservation for 1 night in an SHA+ or AQ hotel
- Undergo a COVID-19 PCR test on arrival in Thailand and self-isolate at SHA+ or AQ hotel until result is released
In terms of process, it’s quite similar to what Singapore has in place for incoming VTL travellers. Instead of quarantine, fully vaccinated passengers undergo a pre-departure and on-arrival test, and enjoy unrestricted movement once the results are out.
The main difference between Singapore and Thailand’s schemes are that Thailand looks at your 21-day history (vs 14 days for Singapore), allows pre-departure testing to be done within 72 hours (vs 48h for Singapore), and arrivals must stay at designated SHA+ or AQ hotels while waiting for their test results (vs any hotel in Singapore).
With the latest developments, Thailand will now operate three schemes for entering the country by air.
| Exemption | Sandbox* | Alt. Quarantine | |
| Eligible Countries | 46 | All | All |
| Quarantine | None | Must stay in sandbox area for 7 days | 10 days at AQ hotel |
| Vaccination | Fully vax. | Fully vax. | Not required |
| Accom. | 1N at SHA+ or AQ hotel | 7N at SHA+ hotel in sandbox area | 10N at AQ hotel |
| Medical Insurance | US$50K | US$50K | US$50K |
| PDT | 72h before dep. | 72h before dep. | 72h before dep. |
| Further tests | On arrival | On arrival + Day 6/7 | On arrival + Day 8/9 |
| *Sandbox for arrivals through Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Samui, U-Tapao and Buriram (chartered flights only) | |||
There’s still SHN on return to Singapore…
While Thailand will effectively be completely open to vaccinated Singapore residents, there’ll still be issues returning to Singapore.
Thailand is currently categorised as a Category IV country, which means that all arrivals must serve a 10-day SHN in a hotel, regardless of vaccination status. This costs S$1,450 plus testing.
…unless you make a further visit to a VTL country
However, if you’re able to take a slightly longer period of leave, you can work Thailand into your itinerary and still return to Singapore quarantine-free.
The key to this lies with VTL countries. Travellers whose 14-day history consists of only Singapore and/or VTL countries may take designated VTL flights to Singapore and avoid an SHN on arrival.
In other words, visit Thailand first, then proceed to a VTL country and stay at least 14 days before returning to Singapore. You’ll probably need at least 2.5 weeks to make the entire trip worthwhile, but if there’s one thing Singaporeans have been accumulating during this period, it’s annual leave.
Of course, this is contingent on the VTL country accepting travellers from Thailand without quarantine. Here’s the relevant regulations by VTL country.
| Entry for Fully Vaccinated Travellers from Thailand (Tourism) | |
| Country | Entry policy |
| Brunei | ❌ Entry restricted |
| Canada | ✔️ Entry permitted with PDT |
| Denmark | ❌Quarantine required |
| France | ✔️ Entry permitted |
| Germany | ✔️ Entry permitted |
| Italy | ❌ Entry restricted |
| Netherlands | ✔️ Entry permitted with PDT |
| South Korea | ❌ Entry restricted |
| Spain | ✔️ Entry permitted |
| United Kingdom | ✔️ Entry permitted |
| United States | ✔️ Entry permitted with PDT |
Conclusion
Singapore residents will be able to enter Thailand without quarantine from 1 November 2021. While they’ll still face a 10-day SHN on return to Singapore, this can be avoided with a further 14-day stay in a VTL country after their Thailand trip. It means that weekend getaways to Bangkok aren’t on the radar just yet, but every little bit helps.
With the easing of quarantine also comes a loosening of COVID-19 restrictions, such as the lifting of curfew and plans to reopen nightlife venues (albeit at a later stage).
Bro never give credit
if we have travel insurance from credit card, is this valid?
“*Sandbox for arrivals through Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Samui, U-Tapao and Buriram (chartered flights only)”
The inclusion of Suvarnabhumi/Don Mueang means that Bangkok can be used as a transit point, but Bangkok itself is not in the sandbox programme right?
From Singapore etc you don’t need to use “Sandbox” anymore – you can freely move around Bangkok & Thailand once you’ve tested and done a night in an AQ hotel , of which there are plenty in Bangkok
Random point @Aaron – you can’t stay in any hotel in Singapore if you arrive on the VTL – a friend just got denied by the CP at the airport of all places!
What I meant to say (and is in the hyperlink) is that the government doesn’t stipulate a list of hotels, but individual hotels can add their own restrictions. CP should not be taking anyway since its a shn facility
Oh that is why then. They gave my friend the list and told them to pick one from there but that was probably just them being helpful. Cheers Aaron!
Looks like you’ll need to update this again now that Thailand will be Cat III… Also, awesome job on keeping up with the latest. I’ve referred so many to milelion.com for the simplified English version of all the regulations.
thanks! Thailand still Cat IV, as far as I know…