The future of Thailand’s requirement for foreign arrivals to have medical insurance is up in the air. Right now, all foreigners except those with work permits are required to have US$20,000 anti-Covid cover, including hospitalisation. The price used to be US$50,000 until the CCSA lowered it in March.
Now, although the Ministry of Tourism suggests that starting next month, the entire registration process for visitors could end, it’s still unclear what insurance requirements would be. The Tourism Authority of Thailand has predicted that the insurance requirement could drop to US$10,000. No government agency, however, has explicitly stated that mandatory insurance will stop being required altogether.
Thailand has long discussed loosening its entry requirements for foreign visitors, keeping would-be travellers on edge. The government will propose removing the Test & Go scheme and Thailand Pass at a meeting with the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on April 22. If the changes and revisions are approved, they could start as early as May 1, allowing travellers to enter Thailand using their vaccine documents rather than waiting one to five days for the Thailand Pass to be approved.
Thailand has already stopped requiring foreign arrivals to take a PCR Covid-19 test before their flight, but visitors still need to take a PCR test once they land. If the new changes are approved, PCR tests-on-arrival could be replaced by 10-15 minute antigen tests.
SOURCE: Pattaya Mail