How to get Thailand Business Visa during Covid "New Normal"?

In period of Covid Pandemic one of the most frequently asked questions is: How can I get a Thailand Business Visa under new rules?

The real question should be: “can I travel to Thailand during Covid?” Answer is yes, if you have some requirements. Tourist travellers are banned indefinitely, until further notice. Basic requirement is that you travel for business.

But this is not enough. In order to apply for a Thailand Businee Visa you must fulfill one of the following requirements:

have a valid working permit
be Director of a company under BOI program
have an invitation from the Ministry of Labour

Furthermore, the traveller must have also an invitation letter from a Thai Registered Company and provide the documentation described below

How can I enter in Thailand for Business?

Actually, the procedure to travel to Thailand for business is as follows:

The following documents for visas and Certificate of Entry (COE) must be sent to your local Embassy. You may contact them by phone to get an appointment, since walk-in is not allowed:

Copy of the page of valid visa or re-entry permit on the passport if you already have it. If you need to apply for a visa, you can download the application from this link (for Italy only, download it here)
Photo page of the passport
Copy of work permit or a Letter from Board of Investment of Thailand or from the Ministry of Labour giving permission to go to Thailand to work
Letter of invitation from a Registered Thai Company.
Filled in and signed Declaration Form (you can download it here)
Medical insurance policy which covers treatment and medical expenses in relation to COVID-19, with a minimum coverage of 100,000 USD

Can I use a commercial flight to travel to Thailand?

If you fulfill all the requirements above, the Embassy will put you on a waiting list for the next available repatriation flights. You MUST use repatriation flights since Thai Civil Aviation Authority banned commercial and scheduled flights until further notice.

You have to note that the Embassy can approve your Visa request only after availability of repatriation flight has been confirmed. So, your travel dates must be extremely flexible.

Once airline confirms your repatriation flight, the Embassy will inform you via e-mail.

At this stage you will need to provide a proof of Alternative State Quarantine reservation. Check-in date must be in accordance with the date of arrival to Thailand. Procedure requires a 14-days state quarantine for everyone entering Thailand. You can download the current list of hotels providing ASQ service HERE .

The Certificate of Entry for Thailand (the equivalent of Thailand Business Visa) will be provided only when the Embassy receive the ASQ confirmation.

What do I need to Fly to Thailand?

No, commercial flights are banned. You can only use repatriation flights, with the following procedure.

At departure (check-in), you will need the following documents to board the filght:

Certificate of Entry (COE) issued by the Embassy
COVID-free medical certificate using RT-PCR method (Issued no more than 72-hour before boarding)
Fit-to-Fly medical certificate (download a template here)
Medical insurance policy

The repatriation flights board Thais and foreigners from all over Europe. They are special flights, so the Embassy can confirm the date/availability around 7-10 days in advance.

At your arrival you will subject to a 14 days quarantine. All hotels have high standards and will do their best to make your stay a smooth as possible compatibly with your status of Quarantined. After you terminated your quarantine, you’ll be free to carry out all the activities necessary for your business.

Source of the information above is Thai Embassy in Italy, dated August 19th, 2020.

You can contact us for any update at [email protected] or browse https://ddc.moph.go.th/viralpneumonia/eng/index.php