Quarantine obligation for vaccinated travelers from Thailand expires
(Danielsen_Photography / Shutterstock.com)
For vaccinated travelers from very high-risk areas such as Thailand, the quarantine obligation will expire on September 22. The mask obligation at airports will remain in place. These are the most important decisions for air passengers that the outgoing Dutch government announced on Tuesday at the press conference about corona.
From September 22, the quarantine rules for travel to the Netherlands will change. Vaccinated travelers from, for example, the United States, the United Kingdom, Suriname, Thailand or other very high-risk areas no longer need to be quarantined. This makes it a lot easier for most people to travel to the Netherlands from those countries.
At the airports in the Netherlands, in trains, buses, trams, metro and taxis, the use of a face mask remains mandatory. The obligation expires on platforms and stations.
Below is a list of very high-risk countries for which the quarantine obligation expires when traveling to the Netherlands if you are fully vaccinated:
- afghanistan;
- bangladesh;
- Botswana;
- Brazil;
- Costa Rica;
- Cuba;
- The US Virgin Islands;
- Dominican;
- Eswatini;
- Fiji;
- Philippines;
- French Guiana
- French Polynesia;
- Georgia;
- Guadeloupe;
- Guyana;
- Haiti;
- India;
- Indonesia;
- Iran;
- Israel:
- Kazakhstan;
- Kosovo:
- Lesotho;
- Malaysia;
- Martinique;
- Mongolia;
- Montenegro
- Myanmar;
- Nepal;
- Northern Macedonia
- Pakistan;
- Saint Lucia;
- Saint Kitts and Nevis;
- Seychelles;
- Somalia;
- Surinam;
- Sri Lanka;
- Thailand;
- Venezuela;
- United Kingdom;
- United States;
- South Africa.
Source: Luchtvaartnieuws.nl
YES! Now the quarantine in Thailand is gone!
More will become possible again, but the situation can change quickly. But the "new normal" is that Covid-19 is here to stay and the world has to move on with Corona.
Dennis, how about those bizarre insurance requirements that the Thai government makes?
There seems to be a solution for that problem as well. Travel insurers will probably cover medical costs for orange areas after all, following the travel organizations that will again offer travel to orange destinations. Then you can get a Covid-19 statement for Thailand through your travel insurer.
As Peter (formerly Khun) also indicates, people always fall by the wayside.
But (and I don't mean that in a mean way) people who deregister from the Netherlands have done so themselves. Of course no one knew in advance that Corona would come and that the Thai government came up with crazy plans (although, you can suspect the latter). Leaving the Netherlands is a conscious choice and may come with consequences that are not always fun.
In addition, as long as you don't leave Thailand you don't need Covid insurance either. Leaving Thailand and returning later is of course another choice. Maybe sometimes a necessary choice, but life is not always a succession of nice things.
It all sounds a bit reproachful and that is not intended, but on the other hand if someone decides to leave life in the Netherlands behind, then of course you also have to conform to the rules and requirements that apply in the new country.
That's very nice, for tourists. But that does not apply to Dutch people who have deregistered and therefore cannot have Dutch travel insurance, but are still insured for medical expenses in the Netherlands.
Yes, groups can be left out. But if an expat in Thailand can afford a plane ticket to the Netherlands, a Covid-19 insurance policy can also get rid of it.
Small side note… Not all vaccines may be accepted. At European level there are only 4 vaccines. But, entirely in European style, each country is free to determine its own selection…
Unfortunately I can no longer find the link to the list, but I can still find the Excel file, downloaded September 13.
It says:
---
Overview of vaccines against COVID-19 administered by third countries for which most EU Member States/EEA countries would wave travel restrictions
Comirnaty Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine
Spikevax Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine
COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen
Vaxzevria AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine
---
There is also a list of licensed AZ variants. The Thai AstraZeneca is listed as accepted.
For NL this is the list:
[ source: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/coronavirus-covid-19/nederland-inreizen/eisen-vaccinatiebewijs-voor-reizigers-naar-nederland ]
Your vaccine(s) must be approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or World Health Organization (WHO). At the moment these are:
Astra Zeneca EU (Vaxzevria) ;
Astra Zeneca–Japan (Vaxzevria);
Astra Zeneca–Australia (Vaxzevria);
Astra Zeneca–SK Bio (Vaxzevria);
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine – United States of America;
Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty);
Johnson & Johnson ((COVID-19 Vaccine) Janssen);
Moderna (Spikevax);
Serum Institute of India (Covishield);
Sinopharm BIBP;
Sinovac.”
I found it again: https://reopen.europa.eu/static/COVID-19_VACCINES_3rd_countries-to-publish-final_2021-08-09.xlsx
Thailand is on line 160 of the 'corresponding to EU' tab.
Line 166 states that NL, among others, has yet to determine its position:
“Most of the EU Member States/EEA countries accept the vaccination certificates of people having been administered one of the above vaccines, for waiving travel restrictions. However, DK, IT, NL, and NO are still considering their position if the above corresponds or not to the vaccines that had been granted a marketing authorization and pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 for waiving travel restrictions.”
The link was on this page from the EU: https://reopen.europa.eu/en
For Belgians there is actually no reason for those who have already received the AZ or would refuse it because it would not be accepted. For Belgians anyway.
Great info.
I would very much like this list of accepted vaccines =====where the AZ of Siam Bioscience=== and/or where to find it.
Thanks
Two websites that provide answers to questions about which vaccines allow entry into (Schengen) EU countries:
https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/eu-travel-covishield-sinopharm-sinovac-vaccines-are-most-widely-accepted-by-eu-countries-after-those-authorised-by-ema/
https://visaguide.world/news/vaccine-checker-proof-of-immunity-for-travel/