After being published in the Royal Gazette on 29 June, Thailand’s reopening plan starting with the “Phuket Sandbox” travel model is now official and from 1 July, fully vaccinated travelers from all Nordic countries including Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Finland can travel into Phuket without having to do a mandatory quarantine.
Local media The Thaiger reports that the key point to the Phuket Sandbox scheme is that you have to be fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved by the WHO or the Ministry of health Thailand for at least 14 days before departure and rather than quarantining in a hotel room for 14 days, your quarantine is now the huge tropical island of Phuket.
There has been much talk, back and forth about the details and requirements for travelers, whether Phuket would actually reopen as planned especially in the light of Thailand’s third wave of covid-19 infections and there are a few new details regarding the travel model that have emerged last minute.
For one, travelers will be allowed to explore Phuket only after their arrival PCR test returns a negative result. Embassies around the world are also requiring receipts of pre-payment for the 3 PCR tests you will have in Phuket as part of the Certificate of Entry paperwork. In addition, It also emerged yesterday that bookings for accommodation must be made and pre-paid through the SHA+ website which you can find here. After 14 nights, travelers will be allowed to explore other parts of Thailand. Departure earlier than 14 nights will be international departure from Phuket only.
This is the information posted on the website of the Embassy of Thailand in Denmark:
Phuket Sandbox
- All travelers must stay in Phuket for 14 days before they can travel to other parts of Thailand, except for those planning to travel within Phuket for less than 14 days, with confirmed outbound tickets as proof, will be allowed to depart Phuket for international travel. Domestic transits are currently not allowed.
- Travelers under 18 years who are not vaccinated are allowed to travel under the Phuket Sandbox program only if they travel with their fully vaccinated parents.
Requirement for Thais and Non-Thai
- Thais and Non-Thais staying in Denmark and Lithuania for more than 21 days and fully vaccinated for at least 14 days
- Vaccination certificate
- Medical insurance with minimum coverage of 100,000 USD covering COVID-19 treatment in Thailand https://covid19.tgia.org/
- The air ticket of international direct flight to Phuket
- SHA+ hotel booking confirmation (SHABA Certificate) for 14 nights (or less if staying in Thailand less than 14 days) https://entrythailand.go.th/asq
- Certificate of Entry : https://coethailand.mfa.go.th/
- COVID-19 test (RT-PCR method) no more than 72 hours prior to the departure time. The negative result must be presented to the airline check-in counter.
- Proof of COVID-19 test and payment 3 times on Day 0, Day 6-7, and Day 12-13
To enter Thailand under the “Phuket Sandbox” travel model you have to be traveling from countries classified by Thailand’s Department of Disease Control as a low to medium risk for Covid-19. DDC’s list is updated twice a month and below is a list of the latest low, medium, and high-risk countries as published by the government’s NBT. Iceland and Norway are classified as low-risk countries while Denmark, Sweden, and Finland are classed as medium-risk countries.
Make sure to double check the list of paperwork and requirements with your local embassy before booking your flight to Phuket.
