Gaybutton wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 3:18 pm
That's fine, but it does not entitle holders of that Elite card entry into Thailand under the current circumstances with fewer health restrictions than anyone else.
I might be wrong on this, but I thought Thais were permitted to return to Thailand with 14 day quarantine.
The 14 day quarantine is the "firewall" to prevent covid transmission.
I would have thought it would make sense for the Thai government to honour the terms of the elite visa and allow holders in with 14 day quarantine. That should result in near zero risk of importing covid, so there's not really any scientific basis for excluding them. A 14 day quarantine should work well, irrespective of the race of the people involved.
Quarantine seems to be working with Thai returnees, as The Nation is reporting positive test results amongst returning Thais, yet we see no outbreaks in the general population.
I DON'T have an Elite card and this is just my view based on doing the right thing and honouring agreements. Considering the Thai government sees no need to honour Elite cards, STVs etc, I imagine most potential customers are taking note of this.
The Bangkok post contains an article about Thailand hoping to sell more Elite cards.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/20 ... investment
Although we criticized it a few weeks ago, right now the $2000 deposit on entry to Cambodia looks like a safer bet than handing your money over to the Thai government. At least there are reports of people getting their $2000 back in Cambodia, minus very fair & reasonable costs.