However, people must still register their intent to enter or leave Phuket with the Phuket Provincial Police and book their allocated time for entering or leaving Phuket in order to avoid congestion at the checkpoint, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Rungrote Thakurapunyasiri told The Phuket News today.
The relaxation of the requirements follows the provincial order posted publicly last night allowing interprovincial travel to and from Phuket by road and sea.
There is no longer a need for people wanting to enter or leave Phuket to first be issued a Fit to Travel document, Maj Gen Rungrote said.
However, he stressed that all people entreing and leaving Phuket will be screened by health officials at the checkpoint.
There is no need for people to observe a 14-day self-quarantine before arriving in Phuket, Maj Gen Rungrote added – with the exception of people arriving from Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Narathiwat, Yala, Krabi, Prachinburi, Samut Prakan and Chiang Mai, as announced by Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana last Friday.
Whether or not people leaving Phuket need to observe a 14-day self-quarantine before leaving the island depended on the requirements in effect at the destination of where people were travelling to, he also said.
“It is not required by Phuket authorities in order for people to leave the island. People will need to check with officials at their destination in order to be sure,” he explained.
“People do not need to wait for approval from provincial health officials first, but they must register for health officials’ records,” Maj Gen Rungrote confirmed.
“I advise registering online one day before the date of intended travel,” he advised.
To register, people must complete the online form posted via the PhuketSmartCheck-in app.
A version is available for desktop computers (click ‘Show Fullscreen”).
The registration form is now available in English. Of note, at the bottom of the form in English is a “Choose file” button for people to upload a photo of their passport face page.
To register, people must provide personal information such as their name, nationality and phone number, emergency contact person details, type of transportation, ID card or passport number and their intended purpose for either entering or leaving Phuket.
People must also select their time they intended to present themselves at Phuket Check Point to be processed to be allowed to enter or leave Phuket so that police can avoid over-congestion at the checkpoint.
“Then they will be issued a personalised QR Code that they will need to show officers at the Phuket Check Point,” Maj Gen Rungrote explained.
For people entering Phuket, each person will be registered for different lengths of time, depending on their stated reason for entering the province.
People visiting Phuket for travel or business will see their registration remain valid for seven days, while people coming to Phuket to work and even Phuket residents returning home will both see their registrations remain valid for 30 days.
However, Maj Gen Rungrote stressed that there will be no fine or legal action for a person’s registration expiring while they are still in Phuket.
“If their QR Code expires, they must re-register again – but there is no need to leave Phuket because of this, and they will not be charged with breaking any law or be forced to pay a fine. They just need to re-register for local officials’ health records,” he said.