NEW Covid Travel insurance are compliant with Immigration – Airlines
In 5 steps, we give you the tools and links to get the latest info on traveling to your country of destination health, tests, quarantine and travel medical insurance to pass airline and immigration surely.
Luck is not a safe strategy to pass immigration in Vietnam – Asia
Since March 2020, there are 2 things you should know:
- Facebook ‘experts’ are not the law nor the new regulations: they are not ones that will pay for your cancellation ticket for being stuck at the airline boarding counter or your return flight when your destination country immigration desk denies access.
- All countries are eager to open up after 2 long years of during that time they planned and literally programmed (via App) all Visa and health compliance data collection. Like in Vietnam Immigration 2.0 is on.
Do your homework on new Covid Travel Visa, Health and insurance requirements
Travel post-Covid 2.0 has changed with new Health, Visa and medical insurance procedures. Depending on your citizenship, country of residence, transit countries and final destination, different rules apply. My friend was just blocked from returning home due to no health insurance to transit 2-hours in Thailand, without exiting the Bangkok airport.
1- Check the embassy on the date you plan to buy ticket
2- Check the airline on the day you purchase your ticket
3- Check the transit and stop-over countries entry regulations
4- Just before departure recheck online 3 above + Official information like daily updated https://www.unwto.org/tourism-data/unwto-iata-destination-tracker
5- Get the relevant documents in paper and originals from the right providers: tests, certificates, insurance, quarantine hotels in english or better the language of the country you travel to.
Don’t rely on Social Network groups
The laws and regulations are rarely read by social network followers because professional advisors or lawmakers are very busy people not in those groups but also . Eventually you can have fun and collect anecdotic tips from Facebook groups that are not the law or the country regulations.
Here are 4 advices, they usually get wrong:
- The exception is not the rule or the law. Because one escaped an airline/immigration requirement does not mean you will escape the regulations too. They were just lucky
- They give you their ‘many years’ of experience about destination or insurance… but that was before Covid19 reopening
- They point you to “good old” travel tips, visa agencies, health insurance… 90% are gone, closed with Covid 2-years of no income, zero tourists coming.
- They can only be superficial and not suitable to your personal case. Because the immigration laws and insurance fine prints should apply to all nationals and countries: those are written in 50 pages long ‘T&C terms and conditions’. Facebook statistics says, the average FB reader quit reading before 15 lines of text.
No need Travel insurance, I have always need insured by good old…
Here are a few terms you should know and spot: Covid can be foreseen, pandemics is not a risk anymore, exclusions for pandemics related claims, force majeure, Covid waiting period 7-days…
The usual travel insurance suspects: credit card, travel nomads…
As mentioned previously, most travelers with insurance in the past 2-years have tried to claim because every single trip had a problem to indemnify. To the point some insurers just stopped selling travel cover or excluding any claims refund related to Covid.
Here are some examples at famous credit card and travel insurers excluding some or all Covid-related claims refund.
In case you have a doubt and in order to safely board your plane or enter your transit and traveling countries, request them A WRITTEN CERTIFICATE MENTIONING ON THE SAME PAGE in English 5 information:
- Limit of Coverage compliant to the transit/traveling countries requirement
- Your medical and related costs covered
- Your name and family members
- Validity through the period of traveling as per your visa or air ticket
- The insurer contact details if not approved by Airline or Immigration
Anyway, you will need to show a paper proof ‘COI/IC Certificate Of Insurance’ original paper (Asian like stamped) to show airline boarding staff, airport transit officers and immigration police officers -not sophisticated in most developing countries-. Forget about bribing our way through, that is like russian roulette, as they may joke with immigrationn rules but not with the Ministry of Health considered National security when it comes to Covid pandemics.
Where to buy mandatory travel health insurance?
A little research showed that you need insurance to destination or transit country, to Vietnam it is US$10,000 minimum limit to cover Covid costs: Thailand US$50,000, Malaysia $80,000… Check the World Map Covid Travel by countries you transit or visit.
Here are some New Covid travel products, specifically designed by country, some are registered to airlines, airports and immigration
- Vietnam Travel pass by Luma Health Thailand.
- Thailand Travel pass by Luma Health Vietnam.
- ASEAN Travel pass -for serious travelers in multiple ASEAN countries-.
- Rest-of-the-World travel pass -for any duration, anywhere- by ACS Globe partners.
- For Expatriates visiting their home countries: ACS globe traveler will do the job. NB. Some travel plans do not cover Expat returning home. The rationale being travel insurance is made for traveling out of your home/citizenship country.
- If you have an International medical insurance for Expats it is valid anytime. No need to purchase travel insurance. Just get a COI Certificate Of Insurance mentioning travelers names, period of cover, destination and amount of Covid coverage,to show the airline, transit and immigration in replacement of travel insurance, because it is the payment of Covid hospitalization medical costs they want you to secure.
Bon voyage,
For Expatriate a reliable International Health insurance will do the job.
You can also read On New Vietnam Visa policies.
