Medical Certificate in Bang Tao
Work permits, visa extensions, dive courses, gym memberships, an airline that wants written confirmation you are fit to fly, an employer who needs proof of the days you were unwell. All of them want a document, and almost all of them want it at short notice. A medical certificate in Bang Tao is usually issued the same day, and often within the hour.
Certificates we issue
The ones asked for most often here:
- Thai work permit and visa extension certificates
- Fit-to-dive certificates for PADI and SSI courses
- Fit-to-fly letters for airlines
- Sick-leave certificates for employers
- General fitness certificates for gyms, sports and Muay Thai
- Letters confirming treatment received, for travel insurance claims
Thai work permit and visa certificates
The standard Thai certificate confirms you are free from a specific list of conditions and is issued on the government-recognised form.
Requirements vary between immigration offices and between provinces, which catches people out constantly. Ask your office exactly what they want before you come — some accept the standard form, some want particular tests attached, and some want it dated within the last thirty days, so a certificate obtained too early gets rejected and has to be paid for twice.
Bring your passport. If you are unsure what your office requires, bring whatever paperwork they gave you and we will work from that.
Fit-to-dive certificates
Dive schools around Bang Tao and Laguna ask for these constantly, almost always because a student ticked yes to something on the standard medical questionnaire. Asthma, recent surgery, blood pressure medication, ear problems, epilepsy, pregnancy and diabetes all trigger the requirement.
The doctor examines you with diving specifically in mind — chest, ears, blood pressure, and any relevant history. Bring the dive school’s own form, since most have one and a generic letter is often refused.
If you have a current ear infection or blocked ears, that needs treating before a certificate can be issued, because diving with either risks a perforated eardrum. That is not obstruction — it is precisely what the certificate is for.
Fit-to-fly letters
Airlines request these after an illness or injury, or for late pregnancy. What the letter must say varies by airline, and the airline’s own requirement is the one that counts rather than any general standard.
Check the exact wording and the timing before you come. Many airlines only accept a letter written within a set number of days of the flight, and some require specific phrasing about fitness to travel unaccompanied. If you have had stitches or a recent procedure, bring the details so the letter reflects them accurately.
What we will and will not write
The certificate reflects the examination. We are glad to document exactly what we find, and we will not certify something we have not assessed, backdate a sick note to cover days when we did not see you, or write that someone is fit to dive when the examination says otherwise.
That is not unhelpfulness. A certificate is only worth anything because it is honest, and an employer, insurer or dive operator who checks will find out — at which point the document is worse than useless to you. If the examination shows a problem, you will be told clearly what would need to change for a certificate to be issued, and often that is a short course of treatment rather than a refusal.
What to bring, and how long it takes
Bring your passport, the specific form if the requesting organisation has one, a list of any medication you take, and details of any relevant past surgery or conditions.
Most straightforward certificates are issued within the hour. Where blood tests are required — some work permit and visa applications ask for them — allow the same day, or the next if a send-out test is involved. See blood tests for what can be processed on site.
If you need the certificate for a specific deadline, say so when you arrive rather than at the end, because it occasionally changes which tests get ordered and how they are prioritised.
Sick notes for employers back home
If you fall ill on holiday and need to justify missed work, get the certificate while you are actually unwell rather than after you land. A doctor can only certify what they examined, and a letter written three weeks later describing symptoms you reported is worth considerably less to an employer than one written at the time.
Most employers accept an English-language certificate stating the dates seen, the diagnosis and the recommended period away from work. If your employer has a specific form or requires particular wording, bring it — completing their form is straightforward, guessing at it afterwards is not.
The same logic applies to holiday insurance claims for a curtailed or interrupted trip. Insurers generally want contemporaneous medical evidence that you were unfit to travel or continue, which means being seen at the time rather than reconstructing it later. See travel insurance claims for what they typically ask for.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a medical certificate cost?
Most standard certificates are inexpensive and priced as a short consultation. If blood tests or a chest X-ray referral are required, those are added and quoted first.
How long does it take?
Usually within the hour for a straightforward certificate. If laboratory results are required, allow the same day or the next.
Do you issue certificates in English and Thai?
Yes. Thai official forms are issued in the required format, and letters for airlines, employers and insurers are written in English.
Can you backdate a sick note?
No. We can only certify the period we assessed you for. The certificate can record the history you describe, clearly attributed to you rather than stated as our finding.
Can this be done at my hotel?
A doctor hotel visit covers the examination and most letters. Official Thai forms are better done at the clinic, where the correct stationery and stamp are held.
My dive school rejected a certificate from another clinic. Can you help?
Usually yes. Most rejections happen because a generic letter was issued instead of the school’s own form, or because a specific condition was not addressed. Bring the form and the rejection reason and it can normally be sorted the same day.
Come in, or we come to you
Take Care Medical Clinic Bang Tao is open open 24 hours, 7 days a week on Bandon Road in Cherng Talay, a few minutes from Bang Tao Beach and Laguna Phuket. Walk in without an appointment, call +66 81 718 9080, or message us on WhatsApp. If you would rather not move, ask for a doctor hotel visit and we will come to your room.