Medical Certificate in Railay
Work permits, visa extensions, dive courses, an airline that wants confirmation you are fit to fly, an employer who needs proof of the days you were ill. All of them want a document and most want it at short notice. A medical certificate in Railay is usually issued the same day, without a boat to Krabi Town and back.
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 climbing courses
- 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 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 one obtained too early gets rejected and paid for twice.
This matters for the large number of people working seasonally on Railay and in Ao Nang. Bring your passport, and bring whatever paperwork the office gave you.
Fit-to-dive certificates
Dive schools around Railay, Ao Nang and Ton Sai 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 nurse examines you with diving specifically in mind — chest, ears, blood pressure and 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 exists to check.
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 requirement is the one that counts.
Check the exact wording and timing before you come, because many airlines only accept a letter written within a set number of days of the flight. If you have had stitches or a recent procedure, bring the details so the letter reflects them accurately.
Worth noting for climbers: a recent limb fracture in a cast, or a wound that is still open, can both affect an airline’s decision, and it is far better to establish that a week before the flight than at the check-in desk in Krabi.
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 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.
Timing, and sick notes for employers at home
Most straightforward certificates are issued within the hour. Where blood tests are required, allow the same day or the next if a send-out test is involved — see blood tests.
If you fall ill here and need to justify missed work at home, get the certificate while you are actually unwell rather than after you land. A nurse 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.
The same logic applies to an insurance claim for a curtailed trip: insurers want contemporaneous medical evidence that you were unfit to continue, which means being seen at the time — see travel insurance claims.
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 accommodation?
A doctor resort 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 a specific condition was not addressed. Bring the form and the reason and it can normally be sorted the same day.
A nurse-led clinic, part of the Takecare network
Takecare Clinic Railay is staffed by experienced English-speaking nurses, and works together with Doctor Ao Nang Takecare Medical Clinic in Ao Nang. The two clinics share doctors, records and treatment plans, so a doctor is involved whenever one is needed — reviewing a case, prescribing, or coming over to Railay — and care started on the peninsula continues without repetition if you cross to the mainland. It also means a second clinical opinion is a phone call away rather than a boat ride.
Come in, or we come to you
Takecare Clinic Railay is open 8am–10pm daily on Railay, and reachable 24 hours by phone, WhatsApp and Line — so if something happens after we close, message rather than wait until morning. Walk in without an appointment, call +66 81 718 9080, message WhatsApp or Line. If you would rather not move, ask for a doctor resort visit and we will come to you. For anything that cannot wait for a boat, see evacuation and hospital transfer.