khunPer

39 minutes ago, Bogbrush said:

Apologies, but I don’t understand;  surely an OA is for people who plan to stay in Thailand for a long time..? They also have to keep 800 000 baht here..

No, the benefit of O-A visa is, that you can keep money in your home country, but still get 12 month validity for trips in and out of Thailand, and one year permitted stay on each entry.

Only if you wish to further extend your permission to stay based on retirement, you'll need to follow the normal rules - i.e. money deposit in a Thai bank or proof of income transferred into Thailand - and furthermore, when having entered on an O-A visa, you also have need to continue a mandatory O-A-health insurance.

I know elder snowbirds that so far applies for a new O-A visa every year...????

9 hours ago, Paulaew said:

It's amazing that so many immigration offices want a hand-drawn map.

 

Either they want to verify that we really know where our house is, or they can't read a Google map.

 

Paul Laew

Where I live they want both a Google Map, with coordinates printed in a box, and a hand drawn map...

2 hours ago, sirineou said:

. Private insurance companies can provide insurance and make a profit,  I am sure the Thai goverment  can come up with a fair and quittable formula to provide the same but without the profit overhead cover pre=existing conditions under certain provisions, so that people would not just come here for the free medical after they get sick. In the 14 years I have been coming here 12 of each married to a lovely Thai lady, with my wife owning two homes , one of each I have recently build, and in that time having purchased two new cars , I think I have contributed considerably more to the Thai economy than many Thais that qualify for the Thai goverment  health care system. 

It seems to me that every time I turn around there is a new proposal and we all have to try and figure out what it means for us.

I am retired here making extensions based on marriage, now if I leave the country, I got to get insurance to come back,

I am almost 65 now, if that policy continues I can for see a time in the next 10 years that I would not be able to purchase insurance in the private market. What then? 

The way I understand it , the A-O has to be obtained from the country of residence. 

What If I visit a country other than my country of residence and stay there a few months? Do I need to go back to the US to come back to Thailand?  Can I get am A-O visa from the US while in Europe?  This whole Thai immigration system gives me a headache . 

In April we are going to Greece and we will look into making that our retirement base, without all these immigration nonsense. 

You can have a re-entry permit when you stay in the kingdom on extended stay based on something like marriage or retirement. Nothing has really changed here, apart from during the Covid-pandemic everybody need to obtain an insurance covering Covid when entering the kingdom.

An O-A visa is really only of interest for those that wish to keep their money abroad and don't plan to stay in Thailand for ever, or at least long time, a perfect solution for many an elder snowbird...????

4 hours ago, phetphet said:

Bad taste. who would buy a red Merc? ????

It had to fit the color of the plates...

There must be something speciel in those Red Fanta in Thailand...????

9 hours ago, webfact said:

How are you coping with obtaining reliable information?

I'm reading the news in ASEAN NOW - and for visa purposes i believe in what Ubon Joe says - and I furthermore follow PR Thai Government's Facebook profile and a few more news sources. I think that I get fine reliable information.

My only problem was when to pay the new property tax last year. I began visiting the revenue office in February with my papers - as the year before they only got the first ever new type property tax bill ready in October, and they told me to come early next year to pay in February - but at that time they didn't have the calculations ready, so I was asked to come back next month. I went back in both March and April, still same answer. Unfortunately I skipped May - it began to cost me more money in fuel that the tax - and came again in July, which was now one month late, so I had to pay interest for late payment...????

The kind cashier said that it was not my fault, they were late with the calculations and documents, but so was the rules, so I had to pay. However, I presume that I'll manage to survive that 20 baht penalty, I was more concerned about the gasoline costs...

1st February 2022

Samui +16 new cases 

Phangan, +9 new cases

Koh Tao, no data

Source: Kohmui.com

5 hours ago, sirineou said:

What these people don't seem to understand is that those making rational decisions on where and how to retire cant do that on constantly changing requirements. People coming in on one set of rules need to . at the very least. have these rules grandfathered in. 

I don't understand why they can not device a fair system where long term residence can buy into the Thai national health care system, as many countries do, then if said expat desires additional insurance he/she can purchase supplemental insurance in the private sector .

A win win situation for both the Thai system that has another stream of income, and the expat that has a minimal health care safety net. 

Nothing has changed with the normal non-immigrant type-O visa and the annual extensions based on retirement.

The O-A type visa are for the those that apply for a one year stay from abroad, and keep their savings abroad instead of in a Thai bank deposit or showing month income transferred into Thailand. The self-insurance is just a wished for extra benefit for those that have difficulties in obtaining a heath insurance for various reasons.

31st January 2022

Samui +18 new cases 

Phangan, +8 new cases

Koh Tao, no data

Source: Kohmui.com

So Wellness Sandbox Tourists are more like Quality Tourists...

30th January 2022

Samui +20 new cases 

Phangan, +13 new cases

Koh Tao, no data

Source: Kohmui.com

29th January 2022

Samui +18 new cases 

Phangan, +11 new cases

Koh Tao, no data

Source: Kohmui.com

On 1/28/2022 at 9:55 AM, Negita43 said:

And is in Thai or English?

 

Needed for international travel

On the local hospital you can get have an international vaccine passport issued, just like the yellow WHO vaccine passport.

Where I live, you need to download and install the Mor Prom app, and get the vaccination result in there, and print a screen dump of the status. Together with a copy of the passport the local hospital will issue the vaccination cost, it costed 50 baht in reasonable fee. I had one made for both my daughter and myself...????

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

A published Ducati monster bike prices put that bike cost at around the 450,000 baht, yes, 450K, that cop must be doing very well for himself to afford such bike unless he's supplementing his salary with other activities...

In another news story if was said that he had bought the bike secondhand.

There are some conflicting statements, like holiday and travel insurance that ran out due to the incident; if the incident happened before the travel insurance ran out, shouldn't mr. Dagnan be covered? Or has mr. Dagnan been staying three years in Thailand with his wife without insurance? And playing loud music at 3 am, what happened before the attack - from the photos in the first news article about the incident, it looked like the two men were staying in a terraced house like glued to their neighbors - did somebody ask them to reduce the music sound level or stop the noisy party before the attack?

Of course nobody shall be killed or even attacked because of loud music - a very sad incident - but don't forget that TIT.

28th January 2022

Samui +14 new cases 
Phangan, +11 new cases

Koh Tao, +1 new case

Source: Kosamuilife.com

In treatment = 1,764 cases

Back home today = 309 ppl

Severe symptoms (Red) = 6 cases

Average symptoms (Yellow) = 293 cases

Mild symptoms (Green) = 1,465 cases

25th January 2022

Samui +16 new cases 

(Bophut 9, Maret 4, Maenam 1, Ang Thong 1, Na Mueang 1;  Samui sandbox 2)
Phangan, +19 new cases

Koh Tao, no data

Source: Kohmui.com

26th January 2022

Samui +20 new cases 
Phangan, +13 new cases

Koh Tao, no new cases

Source: Kosamuilife.com

In treatment = 1,685 cases

Back home today = 222 ppl

Severe symptoms (Red) = 8 cases

Average symptoms (Yellow) = 312 cases

Mild symptoms (Green) = 1365 cases

Thanks for the warning, I'll from now on stop singing when there are elephants in the vicinity...

24th January 2022

Samui +16 new cases 
Phangan, +21 new cases

Koh Tao, +1 new case

Source: Kosamuilife.com

In treatment = 1,957 cases

Severe symptoms (Red) = 8 cases

Average symptoms (Yellow) = 311 cases

Mild symptoms (Green) = 1,638 cases

Yes.

23rd January 2022

Samui +30 new cases 

(Bophut 13, Maret 7, Ang Thong 3, Taling Ngam 3, Lipa Noi 2, Maenam 1, Na Muang 1)
Phangan, +17 new cases

Koh Tao, no data

Source: Kohmui.com

22nd January 2022

Samui +35 new cases 
Phangan, +14 new cases

Koh Tao, no date

Source: Kohmui.com