1 hour ago, yogi100 said:

So you'll have to book and pay for a flight before you know if you can get a visa to gain admittance. That's common sense Thai style. 

 

Now the METV has been stopped few long termers will be bothering with the LOS any more. If that's what they want that's what they'll be getting.

 

One of my friends has just got back from Samui, another from Pattaya and another is an expat who lives in Pattaya. All of 'em while admitting that it's high season all say it's as dead as a door nail. So far that's mainly down to the strong baht.

 

This high season should be interesting.

Yes you need to have booked flights, accommodation, a UK or Irish passport or ( if you are not a UK or Irish passport holder a long term leave to remain in the UK) and an employer letter specifically addressed to the Embassy or a particular consulate. The METV is still available in the UK. London you now need to apply and pay by using Evisa for all visa classes. There are no 'Walk in' applications allowed. If your not successful in obtaining the METV, they will issue a SETV but there is no return in difference of fees. Then you either post the application or make an appointment to drop it off. They will notify you when the collection is available. It isn't same day service. The Thai consulates in Glasgow, Hull, (Liverpool needs an appointment) and Dublin are same day drop off and collection for Tourist visas. None of the consulates can issue a Non O visa without pre-approval from London
ME Non O visas are no longer issued anywhere in the UK. Only single entry are now issued. None of consulates can accept postal or return applications any longer.

7 hours ago, yogi100 said:

I've been getting METVs for years from the London Embassy and various UK consulates.

 

I've never once been even asked about any airline ticket.

You will not get any visa in the UK now without a prepaid Itenary since 15th June

1 minute ago, phantomfiddler said:

Perhaps I am going blind, but I see no evidence of "Multiple" printed anywhere ????

That is because the attachment is an entry stamp and not a visa

47 minutes ago, Maestro said:

 

The immigration's plan apparently is that if the on the date of the foreigner's arrival with a non-O-A visa the validity period of the health insurance is for less than one year from that date, the immigration official will give a permission to stay (valid until... stamp) only for the remaining period of the insurance validity. A one-year permission to stay is not mandatory: the legal provision is "not exceeding one year" as per section 25, clause (3) of the Immigration Act.

That is correct. Item 4 of the order needs to be paid a close attention. That covers Immigration of you being stamped in wrongly under sections 2 and 3. You would be deemed on overstay the next time you needed to attend Immigration OR leaving the country after any period of more than the remaining 4 months insurance validity.
If for instance you had 4 months Insurance left and it wasn't noticed and you was stamped in for 12 months. You would be on overstay anything over 4 months once the stamp was reverted to the correct entry.

 

18 minutes ago, BritTim said:

There are plenty of people with high incomes who do not routinely leave 6,000 euros lying around in a bank account. If the consulate just wants to see 5,000 euros in an account on the date of application, that may not be a big deal. If they want to see a continuous balance of that amount over months, many might not have that.

There are not many Embassy's and consulates that don't apply the 6 months of bank statements rule with a balance not allowed to drop below 6000 Euros, £5000, $7000 etc over the course of 6 months for a METV application
It isn't a new requirement.

6 hours ago, lovesthespicy said:

 

I'm surprised they made him pay for it. I was under the impresson the airline would have to pay for it. 

 

Personally if this ever happens to me im going to fly somewhere else when i hit my layover in whatever country. I guess the thing u have to worry about is losing your luggage if u do that so hopefully you travel light. 

 

Pretty messed up they make u have a huge amount of paperwork letter from employer etc when u get this visa and then u get to Thailand and they go "nope u go home buy ticket". 

 

Was this Suv or DMK? 

You will not be doing any of that. Your passport is held by the planes purser until you reach your agreed destination. Basically, you and your passport are in detention until arrival.

3 hours ago, jacko45k said:

The Embassy presumably did due diligence on his TV application and saw no reason to reject it. They might do better to look at past visas, entries and time spent in LOS and make a determination another tourist visa was likely to be problematic. Nevertheless, those rules/limitations need to be stipulated in the vetting process, and brought to the applicants attention. 

Too much of this being reported. Foreigners being issued valid visas and then being treated like criminals when arriving to Thailand. Someone needs to make some legal challenge. 

The majority of Embassy's do not yet have access to the immigration database.....until very early next year

12 minutes ago, Exploring Thailand said:

On the face of it, this seems to imply that the O-A can no longer be used for two years. But what happens if you renew your insurance? If you renew your insurance in the eleven month, and exit and return in that month, will you then be granted another year?

You will be granted a stay up until the date of expiry of the Insurance certificate

The order quite plainly lays out how second and subsequent entry's will be dealt with. They will run concurrently alongside the Insurance valid till date. You only have 5 months left on a valid insurance, you get stamped in for 5 months. Your Insurance has expired, your not coming in until you have purchased insurance.

 

4 minutes ago, Issannative said:

I think it's a valid point how could immigration check if insurance is still valid after the certificate has been issued, but the policy has been canceled.

Because mostly the full Certificate isn't issued until after the cooling off period by which time it is too late to cancel and get a refund. And don't forget the certificate needs to signed off to get the visa by the Insurance company. I would imagine the Insurance company would notify Thai Immigration should you cancel the policy.

 https://longstay.tgia.org/document/overseas_insurance_certificate.pdf

33 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

I would not count on that, the relationship between the international companies and their Thai "subsidiaries" is not as close as you might think. really different companies.

 

Add to that the clause I posted above, which is disasterous.

 

 

It appears that the form confirming Health Insurance policy is also set to apply for the visa

Foreign Insurance Certificate for Alien to apply for Non-Immigrant Visa Type O-A (Period not exceeding 1 Year) in accordance with the Cabinet Resolution, dated 2 April B.E. 2562 (2019) Insurance Policy Title……………………….……………….

https://longstay.tgia.org/document/overseas_insurance_certificate.pdf

7 minutes ago, AussieBob18 said:

Not likely to be easy or simple to do that - they want this document to be completed and signed (by Directors) by the insurance company :  http://longstay.tgia.org/document/overseas_insurance_certificate.pdf

 

Many of the company's here longstay.tgia.org are also world wide International company's with a subsidiary company in Thailand. For those that have International Health policy's with one of those company's AXA, AETNA etc I doubt it would be an issue to get that form filled in. They certainly are not going to want to lose clients spending thousands of pounds a year on 1st Class International Health cover over filling a form in.

2 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

 

According to the order;

It doesn't alter the validity of the Visa, but it would alter the permission of stay granted, especially in your scenario number 2, unless you extended the Policy date.

Yes I agree. Scenario 2 is the more likely

3 minutes ago, Pib said:

Sheryl,

  Where does the "police order" say that?  The OP did but that can only be considered an opinion of the OP.  

I was the OP. The Police order doesn't state it. I copied what is posted on the Thai Immigration website in my first post

44 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

I would agree with that, but would TI.

 

If their Visa is still valid, then do a border run before 31st Oct to get another 1 year entry.

After 31st Oct you'd need proof of Insurance.

 

The O-A is valid for entry for 1 year and multiple entries until the expiry date, which grants another 1 year entry.

2. An alien who has been granted Non Imm Visa class O-A for multiple entry and enters the Kingdom for the second time onwards, will be permitted to stay in the Kingdom for the remaining coverage period of health for not exceeding a year.

 

That's why it refers to time of entry, rather than the issuance/validity of the Visa.

 

This is just a thought.
Scenario 1: You obtain an O-A by showing your purchased Medical Insurance. Both valid for 1 year. You may not enter Thailand for lets say, I month. On the day you enter Thailand you are already down to 11 months Insurance so will not cover you for a 12 months stamp.

Scenario 2 As above but you leave Thailand for a reason of say 1 month after being here for 2 months. When you next enter,  your insurance is now only valid for say 8 months but the police order stipulates you need Insurance for up to 12 months of stay.
Are they about to only issue an entry stamp for no longer than the 'Use by date' of the O-A visa in order to keep the visa and insurance concurrent, effectively changing the way that visa can be used or you will only be stamped in for the remaining period of your insurance?
Just a thought as I don't see how you keep an insurance valid for 12 months on each entry stamp

30 minutes ago, Pib said:

And if I remember right when the govt first started talking a health insurance requirement months and months ago they said a foreign medical policy meeting the 800K inpatient and 400K outpatient requirement should be acceptable, but apparently that was BS as only buying the prescribed Thai health insurance online is accepted under the police order.

The Immigration website does state 'For those who buy health insurance from foreign companies Must have the sum insured not less than Thai health insurance as stipulated as well, effective from 31 October 2019.

Although the police order doesn't.

3 minutes ago, DannyCarlton said:

Was reported on Thai Visa that it was due to come into force on July 31st. Same as the thread "Announcement due this week" that ran a couple of months ago.

 

"Aprroved in principal" doesn't make it law. I'll reserve my panic room for when it actually becomes law.

The Police order has now been signed and issued. It isn't rumour any longer.

12 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

At this time I would assume it is for those issued after the order goes into effect.

A bit hard to enforce it for a visa that was issued this month for example since the insurance was not required. Would immigration deny entry in that case.

I think immigration will have to clarify that. 

As of today insurance is still not required for a OA according to the MFA or Consular Affairs website and two embassies I checked.

As I said, it points to all entry's on an O-A visa on or after the 31st October. It would only apply if you left the country on or after the 31st October and then returned. 

3 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

I'm in the same  situation.. would appreciate clarification..

As in the police order. Any entry's using an O-A visa on or after the 31st October 2019 will need Health insurance. I don't see any disparity as to when the visa was issued

19 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Insurance would only be for the first year when you are on an OA visa stay, after that you would be on an extension of stay and the insurance would not apply.

If you ran the visa in to a second year, as most using an O-A do, you would still be on a visa but with a reentry permit if you wanted to leave and reenter, so reading the police order, yes, you would need the Insurance for the second year as in Items 2 and 3 above

https://www.immigration.go.th/read?content_id=5d9c3b074d8a8f318362a8aa&fbclid=IwAR39UI_zBxVLedZKgZeAeYnvb0yyyIsr6SHPhnq64ohzACO7VsLUU_LlGn0

 

44 minutes ago, tonbridgebrit said:

Turning up at the consulate at Birmingham or Hull is okay if you actually live near these places. If you live in South East England (Kent or East Sussex) or if you live in the South West (near Exeter) well, it is certainly not going to be easy and cheap to go to a Thai consulate.

The Birmingham Thai consulate has been closed for a number of years. The nearest to Birmingham would be the Liverpool Thai consulate which you need to make an appointment for before you attend.

5 hours ago, sanemax said:

Does the Embassy allow visits to apply for visas ?

When I was applying online , it looked like the application went straight to Bangkok

No. Unfortunately you cannot attend the Embassy and apply. The database is held in Bangkok and the Embassy has no access until you have applied and received the unlock bar code for the embassy to access the information 

On 10/1/2019 at 6:22 PM, elviajero said:

Is it possible to get past the screen without uploading a document for everything listed?

Unfortunately no. It is a mandatory requirement for all visa classes when applying by E visa. The system doesn't allow you to move forward with the application until the upload is complete.