Peter Denis

1 minute ago, KaputtAlreadyNa said:

Hi,  can you please share with what insurance company are you with fit your 200K deductible. 

Thanks in advance 

Warmest 

He mentioned 11.400 THB annual premium at age 74, so must be LMG Insurance Plan-1 (with 200K deductible). 

I did PM you a guideline document on how to apply for that cheapest Non Imm O-A compliant health-insurance policy, including tips and caveats when subscribing.

21 minutes ago, Brad Grier said:

Ok show me some facts ( not opinions now but facts).....I’ll wait

The Answer

3 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Peter,

I believe also changing to an extension based on marriage, rather than retirement, will mean that the mandatory 40k/400k insurance is not required for extensions based on an OA visa.

 

Is that still the case ?

Yes, it is.  A Thai IO-approved 400K/40K health-insurance policy is ONLY required when applying for the 1-year extension of stay based on your original Non Imm O-A Visa for reason of RETIREMENT. 

When applying for any other reason (e.g. marriage to a Thai national, Thai dependant children, other...) that insurance is NOT required.

Note: When residing and applying in Phuket and over 75 years of age or already staying long-term on your Non Imm O-A Visa there, the insurance requirement can be waved.  But afaik Phuket is the only province that has such a regulation.

20 minutes ago, jingjo01 said:

For me the mandatory 40,000 OPD cover is DEFINITELY not worth it. I am now 77 and have had a 1 million baht IPD Cover here in Thailand for nearly 20 years. In order to renew your one year extension of stay for retirement visa you must have this cover for the Immigration Dept if your arrived in a NON O-A visa. I had to upgrade my policy to include the 40,000 OPD cover as no other company would insure me because of age. The premium last year for this was 32,000 baht with exclusions based on existing conditions. This year the premium will no doubt be more. As I have cash in the bank I would rather just pay for my outpatient treatments ( if any) rather than pay a compulsory charge for something I don’t want or need. 

I did PM you a Guideline document on how to switch from your current Non Imm O-A based extension for reason of retirement, to a Non Imm O based extension.  The requirements/conditions are exactly the same, with the one exception that the Non Imm O based extension does NOT require the mandatory Thai IO-approved 400K/40K health-insurance. 

Please note that such a switch requires exiting and re-entering Thailand which with current border restrictions is not convenient.  But once borders are open again a simple border-run (can be done same day), will allow you to return Visa Exempt and then apply for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa at your local Imm Office, subsequently followed by a 1-year extension based on that new Non Imm O Visa.  Doing so you would have effectively dumped the mandatory 400K/40K health-insurance requirement.

The Guideline I PM-ed you describes the process in full detail.

4 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Bit confused with these words.....

 "with those having made use of that Fixer Agent service as collateral damage, being deported from Thailand with 1 to 10 year bans"

 

There has been another rock solid member that has also stated this has occured in the past.

My problem is that I have never read or heard of it. With social media I would have expected to be aware of these events. Pretty big news

Yes, we are both relative Newbies, but @Tanoshi did witness it at his Imm Office a couple of years ago.

3 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Is 'Gets you round having to have 800k in the bank for a retirement extension' mentioned?.

See topic > https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1202564-thaivisa-launches-new-visa-service-for-expats-in-thailand/?utm_source=newsletter-20210126-1330&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

4 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

i read it and I also saw Dr Jack54's confused emotican, yes Peter Denis, is one of the posters who's posts are always interesting and most would agree with, but so is Dr Jack 54's.

Thanks for the compliment.  Normally @DrJack54 and myself are in full agreement on Visa/Immigration matters.

> So Jack, can you provide some background on why you did give a 'Confused' emoticon on my Hand-holding/Fixer Agent post.

19 hours ago, Andy1961 said:

Thanks both for your advice.  It seems the plan to convert my tourist visa (or visa waiver) to a retirement visa contains a few potholes. 

So I cannot open a Bangkok Bank account in London, I have to be in Thailand.  But doesn't the 800k need to be in the account for 2 months before applying for a retirement visa?  So after a week of quarantine I then wait a further week for the banks to play their games then 2 months for the money to sit in my new account.  Then at least 15 days to process my retirement visa application.  Looks like I am over my 90 days.  Or can I keep extending my tourist / visa waiver status?

My head is starting to spin, perhaps I am over-thinking this?

...

When entering VisaExempt or on a 60-day Tourist Visa, you will be stamped in for a 45 days (VE) or 60 days (TR) permission to stay.

After your 7, 10 or 15 day quarantaine you would then first need to open a personal Thai bank-account (which is easier said then done). 

Once you have the personal bank-account you can then transfer +800.000 THB to that account.  Note: It might be useful to already open a Wise account while in UK, so that you can use that service to easily transfer the funds to your Thai bank-account.

Then and when you still have at least 15 days left on your permission to stay (some offices require 23 days), you can apply for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement.

The funds for such application ONLY need to be on your personal Thai bank-account - with foreign origins proven - at the moment of application.

In the last month of those 90-days you can then apply for the 1-year extension of stay for reason of retirement based on that original Non Imm O Visa (that process ensures that the 800K on your personal Thai bank-account has seasoned for 2 months, according to the financial requirements for a 1-year extension using the Funds-in-Bank method).  This has to be done at the same Imm office where you applied for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa.

Note: In case you need more time, you can also make use of the 30-day extension of stay your VE or TR-entry entitles you to.  This can only be done once.  And after that you could even make use of 60-day covid-extensions to prolonge your stay in Thailand.  Once border restrictions are lifted those covid-extensions would be scrapped, and then you could apply for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa. 

Also, if parking +800K on your personal Thai bank-account would be problematic, you could consider applying for a Non Imm O-A Visa at the Thai Embassy in your home-country.  Doing so would give you a head-start as such Non Imm O-A Visa can provide you with almost 2 years of Immigration-hassle free stay in Thailand with":

- NO need to visit an Imm Office for extensions during those 2 years;

- NO need to park/transfer 800K to a personal Thai bank-account.

1 hour ago, iamwill2886 said:

...

As for the TM30 this is something that I will need the place I will be renting to complete? ...

Yes, the owner of the place you are renting is required by Thai law to file a TM-30 to the local Imm Office notifying them that a foreigner (you) is staying at the premisses.

But you should talk about this with him and make sure that he actually did it.

Otherwise when you visit your local Imm Office for an extension of stay, it will be refused because of no TM-30 filed (and YOU can be fined for your landlord not having done it, yes crazy Thai regulations).

So ask your landlord for a copy of the TM-30 notification he did, and take that with you - together with a copy of your rental contract - when you visit your local Imm Office.

> Do PM me if your landlord is unwilling or clueless about the TM-30, as there are ways of doing it on his behalf or as tenant.

17 hours ago, Nemesis7 said:

...
Try to chose another carrier if you can they are more flexible and most of the tickets with Emirates , Etihad also comes with free COVID insurance till31 days of arrival to your destination and flexible on luggage policy and date change free of charge no questions asked 

I received a message from EMIRATES about the not used return-flight I had booked for my lady and myself (BKK - Dubai - Brussels on May 1, 2020 and return on 3 June, 2020).  Emirates had cancelled the Dubai - Brussels flight due to covid at that moment.  When I enquired about a refund in April 2020, Emirates told me I could either request a refund or use that same reservation-number as it would be valid for 12 months for same itinerary without any extra cost.   Obviously I did choose for the latter, but that expiry date was approaching so I enquired again, and EMIRATES has extended the validity of those tickets to THREE years.  Perfect service, as the ticket-prices would be considerably higher now.  So I now have still more than 2 years to decide when to use that return ticket. 

Note that Emirates also provides FREE covid-19 insurance included in the ticket-price.  For a one-way flight it is valid for 30 days (so not sufficient to cover the required permission to stay period), but for a return-flight the full period of your booked trip is covered.  Best to book a flexible return-ticket so that you would be able to use that return-leg ticket at a time convenient for you.

Hi @yuiop > I did PM you a Guideline document on how to meet the mandatory 400K/40K health-insurance requirement when applying for the Non Imm O-A Visa at the Thai Embassy/Consulate in your home-country.

To access your PM-messages just click the letter-icon next to your profile when logged in to the Forum.

2 minutes ago, polpott said:

You posted a quote, you need to provide a link.

Pfizer CEO says people will probably need a third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine within 12 months of being fully inoculated, and may have to receive annual booster jabs.

“There will be likely a need for a third dose somewhere between six and 12 months and then from there, there will be an annual re-vaccination,” Albert Bourla said in an interview with CVS Health that aired on Thursday.

> https://www.ft.com/content/74fb0052-c627-4160-82e6-825d9f2ffec7

Also, in order to reach herd immunity Stanford announced Wednesday the process is already underway to vaccinate children.

Stanford is part of a trial with Pfizer to test the COVID-19 vaccine on children under the age of 5.

> https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/coronavirus/stanford-begins-trials-with-pfizer-on-children-under-age-5/2518893/

5 minutes ago, polpott said:

Nowhere in the link does it mention the quote you posted.

> It are two news-facts.

The first one is on ALL the networks.  Just Google 'Pfizer CEO third dose' > just pick one of them.

For the 2nd one the link was posted.

Pfizer CEO says people will probably need a third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine within 12 months of being fully inoculated, and may have to receive annual booster jabs.

“There will be likely a need for a third dose somewhere between six and 12 months and then from there, there will be an annual re-vaccination,” Albert Bourla said in an interview with CVS Health that aired on Thursday.

Also, in order to reach herd immunity Stanford announced Wednesday the process is already underway to vaccinate children.

Stanford is part of a trial with Pfizer to test the COVID-19 vaccine on children under the age of 5.

> https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/coronavirus/stanford-begins-trials-with-pfizer-on-children-under-age-5/2518893/

> Announcement from TAT

Fear Not. The Control is under control. 

You ungrateful dirty people don't understand our professional work. The Thong Lor incident was wrongly reported. It was a secret government meeting. So now you know.

We made big improvements, and we came up with the final solution with TAT. Unfortunately because of some reckless entertainment venues, we had to start working from home, but our productivity rate is exponential.

TAT just announced their new plan of how to make Thailand the HUB of vaccine tourism and how to integrate this new market into their sandbox model. Airplanes are already on the taxiway with trillionaires (or gazillionaires) on board who are predicted to spend 10 to the power of 100, Bath (It's a googol) per day.

New slogan: Thailand Is Great Egain ®, aka TIGER.  

Calm down wherever you traveled during Songkran, or go back to your country if you doubt our professionalism.

< posted by @BookShe in a different thread, but so hilarious that I could not resist re-posting it here > 

5 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

Ridiculous statement?  That's what I heard from a medical expert in a news report.  He was a surgeon and stated this.

 

I guess you think medical professionals are ridiculous? 

Right, next...

11 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

What's a deserted beach got to do with this?  Ridiculous comparison.  Masks are for when you are in public places, not deserted beaches. 

 

Right, next....

You seem to have short memory.

> https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1156354-pattaya-beachgoers-urged-to-wear-a-mask-and-practice-social-distancing/#elControls_15221282_menu

From the article

> The authorities in Pattaya have urged the public to wear a mask if they go to the beach during the day, and practice social distancing at all times. ...

Anyone who does decide to go to the beach is asked to wear a face mask and not be closer than 1-2 meters, the social distancing regulations.

Ridiculous indeed.

Right, next...

5 minutes ago, polpott said:

Allow me to tell you about Zoe Harcombe. A nutritionist who is best known for yet another bonkers diet plan which she has made considerable money out of, PhD in public health nutrition. Not an epidemiologist, just another YouTube conspiracy theory nut job/snake oil saleswoman.

Always the ad hominem attacks by Brother #1...

I don't care if she is an epidemiologist, a nutritionist or a bus-driver.

It's common decency not to take credit for someone else's quotes and that's the only reason I mentioned her.  Irrespective of her background she did put it very eloquently imo.

But probably did strike a raw nerve...

John wants Jane locked away from human contact for a year+, so he feels safer.
John wants Jane to be masked & distanced indefinitely, so he feels safer.
John wants Jane to have a medical intervention, so he feels safer.
Jane wants nothing from John; but she's the selfish one?!