FPizzle

I'm totally confused. I renew again in June, 2020 (13th year). I have my monthly deposit in line and now I see this. Do I need health insurance or not?  Just for fun I checked all of the companies listed and none, that I can see, will offer insurance to a person over 70 unless it is a renewal. These are the guidelines I found for the O-A (Retirement) renewal and there doesn't seem to be anything indicating a way to get around it.  It also states that if you have insurance from overseas you will have to show proof of Thai issued insurance at renewal. As usual none of this makes any sense!

Applicant must be aged 50 years old and over (on the day of visa submission application)

This visa is allowed to stay in Thailand for 1 year each time.

Health insurance policy must have coverage not less than 400,000 Thai Baht per policy year for Inpatient, and not less than 40,000 Thai Baht per policy year for outpatient.

In the case where the accompanying spouse is not eligible to apply for the O-A visa, he or she will be considered for temporary stay under Category “O” visa. A marriage certificate must be provided as evidence.

First year, all applicants can buy health insurance from insurance companies in their owned countries or authorized insurance company in Thailand. When the applicants want to renew the visa, the applicants must buy insurance from authorized insurance companies in Thailand only. Any inquiries on completing Insurance application can be addressed at each insurance company.

The following meeting at BNH Hospital on 14 March in the 3rd floor conference room may be of interest to many of us.  It is open to all.

OVERCOMING THAILAND’S IMMIGRATION CHALLENGES

Date: March 14, Thursday

Time:  9:00 gather, 9:30 - 11:30 am

Venue:  BNH Hospital, Convent Road, 3rd Floor Conference Room 

Recently the Thai Immigration Bureau has changed regulations concerning retirement visas and other types of visas. Aim-on Larpisal, Department Head of Immigration & Employment and Jane Puranananda, General Manager, of Dej-Udom & Associates law firm will discuss these changes and provide practical suggestions to deal with problems or issues. They will also cover other related topics, such as notarial services and legalization of documents.  

In December the US Embassy held a Notary day where they issued notarized income/residence letters that they said were good for 6 months as agreed to by Thai Immigration. As my visa expires in June I have a letter that should cover me for the next year giving me enough time to get the heck out of here. If the new rules take effect in March will the letter still be good? Or can I go before March 1st with the letter and extend a visa that expires in June? I will be in the US when my visa expires and I don't want to get caught with 12 years of my life here in Thailand and no visa.

Was this always the case?  I thought that proof of income meant that you had to show proof of income from an outside source.  Did you always have to bank it in Thailand? My income from US Social Security is sent to my US Account. The brokerage/bank has no way, other than I requesting a transfer, to bank it in Thailand. Then how do I pay my US bills with my money here. I don't need 66,666 baht per month to live here but do have US responsibilities to pay from my income. SO if I transfer it on one day, get it entered into my passbook I can send it back to the US the next day, yes! Or will they want to see daily records for one year indicating that the money stays in Thailand.  

I was under the same impression. Income + deposit = 800,000 baht =  OK! I was never under the impression that the income had to be deposited monthly in a Thai bank account. Why would I deposit 66,666.66 baht per month here when my living expenses are less than 35% of that amount. Since none of my financial institutions or US Social Security have digital affiliations with Thai banks the deposit per month scenario would be a disaster. And as a US citizen I have obligations in the US that also need to be paid so moving all my money here would make paying my US obligations a disaster. So is there anyone out there that can straighten this out. What do we need, what is acceptable, when do we all leave! 

Here's the link to the article - Immigration to show leniency!

Does anyone know what constitutes verification of income from Social Security in the US? Will the yearly letter we get suffice or do we need it notarized, signed and blessed by 40 monks. Also note the monetary requirement. Has to be int he bank 60 days before your application and can be withdrawn and replaced the next time you apply for the visa. You don't need to keep it in the Thai bank all year, probably only for abut 3 months or so.