AseanLao

Rub-a-dub-dub, Three men in a Hub

I think the Covid extensions are a very positive thing. The more options that there are to stay in Thailand, the better. Which is why I'm puzzled that half of the comments on this story are people complaining.

Moan, moan, moan ... If Thailand said "Everyone can stay for as long as they like", there would still be people who would find fault ????

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I agree that the advice here is generally good. But the topic of "Paying for NHS care as a returning expat" has been done to death here, and many posters have deeply held opinions on the subject. Talk of "cheating the NHS" and "paying 150%" is very unhelpful IMO. I think the answer is "no" as well, but in his position I would certainly make a quick (free) call to the immigration guys at the Citizen's Advice Bureau before booking my flights home.

But my post had nothing to do with Thailand ... it concerned whether or not he would be entitled to free medical treatment if he returned to the UK. I notice that zero posters in this thread have reported needing to pay for medical care on returning to the UK.

They check to see if you have a suspiciously permanent looking suntan first ... I suppose questions might get asked if you weren't registered with any UK doctor's surgery?

"They" aren't allowed to just collect all the data they want and share it with each other. Ever heard of the Data Protection Act or GDPR? The NHS aren't allowed to ask HMRC for information about financial transactions going in and out of your bank account, same as HMRC can't ask the NHS about details of your mental health. Who gives UK immigration the authority to share your passport stamps with other UK organisations? Thanks to data protection, they can't.

A lot of Thai mothers seem to support drunken driving ????

I suspect that they will brush aside the matter of him being away for 30 years if he does get a plane home, especially if he still has a UK address or is registered at a doctor's surgery. I'd probably call someone like the CAB to check before I booked my tickets home, though ????

This is from the Royal Thai Embassy, Phnom Penh, Cambodia: https://phnompenh.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/steps-to-take-for-traveling-to-thailand-as-a-foreigner STEPS TO TAKE FOR TRAVELING TO THAILAND AS A FOREIGNER Steps to Take for Traveling to Thailand as a Foreigner *** The information provided here is updated regularly and therefore subject to change without prior notice *** 1. Apply for Your Visa If you need a visa (some people do not, see here), you must apply for an appropriate visa at the Royal Thai Embassy. You can attend in person or use an agent. Visa applications received by mail – electronic or postal – will be rejected. The documents required are provided in the list below. 09:00–10:00 AM document submission (no appointment required) 02:00–03:00 PM visa collection (*Please allow 1-3 working days for visa processing.) Kindly note that persons of all nationalities can apply for a visa at the Royal Thai Embassy. However, there are additional documents that nationals of some countries need to provide and/or procedures to follow in order to receive approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, which takes at least 1 month. Please see here (click). You can download a visa application form here (click). Please see the details of each type of visa below: - Tourist Visa (TR) - Special Tourist Visa (STV) - Visa on Arrival - Medical Tourist Visa (MT) - Non-Immigrant O Visa (Medical) * same as Medical Tourist Visa (MT) but the allowed stay in Thailand is 90 days maximum and the visa processing fee is 80 USD. - Non-Immigrant O Visa (Thai Family) - Non-Immigrant O Visa (Retirement) - Non-Immigrant O-A Visa - Non-Immigrant O-X Visa - Non-Immigrant ED Visa (Student) - Non-Immigrant B Visa (Business, Work) For visa inquiry, please call (+855) 23726307-8. If you wish to come to Cambodia to apply for a Thai visa with the Royal Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh, please also take note of Cambodia's entry measures here (click). 2. Book Your Flight, Book Your Hotel, and Prepare Your Insurance *** Land entry is not permissible, except for those who seek medical treatment and their accompanying people only. If you wish to do so, please contact your hospital from these lists (http://www.hsscovid.com/files/Alternative Hospital Quarantine.pdf and http://www.hsscovid.com/files/Alternative Hospital Quarantine2.pdf) to apply for a confirmation letter and an affidavit of support from the Department of Health Service Support, Ministry of Public Health of Thailand). You will apply for a visa and a COE with the Royal Thai Embassy. *** Flight: All travelers will be allowed to enter Thailand by air. Flight options include chartering your own flight, traveling with a chartered flight organized by a travel agency (click), traveling with a commercial flight (some airlines have resumed their services between Thailand and Cambodia or via a third country, such as Singapore, South Korea, etc.). Hotel: You must book a hotel (AQ or SHA+, check here) for a certain number of quarantine days depending on your scheme below. You can book on the following websites as well: https://www.agoda.com/quarantineTH https://asq.locanation.com/ https://asq.ascendtravel.com/ https://asqthailand.com/ and https://entrythailand.go.th/asq

You're probably better off doing some proper research than relying on the opinion of aseannow.com posters. Here's what the UK Citizen's Advice Bureau has to say about "NHS charges for people from abroad": https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/health/help-with-health-costs/nhs-charges-for-people-from-abroad/ Give them a call on 0800 144 8848, and speak to somebody who actually deals with these kind of issues every day.

The Thai Wives Temperance Movement is a force to be reckoned with ... ????

You can get a return ticket BKK > PNH for under 5,000 baht. You'd have to be crazy to want to start using the land borders at this moment in time.

Visa runs have been impractical or even impossible until very recently. But on the Royal Thai Embassy, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, they seem to be saying that it's possible. "STEPS TO TAKE FOR TRAVELING TO THAILAND AS A FOREIGNER" https://phnompenh.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/steps-to-take-for-traveling-to-thailand-as-a-foreigner Step 1) Apply for Visa and then Step 2) 2. Book Your Flight, Book Your Hotel, and Prepare Your Insurance *** Land entry is not permissible, except for those who seek medical treatment and their accompanying people only. If you wish to do so, please contact your hospital from these lists (http://www.hsscovid.com/files/Alternative%20Hospital%20Quarantine.pdf and http://www.hsscovid.com/files/Alternative%20Hospital%20Quarantine2.pdf) to apply for a confirmation letter and an affidavit of support from the Department of Health Service Support, Ministry of Public Health of Thailand). You will apply for a visa and a COE with the Royal Thai Embassy. *** Flight: All travelers will be allowed to enter Thailand by air. Flight options include chartering your own flight, traveling with a chartered flight organized by a travel agency (click), traveling with a commercial flight (some airlines have resumed their services between Thailand and Cambodia or via a third country, such as Singapore, South Korea, etc.). Hotel: You must book a hotel (AQ or SHA+, check here) for a certain number of quarantine days depending on your scheme below. You can book on the following websites as well: https://www.agoda.com/quarantineTH https://asq.locanation.com/ https://asq.ascendtravel.com/ https://asqthailand.com/ and https://entrythailand.go.th/asq So it appears that it's possible. That said, I wouldn't like to be the first person to try it out ????