keemapoot

I was also just through Narita in August, and if your layover is in Terminal 2 (United, ANA), then the restaurant options are all open in the main Terminal 2, but opening hours are an issue. Lots of them close early evening. That leaves the food court, which has a few good restaurants (including the not bad Jai Thai restaurant), but there is a closing time there too, so not sure when your layover is. If you are traveling business class on United, ANA, or star alliance, the ANA lounge is open (great ramen noodle bar and food), but not on arrival, only on departure, so if you are departing to Thailand on star alliance top tier this is a great option. The United Club is still closed at T2 Narita.

Yes, according to the BOI stated rules, after final approval, there is a 60 day deadline to make actual application of the visa. So, I would assume at that actual Visa application appointment is when we would need to show the insurance policy with 10 months remaining. So, I assume for those of us on calendar year renewals, that we would want to perform all the steps you have done just prior to January 1, then make actual visa application, supplying renewal policy proof, and that would then result in the appointment date to get the "seal" Visa (either at foreign embassy/consulate or at Thailand Immigration (if in country).

So, I think my suspicions were correct, that for those of us who have yearly calendar-year issued policies, (in my case Jan 1-Dec 31), then there is indeed a narrow window only once a year for LTR application if you intend to use this insurance. Based on the 20 day (working or otherwise) rule stated, it sounds like the best thing is to apply maybe at the beginning of December, and wait for a "contingent approval" as they mention, then after Jan 1 and the new policy is issued make the formal application with the renewed policy?

In any event, your information is valuable and I and probably many others would greatly appreciate you keeping us informed of your progress, as we also have plans to apply. I would like to know what type of documentation you will need to provide on everything, as well as insurance requirements. For me the analysis is simple: 10 years of LTR (with almost no reporting, no re-entry permit requirement, and priority entry) vs. 10 years of doing the Non-O game every year for the same price. Guess which one wins?

Another issue they may not have anticipated is that some policies limit the time frame on overseas coverage. My policy is a truly global policy with full coverage in Thailand, but I know some are not. So, they will probably need to see and read the insurance certificate, the schedule of benefits, and maybe even the terms and conditions. So, this insurance requirement I think will be a major stumbling block for them and us. It might be that the 100k in the bank outside thailand might just be easier and eliminate brain damage, for those who can.

My thought is they won't care about the deductible, and probably could understand foreign policies have much higher limits than 50k. I think the difficulty will come with the 10 months remaining, as policies are issued year-to-year (usually calendar year). That means most of us will have a window to apply of only January/Feb each year, and that window will be squeezed, depending of the amount of time the application takes. If that takes too long, we will be closed out of the window. Very ineffective and unrealistic program design.

I saw Dr. Panya two months ago based on Sheryl's advice and he is clearly supremely knowledgeable about knees and surgery.

Yup, I have Cigna with the same issue, which is a 2 million dollar limit so vastly above what is required, but the term runs from Jan 1 to Dec 31 each year. Therefore, I will have to wait and time my application after Jan 1 but before the end of Feb. This seems to be a silly "jump through the hoops" issue as with yearly issued private insurance you can only apply when you have 10 months of coverage left.