July 1, 2019 Insurance may become mandatory.

[Pattaya46]

12 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Come back when it's announced it refers to Retirement Extensions.  Then you can apologize for calling thoughtful reasoning rubbish.  ????

He will not have to apologize; You said July 1 and it will not happen.

 

Agree with others BTW; why starting yet another thread on this subject? Just to try to scare some of us with fake news? 

[marcusarelus]

1 hour ago, Pattaya46 said:

He will not have to apologize; You said July 1 and it will not happen.

 

Agree with others BTW; why starting yet another thread on this subject? Just to try to scare some of us with fake news? 

I was the first one to identify July 1 in a thread and now there are news threads corroborating that date.  It's always rough being first and being right but I'm used to it.  Or, maybe you'd rather go to immigration for an extension and get surprises.  BTW my wife owns an visa agency and she is upset with me also as she does not think the insurance requirement will start in July. 

 

To give credit where credit is due it was a guy named mteddybear or something like that who said it would start July 1.  And Pib a respected poster in my opinion said you'd be xxx not to realize that long stay meant retirement extensions. 

[Pattaya46]

32 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

I was the first one to identify July 1 in a thread and now there are news threads corroborating that date.  It's always rough being first and being right but I'm used to it. //

The problem in your OP was not the date (yes it may be the first thread where I have read it) but the fact that you says it will concern Retirement Extension while official announcements talked about Visa O-A only. (until now).

[Jingthing]

Just now, Pattaya46 said:

The problem in your OP was not the date (yes it may be the first thread where I have read it) but the fact that you says it will concern Retirement Extension while official announcements talked about Visa O-A only. (until now).

But you're wrong. The official announcements mention RENEWALS.

[Pattaya46]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

But you're wrong. The official announcements mention RENEWALS.

Visa Renewals are not Extensions... or are they ?

[Jingthing]

Just now, Pattaya46 said:

Visa Renewals are not Extensions... or are they ?

Lost in translation. 

[marcusarelus]

11 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

Visa Renewals are not Extensions... or are they ?

Sure they are.  Thai Immigration is not as pedantic as the most famous pedantic website in the world.......???? 

 

Think about it for a minute.  Count the number of posts in 10 years correcting some poor old guy writing retirement visa to retirement extension. 

[totally thaied up]

Until it is written up in a police order saying retirement extensions and marriage extensions are to be made mandatory for health insurance, I am not going to waste my time worrying. If that happens, I will most likely leave. Plenty of other places in this world. I would not sweat this until then. Too many when, if’s or buts now.

[marcusarelus]

5 minutes ago, totally thaied up said:

Until it is written up in a police order saying retirement extensions and marriage extensions are to be made mandatory for health insurance, I am not going to waste my time worrying. If that happens, I will most likely leave. Plenty of other places in this world. I would not sweat this until then. Too many when, if’s or buts now.

If anyone is posting on this thread they are worried - perhaps subconsciously but worried nonetheless.  Work out the alternatives for mandatory insurance on your visa - get a realistic plan and that will help you stop worrying. 

[scubascuba3]

Until it is written up in a police order saying retirement extensions and marriage extensions are to be made mandatory for health insurance, I am not going to waste my time worrying. If that happens, I will most likely leave. Plenty of other places in this world. I would not sweat this until then. Too many when, if’s or buts now.

Yep, how easy would it have been for them to include in the announcement O extensions, they've missed it out on purpose

[marcusarelus]

6 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

16 minutes ago, totally thaied up said:

Until it is written up in a police order saying retirement extensions and marriage extensions are to be made mandatory for health insurance, I am not going to waste my time worrying. If that happens, I will most likely leave. Plenty of other places in this world. I would not sweat this until then. Too many when, if’s or buts now.

Yep, how easy would it have been for them to include in the announcement O extensions, they've missed it out on purpose

You are assuming they know or think we know the difference between an O and O-A when discussing long stay visas or renewal of long stay visas or extensions of long stay visas. 

[totally thaied up]

8 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Work out the alternatives for mandatory insurance on your visa - get a realistic plan and that will help you stop worrying. 

My insurance would double in cost over night if I had to get outpatients. Half my monthly pension would just be in insurance costs. I am crazy, but not that crazy and don't love Thailand enough that I would pay to stay.

[scubascuba3]

You are assuming they know or think we know the difference between an O and O-A when discussing long stay visas or renewal of long stay visas or extensions of long stay visas. 

I think they've done it on purpose, specifically saying OA. They could have just said long stay visas and extensions

[marcusarelus]

10 minutes ago, totally thaied up said:

My insurance would double in cost over night if I had to get outpatients. Half my monthly pension would just be in insurance costs. I am crazy, but not that crazy and don't love Thailand enough that I would pay to stay.

Looks like it is going to cost me an extra 40,000 to get out patient coverage if I switch from A1A to Pacific cross. 

 

It was always a write off anyway because I'll die from heart problems and the VA will pay for that so any insurance I buy was only a cost of the retirement extension.

 

The new Thai insurance is a couple of thousand USD and how much more would it cost me to live in the States?  A whale of a lot more than 40,000 baht. 

 

Of course you can't make a claim so it's not really insurance only some new kind of payola. 

[marcusarelus]

5 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

15 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

You are assuming they know or think we know the difference between an O and O-A when discussing long stay visas or renewal of long stay visas or extensions of long stay visas. 

I think they've done it on purpose, specifically saying OA. They could have just said long stay visas and extensions

My Thai wife agrees with you.  And she is a lot smarter than me - so she has told me on many occasions.  If we could bet = which of course we can't - I'd put money on long stay visas being long stay visa extensions too.   

[scubascuba3]

My Thai wife agrees with you.  And she is a lot smarter than me - so she has told me on many occasions.  If we could bet = which of course we can't - I'd put money on long stay visas being long stay visa extensions too.   

She does sound smart, ask her to phone the immigration hotline, although may get more info from Pizza hut hotline

 

[marcusarelus]

11 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

She does sound smart, ask her to phone the immigration hotline, although may get more info from Pizza hut hotline

 

She owns a visa agency as a part time job to assist engineers at her regular place of employment.  Immigration only knows about the insurance O-X now. 

[Pattaya46]

1 hour ago, marcusarelus said:

1 hour ago, Pattaya46 said:

Visa Renewals are not Extensions... or are they ?

Sure they are.  Thai Immigration is not as pedantic as the most famous pedantic website in the world.......???? 

Except that Thai Immigration didn't say a word about this subject.

The Thai article at the origin of The NationMultimedia article comes from the Thai Health Department 

[marcusarelus]

3 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

Except that Thai Immigration didn't say a word about this subject.

The Thai article at the origin of The NationMultimedia article comes from the Thai Health Department 

Thai Immigration will be responsible for enforcement.  So far as I know now, no one has told them anything except about O-X. 

[Pattaya46]

9 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Thai Immigration will be responsible for enforcement.  So far as I know now, no one has told them anything except about O-X. 

Thai Immigration has nothing to do with visa issuing. It's business of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[marcusarelus]

4 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

Thai Immigration has nothing to do with visa issuing. It's business of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The mandatory insurance is about retirement extensions.  You only think it is about new visas.  You see the major impact is in extensions not new visas.  The announcement about O-A's was really minor, the major implication was about renewing or extending retirements long stays.  That's where the pedantry comes in.  The Thai ministry said renew when they really meant in Thai Visa terminology, extensions. 

[CharlieH]

11 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

The mandatory insurance is about retirement extensions.  You only think it is about new visas.  You see the major impact is in extensions not new visas.  The announcement about O-A's was really minor, the major implication was about renewing or extending retirements long stays.  That's where the pedantry comes in.  The Thai ministry said renew when they really meant in Thai Visa terminology, extensions. 

This not correct, you stated " is about retirement extension"

 

Whist this from the MoPH states :

"According to the announcement on the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) website, it does not affect anyone who stays in Thailand on an extension of stay based on retirement, which is often incorrectly referred to as a ‘retirement visa’.

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1100622-mandatory-health-insurance-for-foreigners-aged-over-50-in-thailand-why-it-may-not-affect-you/

[mike787]

18 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

On extension based on retirement he will not require insurance currently. Perhaps I should start topic "what if money in bank is increased to 2 million baht"

"Currently". YES!  Currently!  However, that may, or WILL change.  We don't know.  

If I am correct, OP is trying to prepare for hardship, or whatever is out of the normal.

[Lacessit]

Dear Thailand,

                        IMHO your powers-that-be are busy shooting themselves in the foot. It's called the Law of Unintended Consequences, or Murphy's Law.

When you kick out the people who reject your grab for cash, a number of things will happen.

You will have some disgruntled Thais who have been forcibly separated from their personal ATM. I would have thought most of your citizens have enough reasons to be underwhelmed already.

Your condo landlords will be unhappy because they will lose reliable long-term renters, and have to scrabble around for short-term rentals with tourists, some of whom are not noted for their respect for property.

When people settle in more immigration-friendly countries in the region, there will also be an exodus of cash from your banks. Their ability to pay depositors 1.5% interest on the 800K baht deposits, while lending it out at 6-7% at a nice profit, will be less. Some of their fees from currency conversions for those who use the income method will also disappear.

You will have some of us who come back in on tourist or education visas. No 800K there. If you demand tourists have mandatory health insurance, you can watch your tourist numbers fall off a cliff. No-one likes being dictated to. Good luck with the Chinese.

You may actually have done some of us a favor by converting us to border-hopping tourists. Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines will happily accept us, and marvel at your stupidity. We may find a peripatetic life more interesting.

It's not rocket science. Any farang who has been here for more than 5 years with 800K has proved they are financially solvent, no? I don't know how many you will lose; however, I will be one of them IF I am refused an extension on the grounds of not dancing to your medical insurance tune.

So put your thinking caps on and look at the real bottom line, not short-term gain. You can borrow one from me if you want.

 

Regards,

 

Lacessit.

 

[marcusarelus]

1 hour ago, CharlieH said:

This not correct, you stated " is about retirement extension"

 

Whist this from the MoPH states :

"According to the announcement on the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) website, it does not affect anyone who stays in Thailand on an extension of stay based on retirement, which is often incorrectly referred to as a ‘retirement visa’.

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1100622-mandatory-health-insurance-for-foreigners-aged-over-50-in-thailand-why-it-may-not-affect-you/

I don't see where it says, "it does not affect anyone who stays in Thailand on an extension of stay based on retirement, which is often incorrectly referred to as a ‘retirement visa’.

 

Do you mean the http://hss.moph.go.th/show_topic.php?id=2808      ?

 

 

"

[CharlieH]

5 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

I don't see where it says, "it does not affect anyone who stays in Thailand on an extension of stay based on retirement, which is often incorrectly referred to as a ‘retirement visa’.

 

Do you mean the http://hss.moph.go.th/show_topic.php?id=2808      ?

 

 

"

4TH Paragraph of the article.

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1100622-mandatory-health-insurance-for-foreigners-aged-over-50-in-thailand-why-it-may-not-affect-you/

[marcusarelus]

17 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

4TH Paragraph of the article.

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1100622-mandatory-health-insurance-for-foreigners-aged-over-50-in-thailand-why-it-may-not-affect-you/

I understand that.  But I am assuming that statement refers to the article in Thai, "http://hss.moph.go.th/show_topic.php?id=2808"

Or is there some other source I don't know about?

 

The statement, " The requirement for mandatory health insurance appears to only affect those applying for a Non-Immigrant Visa OA." appears to be an assumption by the reporter and not duplicated anywhere on the Thai website - that I can find.

 

I don't see anything in the statement by Dr Natthawut Prasertsiripong, Chief of the MoPH Department of Health Service Support that says it does not effect retirement extensions - in fact I read the opposite. 

 

"The requirement applies to all new applicants for one-year non-immigrant O-A visas, and for those applying to “renew” their one-year permits-to-stay,"

 

The reporter adds renew - means - re apply- but that is only an assumption by the reporter and not a statement by Dr Natthawut Prasertsiripongy.

[CharlieH]

No, its stated in both Thai and the translated English

" Non-Immigrant Visa รหัส O-A (ระยะ 1 ปี)"

[marcusarelus]

17 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

No, its stated in both Thai and the translated English

" Non-Immigrant Visa รหัส O-A (ระยะ 1 ปี)"

I understand that.  It does not say, "it does not affect anyone who stays in Thailand on an extension of stay based on retirement, which is often incorrectly referred to as a ‘retirement visa’."

 

That is an assumption of the reporter. 

 

The doctor who broke the news states, "The requirement applies to all new applicants for one-year non-immigrant O-A visas, and for those applying to “renew” their one-year permits-to-stay,"
 

[CharlieH]

1 minute ago, marcusarelus said:

I understand that.  It does not say, "it does not affect anyone who stays in Thailand on an extension of stay based on retirement, which is often incorrectly referred to as a ‘retirement visa’."

 

That is an assumption of the reporter. 

 

The doctor who broke the news states, "The requirement applies to all new applicants for one-year non-immigrant O-A visas, and for those applying to “renew” their one-year permits-to-stay,"
 

Well, you are entitled to your opinion.

I was talking about and referring to the article posted in the News.