Insurance firms still awaiting clarification over mandatory health insurance for non-immigrant (O-A) visa

[soisanuk]

7 hours ago, lockman07 said:

This mandatory insurance is 100% BS.  I went to the immigration in Chiang Mai & one the top officials there told me that there is NO INSURANCE REQUIREMENT & NO PLANS FOR ONE.  She was tired of getting all these requests & asked me to tell all my friends that this is a rumor.  I myself was convinced after all this hype that this was going to happen & she told me to forget it.  

I would suggest that you read, carefully, the articles from the Ministry of Public Health official announcing the new requirement.  First, he said that the Cabinet had approved a requirement that health insurance will be required for applying and renewing a Non-Immigrant O-A Visa.  Further, that it would most likely be July before the requirement was imposed as they, MoPH, had to meet with both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (this Ministry gives instructions to Thai Embassies/Consulates worldwide who issue the O-A Visas) and the Immigration Bureau (this agency's HQ issues instructions for the issuance and extensions of permission to stay for those using the O-A Visa obtained from the Thai Embassy/Consulate to enter Thailand).

 

Therefore, it is not BS. The fact that contact with an Immigration Office revealed no such requirement should rather have been expected because they have not as yet received any instructions from their HQ to implement such a requirement. Perhaps by July (or maybe after), the procedures for imposing the requirement will be ironed out between these 3 Gov't Offices and they both the MoFA and Immigration will have adopted the necessary rules to implement the requirement. At that point, Immigration Offices in Thailand will have been informed on what, if any, steps they must take regarding a requirement for health insurance for those that may be extending their stay if they entered on an O-A Visa (the articles made no mention of any such requirement for those that entered on a different type of Visa and extended the permission to stay for the purpose of retirement based on that Visa at an Immigration Office).