Compulsory Health insurance for 0-A visa applicants effective 31st October

[pontious]

10 minutes ago, Kelsall said:

From the OP.  "For those who buy health insurance from foreign companies Must have the sum insured not less than Thai health insurance as stipulated as well, "

 

So you can use your US (or other) insurance.

Many people have 1st class medical cover but not many have outpatient cover.

[pontious]

2 minutes ago, Martyp said:

I bought a policy from Pacific Cross this year. I like the coverage and price compared to my previous US insurance and it way exceeds the visa required insurance. If your from a country with government insurance though then this requirement is not going to look good.

Do you have 40,000 Baht outpatient cover? If not it will not be good enough.

[Lovethailandelite]

1 hour ago, DannyCarlton said:

"Approved in principal" you said it yourself. You have done too much scaremongering on TV, regarding visas, in the past. Your credibility has long since dissappeared.

 

 

What part of 'With the issuance of a police order, immigration orders, as well as guidelines for allowing foreigners who have been granted a temporary type of visa Non-immigrant Visa
OA code (duration not over 1 year) came into the Kingdom temporarily. Cabinet resolution on 2 April 62, which was approved in principle to add rules for aliens' Do you not understand? 'Approved in principal' is referring to the original cabinet meeting back in April. Now it has come in to force.
Scaremongering when I told you all earlier this year that changes were coming to how visas would be issued at Embassy's and consulates and changes on how they would be received at Immigration? 
Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet. 
You simply don't want to believe that it is happening. ???? 

[UKresonant]

26 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

Looks like they clearly don't want any long-stay foreigners in Thailand. Well, maybe except for the Elite Visa which seems safe for now at least.

But they have it would seem, changed the conditions of Visa's that have already been issued, if your using the visa for it's ME aspect.  I would imagine such people arriving unaware of this new development, and perhaps being asked for 40k baht for a superfluous additional policy, could get a bit irritated perhaps ???? 

So what has that done for trust levels now.

[Lovethailandelite]

30 minutes ago, Pib said:

And if I remember right when the govt first started talking a health insurance requirement months and months ago they said a foreign medical policy meeting the 800K inpatient and 400K outpatient requirement should be acceptable, but apparently that was BS as only buying the prescribed Thai health insurance online is accepted under the police order.

The Immigration website does state 'For those who buy health insurance from foreign companies Must have the sum insured not less than Thai health insurance as stipulated as well, effective from 31 October 2019.

Although the police order doesn't.

[sqwakvfr]

A Visa Agent recently explained this new law(he knew it was coming) in the following way:

 

1.  I obtain a Non Imm OA on Nov 1 2019

2.  Enter LOS on Dec 1 2019 and get stamped until Dec 1 2020

3.  Do a quick border bounce before Dec 1 2020 and get stamped till Nov 2021.

4,. If I decide to extend before Nov 2021 at my local immigration office then I must show proof of Health Insurance (400K IPD and 40K OPD).

 

At this time MFA(Ministry of Foreign Affairs) which has jurisdiction over Thai Embassies/Consulate has not made statement as to how staff at these Embassies/Consulate would enforce this new law?

 

On the flip side the Agent could be wrong and it is only a matter of time before Thai Embassies/Consulates start enforcing this new law.  

If that is the case then: 

 

“My Time in LOS was nice but all good thing come to an end”??

[DannyCarlton]

2 minutes ago, Lovethailandelite said:

What part of 'With the issuance of a police order, immigration orders, as well as guidelines for allowing foreigners who have been granted a temporary type of visa Non-immigrant Visa
OA code (duration not over 1 year) came into the Kingdom temporarily. Cabinet resolution on 2 April 62, which was approved in principle to add rules for aliens' Do you not understand. 'Approved in principal' is referring to the original cabinet meeting back in April. Scaremongering when I told earlier this year that changes were coming to how visas would be issued at Embassy's and consulates and changes on how they would be received at Immigration? 
Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet. 
You simply don't want to believe that it is happening. ???? 

I will believe it when it happens. Did it happen on July 31st? Maybe we should all buy Thai Elite visas, na?

[hereforgood]

2 hours ago, Pib said:

So, are you saying when a person enters on a Retirement OA Visa and when it comes to apply for an extension of stay based on retirement because that OA Visa will expire then the medical insurance is not required?

IMO that will change as well at some point and all on retirement extensions will have to have it as well

[onera1961]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

At this time I would assume it is for those issued after the order goes into effect.

A bit hard to enforce it for a visa that was issued this month for example since the insurance was not required. Would immigration deny entry in that case.

I think immigration will have to clarify that. 

As of today insurance is still not required for a OA according to the MFA or Consular Affairs website and two embassies I checked.

Misinformation. It is based on entry not when the visa was issued. One can buy insurance 6-months after the visa was issued. It is at the entry, the immigration will decide if they will let you enter or not depending on if you have a health insuirance or not. No insurance and no entry. I bet it applies radomly to any type of visa including retirement extension with renetry permit. Yes yes yes I know it is not mentioned in the police order. But immigration can deny anybody without a health insurance and nothing anbody can do about it.

[Sheryl]

When and how will the insurance be checked? The wording seems to imply it would be on each entry. I really can't picture how that would work.......

[pookondee]

Good luck for Australians applying then.

 

I might be wrong, but i doubt there are many Australian insurance companies that will do 12month travel insurance for Thailand.

 

And even if they do, how will the IOs proof read these policies at entry points in Thailand?

 

Or will the IOs just accept the application and insurance policy has already been vetted by the consulates and not even bother checking? 

 

Will every IMM officer now be able to read all insurance policies in all languages?

 

I dont know, i cant see how they can possibly implement this.

[Tanoshi]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

Say, I entered Thailand on a Non-OA Visa (multi-entry) 11 months ago....and it still has 1 month left on it.  I don't plan to exit and reenter to get another year. Instead, I'm just going to apply for a retirement extension of stay. 

Do a border hop before 31st Oct, before the Insurance requirement becomes effective and you'll be granted permission of stay for another year.

 

1 hour ago, Pib said:

I know it's been said already this new police order only applies to those on Non OA Visas and does not apply to folks on extension of stay.  But if it does not apply to people on extensions of stay also, why is below even included in Section 2.22 which deals with extensions of stay?

It's an attachment to the current orders, but criteria 6, only applies to those being given permission of stay from an entry of a Non O-A Visa.

Each entry valid for 1 year until the enter before date of the Visa.

 

Extension don't allow entries and only extend permission of stay already granted from entry of a Visa.

[DannyCarlton]

6 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

At this time MFA(Ministry of Foreign Affairs) which has jurisdiction over Thai Embassies/Consulate has not made statement as to how staff at these Embassies/Consulate would enforce this new law?

Correct. The salient point.

[burner2014]

Is this one touching Marriage Visas? And Marriage Visa Extensions?

 

I am still confused with O-A  -> I read Visas from O to A?  As Marriage visa is Non-Immigrant 0.

 

[onera1961]

Just now, Sheryl said:

When and how will the insurance be checked? The wording seems to imply it would be on each entry. I really can't picture how that would work.......

It clearly says check will be done at the entry point. Of course, if one does not leave Thailand and confine onself in the hellhole of Thailand for the entire year, he does not have to worry about anything. 

[Sheryl]

6 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

A Visa Agent recently explained this new law(he knew it was coming) in the following way:

 

1.  I obtain a Non Imm OA on Nov 1 2019

2.  Enter LOS on Dec 1 2019 and get stamped until Dec 1 2020

3.  Do a quick border bounce before Dec 1 2020 and get stamped till Nov 2021.

4,. If I decide to extend before Nov 2021 at my local immigration office then I must show proof of Health Insurance (400K IPD and 40K OPD).

 

At this time MFA(Ministry of Foreign Affairs) which has jurisdiction over Thai Embassies/Consulate has not made statement as to how staff at these Embassies/Consulate would enforce this new law?

 

On the flip side the Agent could be wrong and it is only a matter of time before Thai Embassies/Consulates start enforcing this new law.  

If that is the case then: 

 

“My Time in LOS was nice but all good thing come to an end”??

 

I think your Agent is wrong. Certainly, this is not what the order says. The order says nothing about in-country extensions.

 

Rather it says that at each entry under the visa you must be holding insurance valid till the end the period of stay.

 

How on earth IOs at airports and busy border crossings would check this is utterly beyond me.

 

As to whether they will start to require insurance for in-country extensions of stay only time will tell, hasn't happened yet.

[Sheryl]

2 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

It clearly says check will be done at the entry point. Of course, if one does not leave Thailand and confine onself in the hellhole of Thailand for the entire year, he does not have to worry about anything. 

 

But HOW?

 

IOs at the airports and busy border crossings have never before been asked to check anything other than passport and visa. They are not set up for this sort of thing.

 

Can you really imagine an IO at Swampy with a humungous line waiting trying to read through a foreign insurance policy to determine if it meets the critera???

[Sheryl]

20 minutes ago, pontious said:

Many people have 1st class medical cover but not many have outpatient cover.

 

Exactly the problem. Though many inpatient only policies do cover outpatient costs (to limits far above 40K) in certain circumstances.

 

Mine for example covers, up to USD 1 million, outpatient cancer care and dialysis as well as outpatient care follow up after a hospitalization. And day surgeries.

 

How an Io would interpet that -- from fairly complicated policy documents in English - I can't imagine.

 

 

[pontious]

2 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

But HOW?

 

IOs at the airports and busy border crossings have never before been asked to check anything other than passport and visa. They are not set up for this sort of thing.

 

Can you really imagine an IO at Swampy with a humungous line waiting trying to read through a foreign insurance policy to determine if it meets the critera???

Maybe the OA issuing office will provide a sticker in the passport '' medical insurance complies and is valid from xx to xx.'' The IO will only need to see this.

[Tanoshi]

4 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Can you really imagine an IO at Swampy with a humungous line waiting trying to read through a foreign insurance policy to determine if it meets the critera???

It can only be from one of approved Insurance Companies.

https://longstay.tgia.org/home/companiesoa

 

You can guarantee the Policies will come in Thai, or Thai and English.

[Mitkof Island]

9 minutes ago, burner2014 said:

Is this one touching Marriage Visas? And Marriage Visa Extensions?

 

I am still confused with O-A  -> I read Visas from O to A?  As Marriage visa is Non-Immigrant 0.

 

No it does not. And even this O-A talk is just getting more confusing with each opinion. Nothing is set in cement yet with the O-A visa. In your case NOTHING to worry about.

[mojaco]

My guess is that a consulate or embassy will stamp an "Insurance OK" comment alongside the OA visa.  Would make it easy for an IO.

[Sheryl]

47 minutes ago, Pib said:

And if I remember right when the govt first started talking a health insurance requirement months and months ago they said a foreign medical policy meeting the 800K inpatient and 400K outpatient requirement should be acceptable, but apparently that was BS as only buying the prescribed Thai health insurance online is accepted under the police order.

 

it is 400 inpatient and 40k outpatient (both stupid)

 

And it states in this order that foreign policies will be accepted if they provide at least that level of cover. Certainly any foreign policy will have more than that level of inpatient cover. the hitches are going to be:

 

- ability of IOs to read let alone comprehend  foreign policy documents. Let alone busy IOs at airports and border crossings with long lines of people to process.

 

- the outpatient clause. Most people have inpatient only policies with perhaps limited outpatient cover such as cancer care, dialysis, day surgeries, pre-and post hospitalization outpatient visits.  This garbled directive provides no guidance on whether that is acceptable (or, for that matter, if policies with substantial exclusions are acceptable). Obviously developed by people with no knowledge of health insurance. And no idea how complex policy documents are. They are not something you can just glance at in under a minute.

 

- situation of those with full medical cover through other than private  insurance e.g. Thai SS.

 

 

[Sheryl]

9 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

It can only be from one of approved Insurance Companies.

https://longstay.tgia.org/home/companiesoa

 

You can guarantee the Policies will come in Thai, or Thai and English.

 

Not so. the order clearly states -- unlike the O-X visa requirement - that foreign policies will be accepted. These are not going to be in Thai.

 

 

[Sheryl]

8 minutes ago, pontious said:

Maybe the OA issuing office will provide a sticker in the passport '' medical insurance complies and is valid from xx to xx.'' The IO will only need to see this.

 

yes, it would. But what about those already issued O-A visas?

[pookondee]

8 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

But HOW?

 

IOs at the airports and busy border crossings have never before been asked to check anything other than passport and visa. They are not set up for this sort of thing.

 

Can you really imagine an IO at Swampy with a humungous line waiting trying to read through a foreign insurance policy to determine if it meets the critera???

Yes, its preposterous. 

 

Im guessing the only way is...

if the foriegn consulates would be required to forward the application to Immigration at Bangkok, have it checked and ok'd by specially trained staff at Chaengwattana, before it is granted.

 

That way the in-country IOs wont have to check it.

 

But yes, one might be forgiven for thinking this issue has a LONG history of threads being created for click-bait..

so....

 

 

 

[captpkapoor]

37 minutes ago, Martyp said:

I bought a policy from Pacific Cross this year. I like the coverage and price compared to my previous US insurance and it way exceeds the visa required insurance. If your from a country with government insurance though then this requirement is not going to look good.

 

BTW, my US insurance only covered me as a traveler. Not as an Expat.

The problem with Pacific Cross is that if actually need an insurance payout, they will check the stamps in your passport to verify if you have stayed at least 180 days in Thailand. If you're a frequent traveller like me, many years I spend less than 180 days in Thailand. 

[Tanoshi]

11 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

And it states in this order that foreign policies will be accepted if they provide at least that level of cover. Certainly any foreign policy will have more than that level of inpatient cover. the hitches are going to be:

Nope, it states;

The applicant must submit an Insurance evidence with the form approved by the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) by checking via the website longstay.tgia.org.

Only those listed on this website are approved and applications are made online.

 

Some of companies listed are foreign companies.

 

It appears they'll issue a form to be presented at Immigration on entry.

[Samui Bodoh]

17 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

yes, it would. But what about those already issued O-A visas?

This is THE question as far as I am concerned. I asked this early in the thread, and I will assume that UbonJoe is searching out an answer. Three cheers for UJ!

 

@Sheryl, you are making some excellent points, but I suspect that we will simply have to await further details. FWIW, I see no possible answer other than the issuing embassy/consulate somehow marks the visa to state that the insurance requirement has been met; nothing else seems possible. However, I have been in the LOS a long time, so...

 

For me (and others), the question is for the immediate future. I have an O-A Long Stay, and as per the norm I did a 'border bounce" just before the 'Use By date" and got a second year. Then, again as per normal, I obtained a multiple re-Entry permit.

 

Sooooo, do I need to buy the relevant insurance, or does my last entry (July 2019), extended with a multiple re-entry permit, save me from the trouble? Put another way, do I need to purchase the appropriate insurance NOW/Oct 31st or wait until July 2020?

 

Any more thoughts? Anyone travelling in this situation is going to run into this sooner or later; is it sooner or later?

 

Cheers All

 

[sfokevin]

So my initial 3 month visa issued in Vientiane a few years ago was a “Non-Immigrant O“ and I also have subsequent one year extensions based on this initial visa so none of this required insurance applies to me right?