O/A visa and insurance experience today

[Max69xl]

3 minutes ago, brianj1964 said:

I'm 55 Sheryl so I'm expecting a good price, it's difficult looking on my phone I will investigate my options when I get computer access in Pattaya in 3 days.

i was planning permanent retirement here but I didn't anticipate this when I retired in May. I always thought that's what the 800,000 was for previously 

do I have any other options to live here permanently without insurance? Visa wise?

A Non-Immigrant O Visa with annual extensions doesn't require a health insurance. And you can get an insurance from a thai company with better coverage for a lower price compared to the Long Stay Visa health insurances companies now are selling to O-A Visa holders.

[Sheryl]

8 minutes ago, brianj1964 said:

I'm 55 Sheryl so I'm expecting a good price, it's difficult looking on my phone I will investigate my options when I get computer access in Pattaya in 3 days.

i was planning permanent retirement here but I didn't anticipate this when I retired in May. I always thought that's what the 800,000 was for previously 

do I have any other options to live here permanently without insurance? Visa wise?

 

If your wife is Thai then yes, you could do annual extensions of stay based on marriage after first getting a non-O (not O-A) visa. There is no insurance requirement for marriage extensions.

[Sheryl]

3 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

A Non-Immigrant O Visa with annual extensions doesn't require a health insurance. And you can get an insurance from a thai company with better coverage for a lower price compared to the Long Stay Visa health insurances companies now are selling to O-A Visa holders.

 

And even  from a foreign one (expat policy)

[LivinLOS]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Interesting statement. A person with an unused Non-Imm-OA, gets a 30 day stamp,  and can go to immigration in Thailand and get a 12 month stamp later. As I have said, this may explain why  insurance is mentioned in the police order relating to retirement extensions. 

This was one of the potential options I suggested IOs may take. 

 

I am in the camp that over time IOs will need to see insurance at borders, there may be a soft start, but later this year, when they are routinely denying entry without it, the arbitrary issue date will be forgotten IMO. 

[LivinLOS]

58 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Well that potential issue will be timed out fairly quickly as OA visas issued before October 31 all become used. 

'Fairly quickly' equal to '1 year'.. 

 

Its the backlog of OAs that this may apply to.. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Max69xl said:

An immigration officer at the largest airport in Thailand is supposed to be able to read a police order in thai and understand it. And if they don't understand, why not ask someone who should know? The police order was released in April,over 6 months ago. 

 

It wasn't like the OP's case involved a single wild hair rogue officer at some distant outpost. Based on his account above, he was FIRST stopped by the regular entry processing officer at the international airport who had looked at his O-A stamp and didn't stamp him thru, and then SECOND sent to some other desk where he was told specifically by presumably a different officer that he needed to have health insurance.

 

Perhaps, Immigration does understand the instructions they've been given, and it's some folks here who don't!  Just saying, perhaps....

 

Edited November 6, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[cheeryble]

52 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

Elsewhere it has been reported that Embassies were being asked to provide feedback on the new system requiring insurance.

 

Of course they did not do anything wrong but, as they have issued visas to people based on the understanding that the insurance was not required before the 31st,  they need to know that some  Immigration officers at airports are enforcing the requirement on people with visas issued earlier.

 

We have had many reports of people holding O-As issued by this Embassy prior to Oct 31 calling them to see if they would have a problem and being told no. At a minimum the Embassy might advise otherwise given this information. But they won't know if not told.

 

They do have channels open to them to report the problem.

The tighter the feedback the more intelligent the system!

[Skallywag]

37 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Unless you are under the age of 60 your premium is going to be well over 40,000.....

Note that 400,000 inpatient cover, while it satisfies Immigration requirements, is completely insufficient for actual protection, a single hospitalization here after a severe accident or illness can reach 1 million baht in a government hospital and well over 3 million in a private hospital.

These health insurance topics always puzzle me regarding expats views on retiring abroad and their priorities.

As Sheryl points out above and has sensibly mentioned before, hospitalization is expensive.

The attitude that, "i have insurance in my home country" or "I can self-insure myself" seems irresponsible if you are under 70 and never signed up for international or thai health insurance policy.

People spend millions/hundreds of thousands of baht on homes, cars, motorcycles, vacations, financing girlfriends or wives, etc...  but consider health insurance an unnecessary expense at 6-8K a month.

If you get in an accident or come down suddenly with a severe health problem, "flying" home may not be an option.

No one likes to pay for insurance if they are healthy or relatively young (OP 55 years), yet if new cars or new motorcycles, or new homes take priority over health insurance, you are playing russian roulette IMO. 

 

[Martyp]

I would think at this at this point getting a Non-immigrant O followed by a year extension and no insurance is the way to go for the OP. 

[TheAppletons]

3 minutes ago, Skallywag said:

These health insurance topics always puzzle me regarding expats views on retiring abroad and their priorities.

As Sheryl points out above and has sensibly mentioned before, hospitalization is expensive.

The attitude that, "i have insurance in my home country" or "I can self-insure myself" seems irresponsible if you are under 70 and never signed up for international or thai health insurance policy.

People spend millions/hundreds of thousands of baht on homes, cars, motorcycles, vacations, financing girlfriends or wives, etc...  but consider health insurance an unnecessary expense at 6-8K a month.

If you get in an accident or come down suddenly with a severe health problem, "flying" home may not be an option.

No one likes to pay for insurance if they are healthy or relatively young (OP 55 years), yet if new cars or new motorcycles, or new homes take priority over health insurance, you are playing russian roulette IMO. 

 

  Missing the point.  Health insurance is a great thing to have......getting overcharged for poorly designed health insurance with inadequate coverage is not a great thing.  That's the issue for many.  

[Martyp]

3 minutes ago, Skallywag said:

These health insurance topics always puzzle me regarding expats views on retiring abroad and their priorities.

As Sheryl points out above and has sensibly mentioned before, hospitalization is expensive.

The attitude that, "i have insurance in my home country" or "I can self-insure myself" seems irresponsible if you are under 70 and never signed up for international or thai health insurance policy.

People spend millions/hundreds of thousands of baht on homes, cars, motorcycles, vacations, financing girlfriends or wives, etc...  but consider health insurance an unnecessary expense at 6-8K a month.

If you get in an accident or come down suddenly with a severe health problem, "flying" home may not be an option.

No one likes to pay for insurance if they are healthy or relatively young (OP 55 years), yet if new cars or new motorcycles, or new homes take priority over health insurance, you are playing russian roulette IMO. 

 

This discussion isn't about whether you should or shouldn't have insurance (I have a 10 million baht Pacific Cross policy). It is about how the IO's are interpreting the police order requiring insurance. This indeed a strange experience the OP has described.

[Chiller]

My friend has just arrived here today from London with a Non Imm O-A Visa issued in London in September 2019 and has been told he requires insurance. He has been stamped in for 30 days and told to get insurance if he wants to make use of his Visa. 

[Sheryl]

10 minutes ago, Martyp said:

I would think at this at this point getting a Non-immigrant O followed by a year extension and no insurance is the way to go for the OP. 

Agree with the first part but definitely not the last.

 

Non-O with annual extensions and get real, meaningful insurance. Not this 400/40 nonsense. 

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

2 minutes ago, Chiller said:

My friend has just arrived here today from London with a Non Imm O-A Visa issued in London in September 2019 and has been told he requires insurance. He has been stamped in for 30 days and told to get insurance if he wants to make use of his Visa. 

Do you know which airport he arrived at?

[Martyp]

1 minute ago, Sheryl said:

Agree with the first part but definitely not the last.

 

Non-O with annual extensions and get real, meaningful insurance. Not this 400/40 nonsense. 

 

 

 

Sorry. I meant what you said. Get a visa and extension that doesn’t require insurance then get real insurance.

[Chiller]

8 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Do you know which airport he arrived at?

Yes he arrived at Suvarnabhumi. 

[LivinLOS]

1 minute ago, Chiller said:

Yes he arrived at Suvarnabhumi. 

Just because there will be a lot of posters crying fake.. If he ever posts on TV tell him to post his stamps showing the OA and the 30 day permission of stay. That then puts to bed any claims of trolling. 

 

This next week is going to be interesting in getting accurate reports from IOs, officers, border entry points, and trying to line up the various implementations, miss understandings on all sides, etc.. 

[gk10002000]

24 minutes ago, TheAppletons said:

  Missing the point.  Health insurance is a great thing to have......getting overcharged for poorly designed health insurance with inadequate coverage is not a great thing.  That's the issue for many.  

and if one has great international but apparently hard or impossible to get certified by Thai officials or a bit more risky home country insurance, that should be the person's choice.

[kingofthemountain]

1 hour ago, Max69xl said:

I think the problem is the chain of information. How do they get the info?

The problem is there is no chain of information.

The ''boss' of the local office meets his troop a morning

and says ''from today OA visa need insurance, have a nice day''

and that's all

[GeorgeCross]

38 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

It wasn't like the OP's case involved a single wild hair rogue officer at some distant outpost. Based on his account above, he was FIRST stopped by the regular entry processing officer at the international airport who had looked at his O-A stamp and didn't stamp him thru, and then SECOND sent to some other desk where he was told specifically by presumably a different officer that he needed to have health insurance.

 

Perhaps, Immigration does understand the instructions they've been given, and it's some folks here who don't!  Just saying, perhaps....

 

 

yeah i tend to agree, the idea that this has all been grandfathered in without actually having a grandfather clause is a tad presumptuous 

 

[Chiller]

6 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

Just because there will be a lot of posters crying fake.. If he ever posts on TV tell him to post his stamps showing the OA and the 30 day permission of stay. That then puts to bed any claims of trolling. 

 

This next week is going to be interesting in getting accurate reports from IOs, officers, border entry points, and trying to line up the various implementations, miss understandings on all sides, etc.. 

You make a valid point but my friend does not post on here. I can only report what I know in order to alert others what has happened to one person today. If it’s of any help I don’t post often and I have no interest whatsoever in putting up misleading information. 

[Roy Baht]

4 hours ago, brianj1964 said:

however when I represented the visa at the desk the young woman stamped it for 12 months minus 2 days.

Confused. In the OP, he was told he was only being given 30 days but when he was finally stamped in he got the full year. Doesn't that mean he was admitted on the OA visa for a year? In which case, he might get away without buying insurance, at least for a year? Or he'll get nailed when he does 90 day reporting?

[Skallywag]

24 minutes ago, TheAppletons said:

 Missing the point.  Health insurance is a great thing to have......getting overcharged for poorly designed health insurance with inadequate coverage is not a great thing.  That's the issue for many.  

Have not had to use my inpatient insurance, but have had good care as an outpatient at several different hospitals here in Thailand

My viewpoint is from the U.S. health care system, especially after the ACA was enacted (Obamacare)

Much higher prices than thailand and less coverage for the price. 

Am not quite old enough for Medicare but even then I will have to pay ~ 5000 baht a month and average wait time in the U.S. is 26-43 days to see a doctor. 

Very likely that Canada, UK, Australia, and the EU are better than the U.S. and Thailand in health care

[LivinLOS]

11 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

The problem is there is no chain of information.

The ''boss' of the local office meets his troop a morning

and says ''from today OA visa need insurance, have a nice day''

and that's all

and no one can question him for fear of either parties loss of face.. 

[Sheryl]

43 minutes ago, Roy Baht said:

Confused. In the OP, he was told he was only being given 30 days but when he was finally stamped in he got the full year. Doesn't that mean he was admitted on the OA visa for a year? In which case, he might get away without buying insurance, at least for a year? Or he'll get nailed when he does 90 day reporting?

If he was stamped in for a year it must have been on the OA visa.

 

They will not check insurance  at 90 day report.

 

His next issue if any will be at next entry into the country.

[IsaanAussie]

Just now, Sheryl said:

If he was stamoed in for a year it myst have been on the OA visa.

They will not check insurance  at 90 day tepirt.

His next issue if any will be at next entry into the country.

Correct. I did a 90 day report on my OA visa on Monday (4th) and was not asked about insurance. 

[Peter Denis]

1 hour ago, brianj1964 said:

I'm 55 Sheryl so I'm expecting a good price, it's difficult looking on my phone I will investigate my options when I get computer access in Pattaya in 3 days.

i was planning permanent retirement here but I didn't anticipate this when I retired in May. I always thought that's what the 800,000 was for previously 

do I have any other options to live here permanently without insurance? Visa wise?

 

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

If your wife is Thai then yes, you could do annual extensions of stay based on marriage after first getting a non-O (not O-A) visa. There is no insurance requirement for marriage extensions.

You can get a Non O Visa based on marriage when you are married with a Thai wife. 

But you can ALSO get a Non O Visa based on retirement when +55 years of age (as well as meeting the other requirements).

In both cases the thai-approved health-insurance is not required.

Edited November 6, 2019 by Peter Denis

[flexomike]

waiting to hear from anybody who came in on a re-entry permit from from an extension of stay from an Original OA visa 

[sqwakvfr]

“I'm 55 Sheryl so I'm expecting a good price, it's difficult looking on my phone I will investigate my options when I get computer access in Pattaya in 3 days.

i was planning permanent retirement here but I didn't anticipate this when I retired in May. I always thought that's what the 800,000 was for previously 

do I have any other options to live here permanently without insurance? Visa wise?”

 

What would you consider as a good price?  I am 56 and these are my choices for someone without any pre-existing conditions:

 

1.  35,000 Baht(400K/40K minimum limits)

2.  42,000 Baht(400K/40K minimum limits)

3.  46,000 Baht(400K/40K minimum limits)

 

Currently I have a 1 Million Baht Inpatient only policy for 13,000 Baht per year with renewals until I turn 70.  But my current insurance policy will not be accepted by Immigration.  Good luck on your search.  

[Max69xl]

3 minutes ago, flexomike said:

waiting to hear from anybody who came in on a re-entry permit from from an extension of stay from an Original OA visa 

Out of everyone with an O-A Visa, not that many are members here at TVF.