Non-OA retirement extension and insurance

[Peter Denis]

24 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

For Canadians, my understanding is you MUST be in Canada for at least six months, else you lose your health coverage.  The Canadian 'snow birds' who every year go to Florida, need to ensure they stay in Florida for less than 6-months.   Your country appears to be far more generous in its application of health insurance coverage to its citizens.

 

Just going back to Canada for 2 weeks and then leaving again for the rest of the year, does NOT restore the health insurance.

 

Given we have just now noted how 2 countries can be very different, how can Thailand officials keep track of each and every country's policy? 

Imo it is not that my country (and several other countries in Western Europe for that matter) is more generous.

During my working-life the Belgian government mandatory withheld a part of my salary to fund the Belgian health-care system, so I actually PAID for that health-care and am entitled to it.  The fact that I am now on 'continual holiday' abroad does not matter, but of course I need to be in my home-country to make use of it (and so I need travel-insurance when being abroad).  Like every other Belgian citizen I am entitled to that health-care with no deductibles nor pre-existing conditions.

Actually, if Canada has a similar system it is scandalous that they deny their citizens the health-care they are entitled to, just for reason of not being in the country (which they should actually applaud as it puts LESS strain on the Canadian health-care system than staying in country).  Food for thought?

 

It is not the Health-care, but my annual TRAVEL-INSURANCE policy which provides UNLIMITED coverage for any trips abroad of max 6-months.  After 6 months I am not covered any-more according to that policy, but a stay of 2 weeks in my home-country is needed to be covered on my next trip once again for 6 months.  That travel-insurance obviously includes re-patriation at no cost.  Since the accident/illness coverage is unlimited, it is actually beneficial for the travel-insurance company to repatriate me in case of serious illness/accident.  Because I am fully covered through the health-care in my home-country for the treatment of those illnesses/accidents.

 

Thai authorities can of course not keep track of all the different options and situations in the retirees home-country systems and policies.

That's why they want the foreign insurance-company to sign off the Form that stipulates that the policy meets the IO requirements of 400.00 THB in-patient coverage (and 40.000 THB out-patient coverage).  Normally that should not be any problem at all, as the thai coverage is ridiculously low.  But the dumb-asses referred in that form to clauses of thai legislation and required that it be signed by at least 2 directors of the insurance-company.  That makes it almost impossible to get the Form signed by your insurance-company as they are not familiar with thai legislation (and the insurers legal dept will be difficult on that part).  And of course good luck to get a form for a single annual policy getting signed at director level of the insurance company.

 

[Peter Denis]

30 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

I agree its good to have such coverage.

 

My point is it is expensive, and some medical repatriation's (if one reads the fine print) will only cover someone if they can be flown back economy class, but not flown back in an 'invalid' state. The fine print needs to be read.

 

A full medivac, can easily cost up to $250,000 US$ - so the repatriation insurance has to cover that.  The reason for the high price, is if the person should have a bad experience mid-flight, and aircraft has to emergency land somewhere, then someone needs to pay the costs for that emergency landing (landing fees, fuel costs, aircrew costs, emergency on arrival costs, aircraft costs, plus any expenses associated with claims of other passengers on the flight, due to them missing connections, etc ..).  The repatriation insurance has to be sufficient to cover such.

 

Ergo, knowing the 'fine print' as to what is covered in the repatriation is important. Some repatriations only cover basic return flight costs, but no emergency coverage.

As mentioned in an earlier post my travel-insurance costs less than 300 US $ for a full year.  And it includes:

- UNLIMITED coverage of any illness/accident that requires immediate care during any of my trips abroad;

- Re-patriation at no cost (and in the appropriate flight-conditions).

It actually contains even a lot more, e.g. for a small more-cost also my wife/children can be covered under my policy for same conditions.

And it contains many more additional coverages like full re-imbursement of travel-costs of direct relatives visiting you abroad when you cannot be repatriated and need local care, or them flying back with you in case you are repatriated.

 

Considering that the travel-insurance company offering that package is not bankrupt but are actually doing quite well financially, you cannot help wonder what fortunes must be made on the back of citizens of other countries (like USA) where profit is the sole driver and there is limited government intervention to ensure citizens will be well-covered health-wise.

Actually it is only since I am in Thailand and being confronted with this health-insurance scam. that I realize what a great healthcare-system my country provides to its citizens (which includes strict regulation of insurance-companies to ensure they offer appropriate coverage at a decent price).

But the thinking behind it is that Health-care for all is a basic citizen right and not a 'product' to make money from.

 

 

[Lim Yuan Hai]

Thank you so much for you guys for the advises, comments and recommendations given (special thanks to Dr. Sheryl who has helped me a lot, including but not limited to her recommendation about physio therapy at the SNMRI and Mr. Peter Denis who advised roadmap to convert to Non-O).

I have just signed the letter of acceptance for this ridiculous health insurance so as to let go off these very troublesome situation.

Merry Christmas and happy new year.

[Peter Denis]

1 hour ago, Lim Yuan Hai said:

I have just signed the letter of acceptance for this ridiculous health insurance so as to let go off these very troublesome situation.

Hi Lim,

I would be interested to know what policy from which insurance-company you selected and bought.

As well as the cost of the policy, and whether you did take any deductibles to lower the premium.

Since you only need it for 7 months, were you able to get a 7-month policy or had to take a full year?

 

And of course a report of your application for extension of your OA - retirement Visa at CW would be useful.

Thanks!

[Lim Yuan Hai]

1 hour ago, Peter Denis said:

And of course a report of your application for extension of your OA - retirement Visa at CW would be useful.

Thanks!

Standard extra from PC.

300k deductible option, but reduced the coverage heavily just to meet IO requirement and many unfair exclusions. I knew it is useless and very expensive policy. However, I have no choice because I am doing physio, fitness, aqua and Red cord therapy here.

Have to take full year.

Btw, what do you mean by "a report of your application for extension your OA visa at CW would be useful"?

[Peter Denis]

10 hours ago, Lim Yuan Hai said:

Btw, what do you mean by "a report of your application for extension your OA visa at CW would be useful"?

Now that you have subscribed to the health-insurance policy from PC, you will go again to CW to apply for an extension of stay of your original OA Visa for reason of retirement.  And this time your application will  - normally - not be denied as you now meet the health-insurance requirement.

Still it would be useful when you reported back on the Forum the details of how the application at CW went, and especially if you got any issues with your new health-insurance policy.

E.g. there have been reports of IOs where applicants did not only have to show the Certificate they received from the insurance-company, but that it had to be the ORIGINAL certificate.  Also some idiot IOs require that you can prove that you paid the premium for the insurance.  And of course, your policy has to be filed in the IO Certificate register by your insurance company (to avoid Certificate fraud), and failure of your insurance-company to have done so will lead to refusal of the application, even when having the Certificate with you.

So your experience at CW might be useful for other TVF members going that road.

[Lim Yuan Hai]

2 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

Now that you have subscribed to the health-insurance policy from PC, you will go again to CW to apply for an extension of stay of your original OA Visa for reason of retirement.  And this time your application will  - normally - not be denied as you now meet the health-insurance requirement.

Still it would be useful when you reported back on the Forum the details of how the application at CW went, and especially if you got any issues with your new health-insurance policy.

E.g. there have been reports of IOs where applicants did not only have to show the Certificate they received from the insurance-company, but that it had to be the ORIGINAL certificate.  Also some idiot IOs require that you can prove that you paid the premium for the insurance.  And of course, your policy has to be filed in the IO Certificate register by your insurance company (to avoid Certificate fraud), and failure of your insurance-company to have done so will lead to refusal of the application, even when having the Certificate with you.

So your experience at CW might be useful for other TVF members going that road.

Hi Peter and guys,

Good morning! Sure, I will feedback my experience and what are the required documents by IO. Btw, I agreed with you and others who advise that convert to Non-O is the best option to those who do not want to purchase a health insurance policy required by IO.

Thank you

Edited December 27, 2019 by Lim Yuan Hai

[bokningar]

On 12/26/2019 at 11:56 AM, Peter Denis said:

As mentioned in an earlier post my travel-insurance costs less than 300 US $ for a full year.  And it includes:

- UNLIMITED coverage of any illness/accident that requires immediate care during any of my trips abroad;

- Re-patriation at no cost (and in the appropriate flight-conditions).

It actually contains even a lot more, e.g. for a small more-cost also my wife/children can be covered under my policy for same conditions.

And it contains many more additional coverages like full re-imbursement of travel-costs of direct relatives visiting you abroad when you cannot be repatriated and need local care, or them flying back with you in case you are repatriated.

 

Considering that the travel-insurance company offering that package is not bankrupt but are actually doing quite well financially, you cannot help wonder what fortunes must be made on the back of citizens of other countries (like USA) where profit is the sole driver and there is limited government intervention to ensure citizens will be well-covered health-wise.

Actually it is only since I am in Thailand and being confronted with this health-insurance scam. that I realize what a great healthcare-system my country provides to its citizens (which includes strict regulation of insurance-companies to ensure they offer appropriate coverage at a decent price).

But the thinking behind it is that Health-care for all is a basic citizen right and not a 'product' to make money from.

 

 

Is it possible to find and sign up for that travel insurance online? Could you please post a link? Thanks in advance.

[oldcpu]

On 12/24/2019 at 1:53 PM, ubonjoe said:

A trip to a translator would be all you would need to do if you paid them to handle the certification at Consular Affairs Department of the MFA (the MFA is located elsewhere) and mail it to you. The consular affairs will mail the to you as well.

 

We are in contact with a Bangkok translator, who is willing to take my marriage certificate (and registration), translate it, and then also go to Canadian Embassy with a 'power of attorney document' (limited to this marriage certificate translation) and to the MFA with same power of attorney.  They have done this with some foreigners and the country's embassies (where marriage registered).  However the 'translator' notes they have never done this before with the Canadian Embassy, so they are not 100% certain they will succeed in this case.

 

Quote

You should check with the Canadian Embassy about the legalization.

I've reached out to the Embassy for their policy.  Understandably, Christmas holidays / vacation time will slow down any reply.   I hope to know the best approach possibly as soon as by New Years - and then I'll decide if I my wife and/or I need to go to Bangkok, or alternatively handle this the registered 'snail mail' way (or by registered courier).  I'm happy to go to Bangkok, but my wife not so keen.

.

Edited December 28, 2019 by oldcpu

[Lim Yuan Hai]

Hi Guys,

I have successfully renew the extension of non-OA at CW.

They have accepted the photocopy of Insurance certificate (no original was required)
and they have checked it with their IO database.  

Have a nice day!

Edited January 7, 2020 by Lim Yuan Hai

[Jimmy Men]

On 1/7/2020 at 2:43 PM, Lim Yuan Hai said:

Hi Guys,

I have successfully renew the extension of non-OA at CW.

They have accepted the photocopy of Insurance certificate (no original was required)
and they have checked it with their IO database.  

Have a nice day!

Hello Mr. Lim,

 

Congratulations!

 

Thank you so much, sharing so many useful information!

The condition samiliar as yours, I would also want to keep the visa valid, 

I remember your applied is, 

==Standard extra from PC.

300k deductible option==,

could you please tell me where the place you applied is, 

where is the "CW" as you mentioned,

I can not find out where it is, hah.

could you please spell the full name?

 

Looking forward to your helps!

Highly appreciate,

Great weekend!

Jimmy

 

 

 

 

  

[tonray]

3 minutes ago, Jimmy Men said:

where is the "CW"

Chaengwattana Immigration Bangkok

[Jimmy Men]

2 hours ago, tonray said:

Chaengwattana Immigration Bangkok

Hi Tonray,

Good afternoon!

Thanks for your help, I once been there, while I do not know the CW, haha,

Best regards,

Jimmy

[Johnthplumb]

On 12/21/2019 at 12:30 AM, ubonjoe said:

There are several ongoing topics about a original OA visa entry requirement insurance when you apply for an extension of stay.

On is here where it has been discussed. https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1138196-o_a-extensions-75-based-on-retirement-only/

There are some office far from Bangkok that may be not require it but you would not be apply there without formally changing your address to where it is located.

Info about the companies offering the insurance is here. https://longstay.tgia.org/home/companiesoa

Many people are opting to do away with their original OA visa entry by going out of the country to get a non-o visa entry and then applying for a new extension due to the insurance not be required for them.

When does your current extension end?

 

For people applying for the 0-A Visa at the Thai London Embassy, they can use there own medical insurance to obtain the Visa for  entry to Thailand, as long as the required amounts of insurance are adequate.

To get the required form, go to:- http://longstay.tgia.org. Go to non-immigrant Visa O-A "MORE"

You can there down load the Overseas Insurance certificate. You can then use your own health insurance as long as it complies with the amount required.

The London Embassy, if filled in correctly, accept this as proof of insurance.  Hope this helps for applicants in the UK, Attached is a copy of the required form to fill

[Langsuan Man]

On 1/11/2020 at 3:08 AM, Johnthplumb said:

For people applying for the 0-A Visa at the Thai London Embassy, they can use there own medical insurance to obtain the Visa for  entry to Thailand, as long as the required amounts of insurance are adequate.

To get the required form, go to:- http://longstay.tgia.org. Go to non-immigrant Visa O-A "MORE"

You can there down load the Overseas Insurance certificate. You can then use your own health insurance as long as it complies with the amount required.

Here we go, the requirements for proving "Thai issued health insurance" have now been "amended by London Embassy" thus once again opening it up for every Thai Embassy and Consulate around the world to interpret the rule as they see fit, just like every IO at the border gets to make up their own rules

 

This is the institutional failing of the Royal Thai Immigration, too many damn cooks stirring the broth 

[oldcpu]

On 12/24/2019 at 1:53 PM, ubonjoe said:

A trip to a translator would be all you would need to do if you paid them to handle the certification at Consular Affairs Department of the MFA (the MFA is located elsewhere) and mail it to you. The consular affairs will mail the to you as well.

Info is here: http://www.consular.go.th/main/th/services/6441/71860-ขั้นตอนการรับรองนิติกรณ์เอกสาร---Legalization-Proc.html

You should check with the Canadian Embassy about the legalization.

Thanks ubonjoe, and just a follow up to conclude my involvement here.

 

I obtained my (Thai wife and my) Kor 22 today.

 

You are correct, and it was as you noted.  

 

We have a Phuket friend (Thai) who is a translator, and she referred us to a Bangkok translation office that she uses when she needs documents dynamically translated in Bangkok, and when she does not want to go to Bangkok herself to handle affairs. 

 

We contacted the Bangkok translation office she recommended, provided them limited power of attorney for our marriage documents, and sent them our original marriage certificate plus copies of my passport and wife ID.  They went to Canadian Embassy on our behalf, and had copy of marriage certificate certified.   Prior to this, per your suggestion, I contacted the Canadian Embassy and confirmed the Embassy would accept this approach.

 

The Bangkok translation service then translated my passport to Thai and translated the marriage certificate to Thai, took those documents to the MFA and had the translation of the marriage certificate certified. 

 

The documents were all mailed back to us, it arrived in Phuket on Saturday 11-January-2020, and today 13-January-2020 we went to the local Phuket government office with the necessary paperwork (certified marriage certificate copy, certified translation of marriage certificate, my wife's blue book (residence info), my passport, my wife's ID, and two witnesses (who have known us for years)) and had our marriage registered.  

 

We now have a Kor 22 proving my marriage for Thailand purposes.

 

This was a LOT of work for everyone (my wife, translator, Canadian Embassy, Bangkok MFA, and Phuket government office) just because my superior Health Insurance is not on the Thai health insurance list.  Maybe someday in future years, a means of Thailand being able to easily prove adequate international insurance will be implemented.  But for now, for me, the 'marriage' route (given I've been married since 2001) appears to be the best route to go.

 

.

 

Edited January 13, 2020 by oldcpu

[moontang]

Why not just get an O?

[oldcpu]

32 minutes ago, moontang said:

Why not just get an O?

Because I already have an OA and meet the OA requirements (marriage).

[Jimmy Men]

Hi Huys,

Good evening!

 

I have 2 questions about the Non OA visa, 

1. Is there any requirement by the IO, on the minimum days I have to stay in Thai in one year? several months?

2. Is there any requirement by the insurance company,

on how many days I have to stay in Thai in one year?

several months?

 

Highly appreciated if any friends comments on this, 

thanks a lot,

good night 

 

 

[harpman88]

On 12/27/2019 at 7:43 AM, Peter Denis said:

Now that you have subscribed to the health-insurance policy from PC, you will go again to CW to apply for an extension of stay of your original OA Visa for reason of retirement.  And this time your application will  - normally - not be denied as you now meet the health-insurance requirement.

Still it would be useful when you reported back on the Forum the details of how the application at CW went, and especially if you got any issues with your new health-insurance policy.

E.g. there have been reports of IOs where applicants did not only have to show the Certificate they received from the insurance-company, but that it had to be the ORIGINAL certificate.  Also some idiot IOs require that you can prove that you paid the premium for the insurance.  And of course, your policy has to be filed in the IO Certificate register by your insurance company (to avoid Certificate fraud), and failure of your insurance-company to have done so will lead to refusal of the application, even when having the Certificate with you.

So your experience at CW might be useful for other TVF members going that road.

Hi Peter,and thanks much for the very incisive and informative posts. I'm also one whose been recently "blindsided" by this silly regulation, (My OA retirement renewal ,(number 13 for me) is due Feb. 11, and it wasn't until 2 weeks ago that I found out about the new Thai HI requirement. Im also one whose got a HI policy (of course,useless for the OA extension),otherwise good worldwide,thru my retiree/pension plan. Anyway,Ive decided to go with the Virayah Co. policy because they have offices here in CMai, and was able to get a policy in a short amount of time. (we also have our vehicle insured there,so was familiar with their locations) So last Friday,Jan. 24 they called and said the policy was good to go...alas,when we (our son's Mom and I,) took the paperwork to C.Mai Imm we discovered that the policy was dated the day I applied,Jan.21 ,

not Feb.11 .even tho I told them at their office it must be postdated to start on Feb 11. The officer at CM Imm,of course, sent us back,highlighting on the form the fact that the start date must be changed to Feb.11.  So the agent at Virayah now knows that,and has resubmitted the info with the new start date and as of today,Jan. 28,we're waiting to hear back from them. So now,assuming all else is OK,is there any way I'll be able to find out at Virayah that they've indeed filed in the IO Certificate register,so that I won't be sent back there yet again? Big thanks in advance,Harp88.

[Peter Denis]

11 minutes ago, harpman88 said:

Hi Peter,and thanks much for the very incisive and informative posts. I'm also one whose been recently "blindsided" by this silly regulation, (My OA retirement renewal ,(number 13 for me) is due Feb. 11, and it wasn't until 2 weeks ago that I found out about the new Thai HI requirement. Im also one whose got a HI policy (of course,useless for the OA extension),otherwise good worldwide,thru my retiree/pension plan. Anyway,Ive decided to go with the Virayah Co. policy because they have offices here in CMai, and was able to get a policy in a short amount of time. (we also have our vehicle insured there,so was familiar with their locations) So last Friday,Jan. 24 they called and said the policy was good to go...alas,when we (our son's Mom and I,) took the paperwork to C.Mai Imm we discovered that the policy was dated the day I applied,Jan.21 ,

not Feb.11 .even tho I told them at their office it must be postdated to start on Feb 11. The officer at CM Imm,of course, sent us back,highlighting on the form the fact that the start date must be changed to Feb.11.  So the agent at Virayah now knows that,and has resubmitted the info with the new start date and as of today,Jan. 28,we're waiting to hear back from them. So now,assuming all else is OK,is there any way I'll be able to find out at Virayah that they've indeed filed in the IO Certificate register,so that I won't be sent back there yet again? Big thanks in advance,Harp88.

Hi harpmann88,

As far as I know only IO and the insurance companies have access to the IO Health-Insurance Certificate database.  When you are not sure that Virayah has actually uploaded the Policy Certificate, you should contact them and simply ask them if they did so (indeed, to avoid your OA extension application being denied because your policy Certificate is not in the database).

[harpman88]

On 1/28/2020 at 9:50 PM, Peter Denis said:

Hi harpmann88,

As far as I know only IO and the insurance companies have access to the IO Health-Insurance Certificate database.  When you are not sure that Virayah has actually uploaded the Policy Certificate, you should contact them and simply ask them if they did so (indeed, to avoid your OA extension application being denied because your policy Certificate is not in the database).

Thank you Peter,That's pretty much what I figured. What I get out of all this is that when this HI law was passed,the Thai govt.bureaucrats never briefed the authorized insurers as to all the fine details that had to be followed when issuing the health policies.,Otherwise,Virayah at least should've known exactly what to do and exactly what paperwork TI would need to grant the OA. (This certainly does'nt surprise me). In any event,another thing in my case.. I did my last OA in Jan. 2019 and was still was able to use the old "combo" method,having about 500K in the bank and the pension/income letter from the Consulate,(which I had been doing for the past 12 years). At the end of Feb. last year I sold my condo and have had well over 3 mil baht in the bank since,realizing,of course,that I now needed at least 800K baht in the bank "seasoned" for at least 3 months, after the demise of the income letter/combo method to do this next OA due Feb. 11. Ive only made one xfer from my U.S. bank for the past year,.is there any issue with that,considering the fact that the money from the condo sale (Chinese buyer) was not a xfer direct from a foreign bank ,but rather came from a Chinese bank,deposited 1st into a Thai bank,from which certified bank checks were issued to pay for the condo? I'm just trying to make sure Ive got all my bases covered..Again, Big Thanks in advance,harp88

[Peter Denis]

2 hours ago, harpman88 said:

...

I did my last OA in Jan. 2019 and was still was able to use the old "combo" method,having about 500K in the bank and the pension/income letter from the Consulate,(which I had been doing for the past 12 years). At the end of Feb. last year I sold my condo and have had well over 3 mil baht in the bank since,realizing,of course,that I now needed at least 800K baht in the bank "seasoned" for at least 3 months, after the demise of the income letter/combo method to do this next OA due Feb. 11. Ive only made one xfer from my U.S. bank for the past year,.is there any issue with that,considering the fact that the money from the condo sale (Chinese buyer) was not a xfer direct from a foreign bank ,but rather came from a Chinese bank,deposited 1st into a Thai bank,from which certified bank checks were issued to pay for the condo? I'm just trying to make sure Ive got all my bases covered.

...

Hi Harpman88,

1. When you apply for an extension of your Non Imm OA - retirement Visa, and you use the 'money in bank' method since March 2019 a minimum of 800K baht has to be on your thai bank-account for at least 2 months on the day you apply.

You then have to keep that minimum of 800K baht for 3 months on your thai bank-account after the day you applied and then maintain at least 400K baht in the account until you top up your account for the next extension.

2. I am not 100% sure, therefore request to @ubonjoe when the following is not fully correct or incomplete. 

> Contrary to the 'monthly income transfer' method, you do not need to prove the foreign origins of the 800K/400K when you - without a break - re-apply for an extension of stay, you only need to demonstrate that you did not dip below those minimum limits during the 12 months preceding your application for extension of stay.

Edited January 31, 2020 by Peter Denis

[Peter Denis]

On 1/13/2020 at 12:24 PM, Jimmy Men said:

...

I have 2 questions about the Non OA visa, 

1. Is there any requirement by the IO, on the minimum days I have to stay in Thai in one year? several months?

2. Is there any requirement by the insurance company,

on how many days I have to stay in Thai in one year?

several months?

...

1. As far as I know there is no minimum of days you have to stay in Thailand during the permission to stay granted on the basis of your Non Imm OA Visa or extension.

2. Several TVF members have commented that in order to subcribe to a thai-issued health-insurance policy that you need to be at least 6 months per year in the Kingdom.

As a result of that insurer regulation, some people that stayed or foresee to stay less than 6 months per year in Thailand, are not able to apply for an extension of their Non Imm OA Visa, as they do not meet that specific thai-issued health-insurance policy requirement.

Note: In my opinion, it's actually a good thing not being able to subcribe to these bogus thai-approved health-insurance policies.  As they can switch to a Non Imm O - retirement Visa and use the money saved, to subscribe to a 'real' health-insurance policy (international or thai) that provides decent coverage.

[garyk]

On 12/21/2019 at 3:45 AM, Onrai said:

Since you have 5,805 posts I am assuming you have been in Thailand for some time. Since it has been in the news and posted on Thai visa forum it should come as no shock to hear that dead beat farang have cost the Thai medical system billions in losses from unpaid bills. Blame them. Blame all the foreigners who come over here, don’t have insurance, go to the hospital and skip out on the bill. What would you expect your country to do if you had a bunch of free loaders taking advantage of the system. Health care is reasonably priced here. The least we can do is pay our bills and not ruin for everyone else.

What a bunch of nonsense.  It would be ok if not for the riders attached to the policies. If you get seriously sick now with the insurance you will be denied insurance from that point on. 

Strictly another money grab. 

Edited January 31, 2020 by garyk

[Kadilo]

3 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

1. As far as I know there is no minimum of days you have to stay in Thailand during the permission to stay granted on the basis of your Non Imm OA Visa or extension.

2. Several TVF members have commented that in order to subcribe to a thai-issued health-insurance policy that you need to be at least 6 months per year in the Kingdom.

As a result of that insurer regulation, some people that stayed or foresee to stay less than 6 months per year in Thailand, are not able to apply for an extension of their Non Imm OA Visa, as they do not meet that specific thai-issued health-insurance policy requirement.

Note: In my opinion, it's actually a good thing not being able to subcribe to these bogus thai-approved health-insurance policies.  As they can switch to a Non Imm O - retirement Visa and use the money saved, to subscribe to a 'real' health-insurance policy (international or thai) that provides decent coverage.

Not true.  I stay less than 6 months per year and have been accepted with Pacific Cross so the reports are wrong. 

[Peter Denis]

13 hours ago, Kadilo said:

Not true.  I stay less than 6 months per year and have been accepted with Pacific Cross so the reports are wrong. 

I do not have a thai-approved Pacific Cross or any other health-insurance policy, but several TVF members have commented that in order to subcribe to a thai-issued health-insurance policy that you need to be at least 6 months per year in the Kingdom.

Did you check the 'small print' of your PC policy on that requirement?

On hindsight, it is of course possible to subscribe to a policy but you might be denied coverage when you want to make use of it and it turns out that you didn't meet the 6 months per annum in Thailand requirement.

And obviously if the only reason you took the policy was to meet the health-insurance requirement for your OA-retirement Visa extension, it doesn't matter.

Still it would be interesting to know whether your policy mentions that requirement.

[cnxgary]

Hello Peter. Can you please PM me re: converting to non-imm. o

[Peter Denis]

2 hours ago, cnxgary said:

Hello Peter. Can you please PM me re: converting to non-imm. o

PM-ed you the comprehensive roadmap I compiled to convert to a Non Imm O - retirement (or marriage) Visa.

[Jimmy Men]

On 2/1/2020 at 1:02 AM, Kadilo said:

Not true.  I stay less than 6 months per year and have been accepted with Pacific Cross so the reports are wrong. 

Hi Kadilo,Peter, 

Good evening, thank you so much for your comments and further discussions, 

this is very helpful for me to understand, and to proceed the next, 

may be I will try to check with PC, with less time staying in Thai a year.

Thanks again,