Popular Post sqwakvfr Posted February 6, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted February 6, 2020 In mid January 2020 I returned to Los Angeles in order obtain a a New Imm OA Visa from the Thai Consulate. I had obtained my initial Non Imm OA from the LA Consulate several years ago. In the past the process was rather simple and straightforward. This time it required more work and more documents: 1. Pacific Cross Health Insurance which is in compliance with the 400K/40K Police Order. Obtained December 2019. 2. A livescan Fingerprint Criminal Background Check from the FBI or the California Department of Justice. I chose the FBI Background Check. I considered two companies for the background check: Fieldprint.com and Applicantservices.com. Both Are FBI Channelers and it $50 dollars. Go on either website, register, pay, and chose the location to digitally submit Your prints. The process took about 5 minutes and my FBI background check came back in 30 minutes(my case is different Because of my over 20 years in Law Enforcement and in the past i have held two Federal Government Security Clearances). The timeline for others will vary. Obviously if one has a past criminal record then this will slow the process down. I drove to the LA consulate and submitted my Visa application packet(everything has to 1 set of originals and two copies) I picked up my new Visa the next day. Success on Part One. Entry at BKK. I arrived at BKK on a weekday at 1430. Immigration lanes looked like a ghost town(maybe CoronaVirus related?). The Immigration Officer only glanced at my Health Insurance Policy Document and just shook his head. He then sampled me in for the full year(I mean 364 days from my date of entry). I was lead to believe I would only be stamped in until the expiration date of my health insurance policy(this date was only 11 months from the date of entry). The Immigration Process at BKK on this day took 10 minutes. This was unbelievable. Overall I can state “Mission Accomplished” on both counts. Good luck to those who will attempt the same in the future. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post jimn Posted February 7, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted February 7, 2020 I dont think many people will need the good luck. You are the first person I have heard of who has gone down the OA visa route. Most people are opting for a Non O Single or Multi Tourist visa or Visa Exempt. Converting to an extension of stay based on Retirement once in Thailand. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Langsuan Man Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 Just a reminder, LA consulate is great for walk-ins but be aware they can take as long as two weeks to process a mail in application, the longest turn around in the US Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KhunBENQ Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 19 hours ago, jimn said: You are the first person I have heard of who has gone down the OA visa route. I also expected that Non O-A applications will become rare. In the past much recommended, now worth a warning. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Denis Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 Hi Sqwakvfr, First and foremost > Thanks for sharing your experience and well-deserved Congrats for successfully acquiring a new Non Imm OA Visa in your home-country! A TVF-member drew my attention to your post and requested my comments as he is considering following a similar route as you have done. I answered him PM, but on hindsight my comment might also be of benefit for other TVF members so I re-post below. = = = = = The Non Imm OA (long-stay) Visa, is still the Golden Visa when you can obtain it in your home-country (USA), providing that you already have health-insurance coverage in US or Thailand. But due to the now required mandatory health-insurance when applying for that Visa, it has become much more difficult to get it. So the first hoop you would have to tackle is to convince/persuade your American insurer to fill-in and sign the Foreign Insurance Certificate (see attached form), stating that your policy meets the thai IO health-insurance requirements of minimum 400K THB in-patient and 40K THB out-patient coverage. Those are ridiculously low coverages for health-insurance, and so any Western policy will easily meet the in-patient requirement. But some policies do not distinguish between in-patient and out-patient, and so your insurer - when willing to sign the policy - might not fill in the out-patient coverage on the Certificate (and then it will be rejected by the US thai embassy). It is mandatory that the spaces for both coverages are filled-in with an amount of minimum the 400K/40K THB (or its equivalent in US $). The second hoop is that the Certificate requires 2 Director-signatures. But when requesting your insurer to sign the document, you should explain that this is a bad thai translation and does not really require Directors or Executives to sign the policy. A signature by 2 Managers or one by e.g. a Customer Service Manager from the insurer and one by the insurer-employed agent which is your liason with the insurer, would do. Adding their function or a stamp with their name/function to the signature might be wise (to avoid any doubt that the Certificate has indeed been filled-in and signed by the insurer). The third hoop is that it is recommended that the insurer fills in the date till which the policy is valid, which coincides with a 2-year period from which your OA Visa would be issued. Normally your insurer when he is willing to fill-in the Certificate, would simply fill in the present annual period your policy is valid. And the US thai embassy would then take over that insurance validity and add it as a note in your passport when they issue your OA Visa. When entering Thailand, border-immigration is instructed to look for the note for any OA Visa issued after Oct 31, 2019. And they will then stamp you in for either the 1-year permission to stay your OA Visa entitles you OR for the period of insurance-validity, whichever is lowest. So in order to enjoy the full benefit of the possible 2 years the OA Visa can provide you (by exiting and re-entering Thailand just before the OA Visa validity expires, which will provide you with a 2nd full year permission to stay), it would be very convenient when your insurer would be willing to extend the insurance validity date he fills in not to simply 1 year or the annual end-date of your present policy, but would cover the full 2 years the Visa can provide you. Apart from these 3 hoops, it might also be very difficult to persuade your insurer to sign the Certificate as it refers to thai legislation, and that would in many cases trigger an immediate refusal by many insurers. However, if you have a good personal relation with your insurer contact-person and are able to clearly explain what this is all about and why it is important for you that they sign and fill-in the Certificate, you might be able to succeed in the above. Note: No problem copying this message or parts of it to your insurer. On the US thai embassy site, you will probably also have read that apart from a copy of your american health-insurance policy issued by your American insurer (and which needs to be accompanied with the signed/filled-in Foreign Insurance Certificate), that also a THAI health-insurance policy that meets the requirements will be accepted. However, I would strongly advise you NOT to do that. There are many reasons why that is a really bad option. The main ones being: 1. When you have already a health-insurance policy, taking one on top (just to satisfy the thai IO HI-requirement) is not only expensive, but it might actually get you in trouble when you make a claim as your prime insurer will ask whether you have already other insurance, and you will then be involved in an administrative nightmare about which insurer will handle the claim. 2. The health-insurance policies that have been specifically created to meet the OA HI-requirement imposed by immigration, are exorbitantly expensive for the ridiculous low coverage they provide. And the premiums will rise significantly every year (e.g. when you are 83 years of age, the annual premium would be 380.000 THB for a maximum coverage of 400.000 THB > pure madness!). Note: However, when you do not already have foreign insurance, there is ONE thai insurer PacificCross, that you could consider when looking for fitting health-insurance. But you should NOT take their 'specific IO-required' policies, but opt for one of their 'regular ones' that also meet the IO requirements. Also be aware that their policies require that you stay at least 6 months per year in Thailand, and check whether you consider such a policy if you are also covered for trips outside Thailand (normally that would not be the case). A final comment. In case you don't succeed in getting the OA Visa while in US, that's for sure not 'the end of the world'. In that case you can simply return to Thailand VisaExempt or on a Tourist Visa, and once in-country then apply for a 90-day Non Imm O - retirement Visa at the IO of the place where you want to stay. In the last 30 days of that 90-day Non Imm O - retirement Visa, you can then apply at that same IO for a 1-year extension of stay based on that new Non Imm O - retirement Visa. The requirements and conditions for that extension are EXACTLY the same as for the OA Visa, with the one exception that the O Visa does NOT require the mandatory health-insurance. In our previous correspondence I already mailed you the Roadmap I compiled to switch from an OA Visa (or applying from scratch) to such an O - retirement Visa. Also I presume that you are NOT married to a thai national (or have a thai dependant child, or might be eligible for exension for yet another reason), because in those cases you can simply apply for your OA-extension of stay for reason of marriage (or other), which does NOT require the bogus thai-approved health-insurance scam imposed on OA-extension for reason of retirement. Cheers and success, Peter overseas_insurance_certificate.pdf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OJAS Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 19 hours ago, KhunBENQ said: I also expected that Non O-A applications will become rare. In the past much recommended, now worth a warning. And, since a non-OA visa is, these days, the sole route to retirement in Thailand from most Western countries, expect us expat farang retirees to become an endangered (if not completely extinct) species in LOS over time, unless we have other reasons for wanting to live here long-term (in particular marriage to a Thai national). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 52 minutes ago, OJAS said: And, since a non-OA visa is, these days, the sole route to retirement in Thailand from most Western countries Why? There are places where you can still get a non-o for being 50 or over and it can be applied for a immigration office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KhunBENQ Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, OJAS said: And, since a non-OA visa is, these days, the sole route to retirement in Thailand from most Western countries, expect us expat farang retirees to become an endangered (if not completely extinct) species in LOS over time, unless we have other reasons for wanting to live here long-term (in particular marriage to a Thai national). As you quoted me I also don't see why this is the only route left. Single Non O still available in Germany e.g. (and many others). It's all just about the money (either have sufficient income/pension and/or funds in Thai bank account). Edited February 9, 2020 by KhunBENQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom F Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 A question for the OP re the health insurance end of it. Like you, I'm planning on getting a new OA in the U.S. I've got the insurance and my insurer completed the medical insurance certificate. My understanding is that I have to submit the certificate with a new OA application. And, that the consulate should make a note on the new OA visa, to the effect that I've got the required insurance. How did that play out in your case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqwakvfr Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 How did that play out in your case? Nothing was written on the actual Visa. I have also heard there is database that is accessible by Immigration Officers that indicates the Non Imm OA Visa has the required visa?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom F Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 10 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said: How did that play out in your case? Nothing was written on the actual Visa. I have also heard there is database that is accessible by Immigration Officers that indicates the Non Imm OA Visa has the required visa?? Thanks for the reply. Sounds like another case of immigration authorities not really knowing their own rules. No real surprise there. Theoretically, they shouldn't really issue a new OA without the insurance. And, the note on the visa should work to avoid any questions/problems at the time of entry. When I do my next OA, I'll try to figure out some way to make sure they add the insurance note. Wish me luck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Denis Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 9 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said: How did that play out in your case? Nothing was written on the actual Visa. I have also heard there is database that is accessible by Immigration Officers that indicates the Non Imm OA Visa has the required visa?? That's strange. As I wrote in my post higher > Your insurer will fill-in on the Foreign Insurance Certificate the present annual period your policy is valid. And the US thai embassy would then take over that insurance validity and add it as a note in your passport when they issue your OA Visa. When entering Thailand, border-immigration is instructed to look for the note for any OA Visa issued after Oct 31, 2019. And they will then stamp you in for either the 1-year permission to stay your OA Visa entitles you OR for the period of insurance-validity, whichever is lowest. If there is no note made by the US thai embassy in your passport re the insurance-validity date, I would advise you - as you did on entering Thailand - to always carry a copy of the Certificate with you re-entering Thailand (the Certificate stating that your policy meets the thai IO health-insurance requirements, as well as mentioning the health-insurance policy validity date). Since I presume that you took a policy from the thai branch of PacificCross I would also advise you to contact them, asking whether they have entered your policy details in the IO health-insurance database. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqwakvfr Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) Peter Denis: “The Immigration Officer only glanced at my Health Insurance Policy ”. Also, I got stamped in for a full which is beyond the validity of my insurance policy with PC. TIT. Edited February 10, 2020 by sqwakvfr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapamita Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 On 2/7/2020 at 12:35 PM, jimn said: Most people are opting for a Non O Single or Multi Tourist visa or Visa Exempt. Converting to an extension of stay based on Retirement once in Thailand. i am strongly belive, the time of an Non O multi is soon over. i hope i wrong , bcs i use the visa already far over a decade 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimn Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 21 minutes ago, lapamita said: i am strongly belive, the time of an Non O multi is soon over. i hope i wrong , bcs i use the visa already far over a decade I agree with you 100%. Many consulates are stopping them, the UK amongst them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treetops Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 On 2/11/2020 at 1:43 AM, lapamita said: i am strongly belive, the time of an Non O multi is soon over. They'll disappear as the electronic application procedure rolls out, as there is no provision for them there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKresonant Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 On 2/11/2020 at 8:43 AM, lapamita said: i am strongly belive, the time of an Non O multi is soon over. i hope i wrong , bcs i use the visa already far over a decade It is quite disappointing that the non-O multi entry is discontinued in the UK, your lucky getting a decade of them. They discontinued them 4 months after I got my second one! I've now done my last ME entry for just under 60 days here, single entry non-O or tourist visas from here on in, it would seem...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Denis Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 It is worthwhile to revive the present thread as there is now - FINALLY - a somewhat affordable thai IO-approved health-insurance policy being offered. So the PacificCross thai IO-approved standard policy with 300K deductible is not the 'cheapest possible' policy anymore, as LMG Insurance now provides a thai IO-approved health-insurance policy for as low as 6.000 THB annual premium in the 51-60 age bracket. Obviously that LMG Insurance policy is of course also a worthless policy coverage-wise, and should only be regarded as a throw-away 'entrance-ticket' for an OA Visa extension, but at 6.000 THB annual premium it could be worth considering subscribing to it. = = = More info here > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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