Any hint that the government might be considering deporting us all back to our countries of origin?  I have a 1 year extension on my 'O' visa and enough money to satisfy their financial requirements.  Regularly renewed in Buriram.  But, I am over 70 with no health insurance and don't plan on getting any.  Long time Thai partner, home in Isaan etc. and no health problems, so far.

 

Comments?  (please and thank you)

You don't have any right to remain in Thailand.

I don't think they will kick you out, but it could theroretically happen that in the future they require health insurance from all retirees.

No, it is just you starting to spread this nonsense.

OP, clearly your getting ahead of yourself.

Take a chill pill. 

One particular course of action which you might wish to consider taking in order to minimise any risk of deportation in your case (which IMHO is already microscopically small) would be for you to marry your long-term Thai partner (who is, I assume, a female). In that way, you would then have marriage to a Thai national being available to you as an alternative reason for future extensions of stay. Personally, I would have thought it highly unlikely that the insurance requirement would ever be extended to spouses of Thai nationals, even if it were eventually extended to retirees with original non-O visas as in your case.

nonsense?  getting ahead of himself?  not hardly.

 

hope for the best, plan for the worst.  have a plan just in case a certain minister has his way and removes all the dirty foreigners.  if required to leave, where will you go, how will you get there?  nothing wrong with considering all your options.

 

might also consider what you will do for medical treatment if unlucky enough to catch the virus (or have a simple auto accident) and require intensive care.

 

a month ago, you'd be considered crazy if you asked "what could happen in thailand if there were a worldwide pandemic?"

really?  so then all other countries kick out Thais, and then nobody going back to the country that kicked them out.  and then nobody would trust going there again, from an investment or long-term point of view.  i find this ridiculous.  sure, it can happen.  

 

i think the better solution is.... test.  if ok, ok.  if not ok, then quarantine and then maybe kick them out.  but that's also ridiculous.  

 

remember, tourism for most countries is a zillion dollar business.  if all farangs got kicked out, that could hurt a country for decades.  

 

it would be better if a country secretly send money to say Spain and then Spain announced all expats must come home.  

I doubt that would happen, because there are quite a few Thai families that depend on farang support. Perhaps a rush to get married?

It's correct we have no rights here, however, there is public opinion. Thailand would shoot itself in the foot for years to come as a retirement destination, for any nationality..

 

2 hours ago, jackdd said:

You don't have any right to remain in Thailand.

I don't think they will kick you out, but it could theroretically happen that in the future they require health insurance from all retirees.

i suspect that is the most likely outcome, and sooner rather than later.

i would expect an announcement that all foreigners on long-stay visas must show adequate insurance coverage at next renewal.

no insurance = no extension.  you won't be "kicked out" or deported, you just won't be granted permission to stay.

would be nice if they were to allow foreign insurance policies, but i really can't see them adding to their workload when the IO can just check the thai insurance database.

20 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Thailand would shoot itself in the foot for years to come as a retirement destination, for any nationality..

Thailand would also have reciprocal action bought on it by whichever countries they picked on! Not a fight they would wont to get into!

47 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

 

 

might also consider what you will do for medical treatment if unlucky enough to catch the virus (or have a simple auto accident) and require intensive care.

 

Should have thought about that before you arrived in Thailand.

ohhh yes please DEPORT me back to my country... i just wonder with what? Longtailboat to Hamburg or a Cattletrain over Siberia ????
I mean, NOTHING here is certain,  TiT  ...and we just learned we all stink and Thais should stay away anyways ????

9 minutes ago, CGW said:

Thailand would also have reciprocal action bought on it by whichever countries they picked on! Not a fight they would wont to get into!

with this Health minister they did already... He is atm number 1 Topic ...
I just come back from Patong, havent been there in years... its EMPTY ... AND from 25th there are no flights into Phuket anymore... just wondering if no flights are inbound, how about leaving?

 

Went to immigration on Monday to extend my O-A visa (retirement) for 5 th year and was told I need health insurance this time. Waiting for certificate now to try again.????

12 hours ago, Tdix said:

Went to immigration on Monday to extend my O-A visa (retirement) for 5 th year and was told I need health insurance this time. Waiting for certificate now to try again.????

That is correct and has been the case since October 31st 2019.

I am not just stirring up trouble as a number of new requirements have appeared recently without much prior notice.  My visa is an 'O' type obtained a number of years ago.  I have been told that 'OA' visa holders will require health insurance as will all new visa applicants.

 

What was a surprise to many was the resurrection of the TM.30 requirements as were the home visits by police that have taken place in some districts. 

 

I am fortunate to have the required sum of money on deposit and don't need it to live on.  Insurance is not available to me except at a figure equal to my annual cost of living.

 

I am free to marry and would do so except the paperwork for me is so complicated that I will only do it as a last resort.  (Canadian/UK national, married in Canada divorced in France here on my UK passport)

 

This forum has provided much information that has been very useful to me for many reasons.  When events such as Covid-19 spring into being I turn to Thai visa to learn what other members may have discovered. 

 

Sorry if this upsets some of you....

On 3/18/2020 at 11:09 AM, Tdix said:

Went to immigration on Monday to extend my O-A visa (retirement) for 5 th year and was told I need health insurance this time. Waiting for certificate now to try again.????

When you experience trouble with the extension of your O-A Visa, just PM me and I will send over a comprehensive Roadmap to convert to a Non Imm O Visa which does not require the expensive and basically worthless thai IO-approved health-insurance.

19 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

When you experience trouble with the extension of your O-A Visa, just PM me and I will send over a comprehensive Roadmap to convert to a Non Imm O Visa which does not require the expensive and basically worthless thai IO-approved health-insurance.

How does this work if the borders are closed?

4 minutes ago, jackdd said:

How does this work if the borders are closed?

Yes, a border-run is required to switch Visa, but maybe his permission to stay provides him sufficient time to wait till the situation normalizes.  Otherwise he would be confined to apply for the extension of stay, and in that case my suggestion would be to opt for LGM Insurance, which is currently the dirt-cheapest thai IO-approved health-insurance policy.

Note: Would be interesting to see how IO deal with a +75 year old or someone with pre-existing conditions that cannot get the mandatory thai IO-approved insurance, now that their standard advice to leave the country and apply in a neighboring country is not possible anymore.