1 hour ago, sometimewoodworker said:

55555555

with the western countries devaluation of the currency due to the current situation, yes you do have to worry.

You must be from the USA.

Spare a thought for the British who saw the £ go from 54 BHT before the Brexit vote, to as low as 38 BHT.

It's now at just under 41BHT - 1£.

28 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

You must be from the USA.

Spare a thought for the British who saw the £ go from 54 BHT before the Brexit vote, to as low as 38 BHT.

It's now at just under 41BHT - 1£.

I am not.
 

<removed>

10 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Some immigration offices will still want insurance if the original visa is an OA, I know Jomtien wants insurance for marriage extension from an OA.

That's indeed possible but it only confirms the rogue-status of Jomtien/SriRatcha for handling of family-based extension.

According to IO rules/regulations outlined in the PoliceOrder covering this (and applied in large majority of IOs) the thai IO-approved health-insurance issued by a TGIA-associated insurer is ONLY required when applying for the 1-year extension of stay based on your original Non Imm O-A Visa for reason of RETIREMENT.

When applying for such extension for any other reason (marriage, dependant child, other, ...) it is NOT required.

59 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

That's indeed possible but it only confirms the rogue-status of Jomtien/SriRatcha for handling of family-based extension.

According to IO rules/regulations outlined in the PoliceOrder covering this (and applied in large majority of IOs) the thai IO-approved health-insurance issued by a TGIA-associated insurer is ONLY required when applying for the 1-year extension of stay based on your original Non Imm O-A Visa for reason of RETIREMENT.

When applying for such extension for any other reason (marriage, dependant child, other, ...) it is NOT required.

Yes, I know that, and you know that, but as I found out a couple of days ago, the guy at the marriage desk at Jomtien either doesn't know or has decided to put his own set of rules in place.

I argued the point but he insists if you started with an OA then insurance is required. 

 

4 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Yes, I know that, and you know that, but as I found out a couple of days ago, the guy at the marriage desk at Jomtien either doesn't know or has decided to put his own set of rules in place.

I argued the point but he insists if you started with an OA then insurance is required.

In that case (a stubborn officer clearly misinterpreting the Police Order on that matter) I see only 3 options:

1 - Firmly but politely ask for the Officer in charge to address your case (bring the thai and english version of the Police Order with you, with the relevant paragraph already fluo-marked);

2 - While at his desk, politely tell the officer you will call the IO Helpline 1178 to clarify the matter and then do so.  1178 will surely confirm that the insurance is only required when applying for reason of retirement;

3 - If neither of the above works, come back with a flame-thrower and burn the place to a crisp.

13 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Not via the official immigration channels but maybe via an agent. Depending on your age, the insurance could be cheaper than an agents fee.

 

I haven't heard about anyone changing from an O-A to an O using an agent. But I know it's possible to use an agent to get rid of the requirement for the health insurance when applying for the 1 year extension. 

Sure you can go from AO to O, but you have to go out the country and you come in before your other visa expires. When you have money on the bank you can change!

1 hour ago, Peter Denis said:

In that case (a stubborn officer clearly misinterpreting the Police Order on that matter) I see only 3 options:

1 - Firmly but politely ask for the Officer in charge to address your case (bring the thai and english version of the Police Order with you, with the relevant paragraph already fluo-marked);

2 - While at his desk, politely tell the officer you will call the IO Helpline 1178 to clarify the matter and then do so.  1178 will surely confirm that the insurance is only required when applying for reason of retirement;

3 - If neither of the above works, come back with a flame-thrower and burn the place to a crisp.

I am spending the weekend mulling over option 1 and 2. Last thing I want is a loss of face exercise and I am on the naughty list with dramas every year..

Meanwhile I did apply for a couple of insurance options on Friday, the cheapest being 6,000 baht, so not that outrageous, (really unusable as it has a 200k deductable, more an expensive proof of insurance document)

 

12 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

I am spending the weekend mulling over option 1 and 2. Last thing I want is a loss of face exercise and I am on the naughty list with dramas every year..

Meanwhile I did apply for a couple of insurance options on Friday, the cheapest being 6,000 baht, so not that outrageous, (really unusable as it has a 200k deductable, more an expensive proof of insurance document)

>> I did sent you a PM with some tips & caveats when subscribing to the LMG Insurance Plan 1 policy, which is the cheapest option to meet the worthless #$%^& thai IO-approved health-insurance requirement (additional advantage being that it does not require an expensive medical to subscribe to that policy).