retirement visas in thailand

[Peter Denis]

13 minutes ago, Rdrokit said:

I could save some money by buying the 200,000 deductible Plan1 and canceling the out patient rider I have to put on my existing health insurance at a cost of 33,000 baht.

Absolutely.  If your current Thai insurance policy charged you 33K for adding 'out-patient coverage' to your policy in order to meet the thai IO-required health-insurance requirement of 40K out-patient coverage, and you don't find that necessary or reasonable, you could simply cancel that out-patient coverage and subscribe to the LMG Insurance policy which will fully meet the Non Imm O-A retirement extension insurance requirement for a fraction of that cost.

>> I did PM you already earlier a Guideline document with tips and caveats on how to subscribe to that LMG Insurance policy.

[jnp73]

I have a retirement visa. If I go back to the UK for Christmas - anyone know whether I can get back here? Will I need one of these new tourist visas or what.....

[Catoni]

3 hours ago, Rdrokit said:

Hard to get a new retirement visa without Thai health insurance and if you are 67 there is probably no Thai health insurance company that will issue a policy at that age.

From the Royal Thai Embassy in Ottawa, Canada:

Pursuant to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of Thailand, dated 2 April B.E. 2562 (2019), approving in principle for the stipulation of health insurance as an additional requirement for Non-Immigrant ‘O-A’ (Long Stay) visa application, the Royal Thai Embassy  has introduced the following requirements for the said visa application:
Effective from 31 October 2019 , the applicant must be medically insured for the entire period of stay in Thailand with the following coverage:
– Outpatient benefit with a sum insured of not less than 40,000 THB, and
– Inpatient benefit with a sum insured of not less than  400,000 THB
The applicants must submit the following:

 1. Health insurance policy document issued by a Thai or foreign insurance company, stating that the applicant is medically insured for the period and with coverage as mentioned above:

(a) In case of a foreign insurance company, the applicant must submit the original insurance policy document with 2 copies;

(b) In case of a Thai insurance company, the applicant must submit 2 copies of the insurance policy document or, if available, the original insurance policy document with 2 copies. A list of Thai insurance companies participating in the scheme can be found here: http://longstay.tgia.org

2. Foreign Insurance Certificate as stipulated by the Office of Insurance Commission and Health Insurance of Thailand, which must be completed, signed and stamped by the insurance company. The form can be downloaded here: Foreign Insurance Certificate Form

[ubonjoe]

16 minutes ago, jnp73 said:

I have a retirement visa. If I go back to the UK for Christmas - anyone know whether I can get back here? Will I need one of these new tourist visas or what.....

I have no idea when you will able to enter the country at this time. I can't even try to guess when.

[ubonjoe]

10 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I have no idea when you will able to enter the country at this time. I can't even try to guess when.

I am revising my post now after reading this in the news.

"Non-immigrant visa holders, such as business people who do not have any type of work permit, are now allowed entry, but they must have savings of at least Bt500,000 in the past six months."

I am assuming that will include retirees.

Full story here.

 

[Rdrokit]

35 minutes ago, jnp73 said:

I have a retirement visa. If I go back to the UK for Christmas - anyone know whether I can get back here? Will I need one of these new tourist visas or what.....

You will need COVID insurance to get back into Thailand.

https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/mandatory-covid-insurance-of-up-to-3-million-baht-for-foreign-visitors-to-thailand

[The Theory]

16 hours ago, solomon david said:

i heard there is an option for having only 16,000 thai baht in a thai bank account to qualify

I somehow had a feeling that I'm keeping too much (800,000) extra in the bank account for my extension !!! ????????????????????

[Pib]

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

I am revising my post now after reading this in the news.

"Non-immigrant visa holders, such as business people who do not have any type of work permit, are now allowed entry, but they must have savings of at least Bt500,000 in the past six months."

I am assuming that will include retirees.

Full story here.

 

So, does this mean Bt800K for Non-OA is now Bt500K....does this mean Bt400K for Non-O for marriage is now Bt500K?  

[Hoppyone]

13 hours ago, jacko45k said:

It sounds like he is after a Visa rather than a retirement extension.

At 67 yo and only 9000 euro (to what he’s worth)there’s a big chance he wants retirement extension,fair chance he would be on a pension ,only chance for him is spend his hard earned 16,000 baht on the agent or stay at home

[onebir]

12 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

But the BIG DIFFERENCE being that the Non Imm O-A Visa will provide you with almost 2 years of IO-hassle free stay in Thailand.  With NO need to park/transfer funds to a thai bank-account and NO need to EVER having to visit an Imm office during those 2 years.

It's a 2 year visa with no 90 day reporting??

[Andrew Dwyer]

4 minutes ago, onebir said:

It's a 2 year visa with no 90 day reporting??

You have to do 90 days reports but these can be done online or by posting,( if your IO accepts either of course ).

[Peter Denis]

4 minutes ago, onebir said:

It's a 2 year visa with no 90 day reporting??

No, you need to do 90-day reporting when on a Non Imm O-A Visa but obviously you can do that on-line or by mail, so no need to visit IO personally (unless you like that option).

[Searat7]

12 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

>> PM-ed you a Guideline document with tips & caveats when considering subscribing to that LMG Insurance Plan 1 (with 200K deductible) as mentioned in @Andrew Dwyer's post #19

 

Are there any reasonably priced insurance plans which cover both the O-A requirement and Covid insurance ?

[onebir]

3 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

3 hours ago, onebir said:

It's a 2 year visa with no 90 day reporting??

No, you need to do 90-day reporting when on a Non Imm O-A Visa but obviously you can do that on-line or by mail, so no need to visit IO personally (unless you like that option).

Ah I forgot about that, sorry. What about the 2 years though?

[meechai]

5 hours ago, Pib said:

So, does this mean Bt800K for Non-OA is now Bt500K....does this mean Bt400K for Non-O for marriage is now Bt500K?  

Yes that thought crossed my mind when I read that ....... Also made me wonder about the retired guys using the 65k a month route...Are they out of luck now?

[jacko45k]

9 hours ago, Hoppyone said:

At 67 yo and only 9000 euro (to what he’s worth)there’s a big chance he wants retirement extension,fair chance he would be on a pension ,only chance for him is spend his hard earned 16,000 baht on the agent or stay at home

Currently in Greece and said

Quote

Next time i come to thailand i might try coming on a retirement visa

Can't come on a retirement extension....  so why I thought 'Visa', O-A sometimes gets called a retirement visa.

He did say he probably had 20x the 16,000 baht which still would not cover a retirement extension. (Legit one.....)

[Peter Denis]

6 hours ago, onebir said:

... What about the 2 years though?

You can ONLY apply for a Non Imm O-A Visa at a Thai Embassy/Consulate in your home-country.

The Visa is Multiple Entry during its full 1-year validity.  When exiting and re-entering Thailand during the 1-year Multiple Entry Visa validity you will be stamped in for a full 1-year permission to stay.  When exiting and re-entering Thailand just before Visa validity expiry. you will thus have almost 2 years of IO hassle-free stay in Thailand.

When re-applying for a NEW Non Imm O-A Visa in your home-country every 2 years, you will NEVER EVER have to visit a local IO in Thailand for an extension of stay.

[ubonjoe]

10 hours ago, Pib said:

So, does this mean Bt800K for Non-OA is now Bt500K....does this mean Bt400K for Non-O for marriage is now Bt500K?  

No

It is only a requirement to get a certificate of entry at embassy if approved as written. 

[userabcd]

12 hours ago, Pib said:

So, does this mean Bt800K for Non-OA is now Bt500K....does this mean Bt400K for Non-O for marriage is now Bt500K?  

No, how does one deduce that.

[allane]

I asked the question about if you had a pension because there is also a combination method; the B 800,000 requirement for an Extension of Stay - retirement (aka "Retirement visa) can be met by any combination of money in the bank and monthly pension income that totals B 800,000. You will need a letter from whatever entity provides the pension confirming the amount, and then certified by whatever government agency is empowered to do that. Regarding the money in the bank, best to save some paper proof of your transferring those funds to a Thai bank account.  There is a possibility that you will be asked to prove the money came from outside of Thailand.

[Pib]

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

No

It is only a requirement to get a certificate of entry at embassy if approved as written. 

But in a roundabout way, if you are setting outside of Thailand right now say with a non-OA visa which you got by having Bt800K in your home country bank acct, you keep only a small amount of money in a Thai bank and you want to come back to Thailand, if you don't meet the COE requirement of having Bt500K in a Thai bank acct for 6 months this requirement has effectively changed the minimum income requirements to use your Non-OA visa, right?

 

[onebir]

17 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

You can ONLY apply for a Non Imm O-A Visa at a Thai Embassy/Consulate in your home-country.

The Visa is Multiple Entry during its full 1-year validity.  When exiting and re-entering Thailand during the 1-year Multiple Entry Visa validity you will be stamped in for a full 1-year permission to stay.  When exiting and re-entering Thailand just before Visa validity expiry. you will thus have almost 2 years of IO hassle-free stay in Thailand.

When re-applying for a NEW Non Imm O-A Visa in your home-country every 2 years, you will NEVER EVER have to visit a local IO in Thailand for an extension of stay.

Thanks! Could be good, if their consulate reopens, and they don't actually impose some of the requirements they list for this visa (notably for bank letters, which AFAIK banks here never issue!)

[MRToMRT]

 Do you think LMG is the cheapest option for the O-A type insurance or is there cheaper?

 

As I already have my own insurance which I will continue to use for medical claims .....  I am looking for a throw-away policy, i.e. only to be used for a visa application, never to be used for a claim. So as cheap as possible is what I am looking for.

 

any help appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

[howerde]

For o-a insurance it must come from this site, https://longstay.tgia.org/   just a matter of going through them, when i got mine earlier in the year the embassy pointed out that they checked my policy with insurer

[Andrew Dwyer]

5 hours ago, MRToMRT said:

 Do you think LMG is the cheapest option for the O-A type insurance or is there cheaper?

 

As I already have my own insurance which I will continue to use for medical claims .....  I am looking for a throw-away policy, i.e. only to be used for a visa application, never to be used for a claim. So as cheap as possible is what I am looking for.

 

any help appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

Last time I checked ( admittedly around 1 year ago ) LMG is the cheapest.

 

 

I just did my extension using the 6,000 baht option , very simple people with very helpful staff.

 

@Peter Denis can PM you a step by step guide to assist, very helpful.

[Peter Denis]

On 9/29/2020 at 7:45 PM, onebir said:

Thanks! Could be good, if their consulate reopens, and they don't actually impose some of the requirements they list for this visa (notably for bank letters, which AFAIK banks here never issue!)

The requirements to apply for the Non Imm O-A Visa at a Thai Embassy/Consultte in your home-country are different than those imposed by your local IO when applying for the 1-year extension of that Visa.

And the requirements slightly differ depending on your home-country.  Obviously they do not impose 'impossible' requirements, and when I applied for it in my home-country (Belgium) it was a piece of cake.

[Peter Denis]

5 hours ago, MRToMRT said:

 Do you think LMG is the cheapest option for the O-A type insurance or is there cheaper?

 

As I already have my own insurance which I will continue to use for medical claims .....  I am looking for a throw-away policy, i.e. only to be used for a visa application, never to be used for a claim. So as cheap as possible is what I am looking for.

 

any help appreciated.

I did PM you a Guideline Document with Tips & Caveats on how to subscribe to that LMG Insurance Plan 1 (200K) policy, which sells for less than half of the premium you would pay for the next cheapest option that meets the Thai IO requirements for mandatory Non Imm O-A compliant health insurance.

[Sheryl]

On 9/28/2020 at 10:56 AM, Rdrokit said:

Hard to get a new retirement visa without Thai health insurance and if you are 67 there is probably no Thai health insurance company that will issue a policy at that age.

Several will issue up to age 75.

 

It is the over 75's who have a problem (or those with significant pre-exisitng conditions)

[Sheryl]

11 hours ago, howerde said:

For o-a insurance it must come from this site, https://longstay.tgia.org/   just a matter of going through them, when i got mine earlier in the year the embassy pointed out that they checked my policy with insurer

 

You can actually use a foreign policy for the initial visa, but for extensiosn yes it has to come from that list

[howerde]

7 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

You can actually use a foreign policy for the initial visa, but for extensiosn yes it has to come from that list

Not in London, i had mine issued this year and they would not accept my Thai pacific cross insurance, and as i said when i picked up my visa they stated that they checked that my policy had been bought viaa tgia

https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/84508-non-immigrant-visas?page=5d6636cd15e39c3bd00072dd&menu=5f4b6eb3f6ae4b236972c562