Opening to foreign tourists: "More convenience over visas" promised as NSC meet Foreign Ministry today

[Sumarianson]

The government has kilked tourism. Hello poverty!

 

[Salerno]

2 hours ago, phuketitnet said:

... compulsory Thai-company only COVID insurance ...

 

No such requirement.

[phuketitnet]

1 hour ago, Salerno said:

 

No such requirement.

Maybe I read this incorrectly or was it policy before? I seem to recall the fees being quite extortionate for long stay coming from high risk countries.

[jerolamo]

7 hours ago, DaveCW said:

If they are serious about this. Then might I suggest that they start talking to the various consulates and get a sense what would work in reality, instead of coming up with ideas that will make no difference.

you will be censored for that hard speaking bro... are you afraid now ?

[jerolamo]

17 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Chinese and millionaires are welcome. 

 

sure, looks like Khun Sa will be back soon.

[Salerno]

10 minutes ago, phuketitnet said:

Maybe I read this incorrectly or was it policy before?

 

Likely read it on here 5555

 

There is, at present, a requirement for covid insurance but it doesn't have to be Thai bought. If a normal travel/health policy someone has from their home country covers covid (the one required to cover US$100K minimum) they just need a letter from the provider stating it does.

 

The Thai's have "created" specific policies to cover those people that don't have it with their normal travel/health policies which from the looks of them aren't that expensive and also easier to get for the seriously the wrinklies amongst us (cost is not age dependant and up to age 90 from memory).

 

Edited December 7, 2020 by Salerno
Typo

[Scott]

Off-topic video reported and removed.

 

[Don Chance]

10 year visa to India only $150, with 180 days max stay.

 

Beat that Thailand!

[joecoolfrog]

10 hours ago, Trip Hop said:

Correct.  At present there is no medical evidence whatsoever to support the view that by taking the vaccine, it will totally stop you getting infected and subsequently transmitting the virus on.  This has been made clear by both Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca.

Well no country will be able to keep quarantines going for years so some management of infection will be required.

[Fex Bluse]

11 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

So, what kind of General are you? Artillery? Infantry? Recon?

No?

Ah, Tourist General...

Nominating for Post of the Year competition 

[kiwikeith]

4 hours ago, Salerno said:

 

No such requirement.

Yes there is, you can enter Thailand with other countries insurance, the problem arises when you go to renew your policy. If you enter on a 12 month OA then you'll be ok for 12 months, then when you renew your visa you will have to go 1 off 14 Thai companies, if you are over 76 they won't insure you. Insurance for over 76 is available from Cigna but only for when you go back to Thailand and they will give you 1 year total covid and health over 76 for 5,000 USD

Different visas may have different requirements.

Information obtained from my broker in Los, and he said the above was passed into Thai Law. 

[Salerno]

4 minutes ago, kiwikeith said:

Yes there is

 

Perhaps try rereading the post I replied to instead of going off on a tangent to a distinct type of visa that has a health insurance (not specifically covid) requirement.

 

 

[Boomer6969]

5 hours ago, Sumarianson said:

The government has kilked tourism. Hello poverty!

 

What a nonsense post. COVID has halted tourism, for now. And there is nothing that can be done about that.

 

[kiwikeith]

2 minutes ago, Salerno said:

 

Perhaps try rereading the post I replied to instead of going off on a tangent to a distinct type of visa that has a health insurance (not specifically covid) requirement.

 

 

As most expats are on retirement OA and many are over 76 they will be the most effected, even if you are under 76 you will still need to have COVID-19 insurance from a Thai company when you renew your visa. 

I am only trying to be helpful, if you can explain other avenues available much appreciated, my broker whom is setting up insurance for me and I am in my 60,s has been trying to get insurance for a friend of mine who is 86

[onebir]

2 hours ago, Don Chance said:

10 year visa to India only $150, with 180 days max stay.

 

Beat that Thailand!

But with 2 months between 6m visits, isn't it?

[Salerno]

16 minutes ago, kiwikeith said:

As most expats are on retirement OA and many are over 76 they will be the most effected

 

The article is about tourists, not expats per se. Re the numbers on O-A, that surprises me, I would have thought most would be on O?

 

16 minutes ago, kiwikeith said:

even if you are under 76 you will still need to have COVID-19 insurance from a Thai company when you renew your visa. 

 

No you don't, you have to have 400/40 health insurance. The insurance requirement for those on O-A came in before covid and people are now conflating the issues (health insurance requirements for O-A and the US$100K to get into Thailand due to covid).

 

16 minutes ago, kiwikeith said:

I am only trying to be helpful, if you can explain other avenues available much appreciated, my broker whom is setting up insurance for me and I am in my 60,s has been trying to get insurance for a friend of mine who is 86

 

Let the current visa lapse instead of getting an extension and start again on an O and no health insurance needed - yet! (obviously that depends on how long you and your mate have before your next extension given current covid hassles). If not enough time left then yes, from what I've read it does start to get into almost impossible territory the older you get to get the insurance. If you are under 65 there are plans that allow you to get cover for life such as https://lp.april-international.com/th/international-health-insurance/ but for older people not sure (not having needed to look into it thus far).

 

Edited December 7, 2020 by Salerno
Typo

[tonray]

16 hours ago, Colabamumbai said:

One year, five and ten year visas. Exit every six months for one day. Wake up Thailand. 

Thailand Government Version: two visits allowed every five to ten years, must wait 6 months before being allowed in for one day

[sandyf]

16 hours ago, Surasak said:

The west is starting to get their act together re: vaccinations and most could be done by April if not sooner. If Thailand wants to be in line for mass tourism, May will be a bit late to state their own vaccination program. The UK start general vaccinations Tuesday 8th, a lot can be done before Christmas.

 

 

Dream on.

It is being announced on TV that the majority of the over 80's in the UK will not get the invite till into the new year.

Even Bojo has warned people not to be too optimistic, could take all year.

Vietnam will start there vaccine trials shortly, how long to approval?

[sandyf]

14 hours ago, Trip Hop said:

Correct.  At present there is no medical evidence whatsoever to support the view that by taking the vaccine, it will totally stop you getting infected and subsequently transmitting the virus on.  This has been made clear by both Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca.

Quite. The idea is that the more people that have immunity, the less the load on the health services. Those that haven't been vaccinated would still be at risk.

 

I seen something about mink that were infected with covid having escaped into the wild in Denmark, should that be the case the virus will be around forever.

[Peter Denis]

2 hours ago, kiwikeith said:

As most expats are on retirement OA and many are over 76 they will be the most effected, even if you are under 76 you will still need to have COVID-19 insurance from a Thai company when you renew your visa. 

I am only trying to be helpful, if you can explain other avenues available much appreciated, my broker whom is setting up insurance for me and I am in my 60,s has been trying to get insurance for a friend of mine who is 86

If your 86-year old friend is already in Thailand, he will not be able to extend his Non Imm O-A Visa for reason of retirement as none of the Thai IO-approved Non Imm O-A compliant insurance policies will be available for him.  

If you 86-year old friend is currently abroad, he would also have difficulties finding a foreign insurer that will provide him the mandatory insurance for the Non Imm O-A Visa.

But he could of course apply for a Non Imm O Visa or a TouristVisa, as these Visa do NOT require any mandatory health-insurance when applying for them abroad, or when extending them in Thailand.

>> Do PM me with the specific situation of your friend, e.g. nationality, married to a Thai national/Thai dependent children, foreign income, currently abroad or in Thailand, and current Visa (validity and permission to stay).  An insurance broker will not be knowledgeable on all Visa options and in his case it would be a matter of finding the most convenient option for long stay in Thailand that does not require any mandatory insurance.

[NoshowJones]

16 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

So, what kind of General are you? Artillery? Infantry? Recon?

No?

Ah, Tourist General...

Certainly not a general with the qualifications to sit in a cabinet of even more generals.

Generals trying to run a country????  The only qualifications they have is either being connected, or rich enough to buy their ranks.

Edited December 8, 2020 by possum1931

[NoshowJones]

14 hours ago, Sean60 said:

Pls don't make it to difficult for them. They have no clue of what is going on this country and they don't care. They just appear as busy meanwhile the money disappears !!!!

The only place any money disappears to is into their own pockets.

[jomtienisgood]

20 hours ago, Surasak said:

The west is starting to get their act together re: vaccinations and most could be done by April if not sooner. If Thailand wants to be in line for mass tourism, May will be a bit late to state their own vaccination program. The UK start general vaccinations Tuesday 8th, a lot can be done before Christmas.

 

 

UK vaccines are sent out of Belgium..... Not all that much can be or will be done before Christmas..... And they are lucky EU doesn't hold a grudge concerning Brexit.....

[jomtienisgood]

16 hours ago, ICELANDMAN said:

 

About 100 years ago slavery was abolished in Thailand so there is a regret of this loss of power and therefore we are making them enjoy.....

 

How long ago was it abolished in Eu or USA ????????

[DogNo1]

Sandyf:  I think that you didn’t read the first sentence.  There is NO medical evidence that the vaccines confer immunity or stop aysymptomatic infected people from passing on the virus,

[Polaky]

On 12/7/2020 at 1:13 PM, RotBenz8888 said:

Chinese and millionaires are welcome. 

 

Chinese are already flocking to Hainan, spending big on fake gucci bags etc, where once they would be shooting wedding photos in phuket they are now doing them there, the place is packed apparently, shoulder to shoulder in all the shops, spending their millions in country, think they have lost interest in thai.

[soi3eddie]

7 hours ago, jomtienisgood said:

And they are lucky EU doesn't hold a grudge concerning Brexit.....

 

555 Are you kidding? Certainly the main EU players really do hold a grudge against the UK Brexiting. France is tied in knots worried about where they can get fish from. Very little territorial waters and fish stocks for the French compared to the UK (as it currently stands until Scotland leave the UK). The EU will miss the UK financial contributions and they hate us. How dare we divorce their BS nonsense! No wonder the majority in UK who voted, voted for Brexit. 40 years too long.

 

[soi3eddie]

12 hours ago, kiwikeith said:

As most expats are on retirement OA and many are over 76 they will be the most effected, even if you are under 76 you will still need to have COVID-19 insurance from a Thai company when you renew your visa. 

 

Really? I don't think that most expats are on OA retirement. From the many foreign people I have met recently they are either on: non-o marriage, non-o retirement, non-o supporting Thai children, tourist visa amnesty or B Visas. Only 1 or 2 out of many dozens I met are on OA. In fact, I know one OA who just converted to marriage this year and will convert again to non-o next year - just to avoid the insurance issues. 

 

How about a Thai Visa poll; Question: Are you on Non-O retirement, Non-O marriage, Non-O Thai children, OA retirement, OX retirement, B Visa etc.? Would be interesting to see the proportions of those of us here on TV in the different categories.

 

[soi3eddie]

On 12/7/2020 at 11:43 AM, Caldera said:

As long as quarantine remains as it is, the "convenience" of the visa application process hardly matters - you either have the time and the money to be able to afford 14 days in quarantine or you don't. And even most of those who do might still not consider it worth the trouble!

 

 

So true. Right on point. Unless quarantine comes down to 5 days then don't expect many more "tourists". Until then the Thai government and tourism authorities can dream on.

 

[Peter Denis]

11 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

...

In fact, I know one OA who just converted to marriage this year and will convert again to non-o next year - just to avoid the insurance issues. 

When you apply for the 1-year extension based on your original Non Imm O-A Visa and you do this for a different reason than RETIREMENT (e.g. marriage, Thai dependent children, ...) the health-insurance requirement is NOT applicable.  So if he is in that case there is no need for him to convert to a Non Imm O Visa, a switch to a Non Imm O Visa would only be relevant if he can only apply for his Non Imm O-A based extension for reason of retirement (as that requires a mandatory Thai IO-approved health-insurance policy).

>> I compiled a comprehensive guideline document outlining all options/details on how to do that, just PM me if you want to receive a copy.