Non Immigrant Visa O (Retirement Visa) and a re-entry visa to Thailand

[LiamRory]

Dear sir or madam

 

I am a UK citizen holding a Non Immigrant Visa O (Retirement Visa) and a re-entry visa to Thailand. I'm currently in Turkey but desperately want to get back to Thailand.  There is so much confusing information about at the moment, could you advise me on the best way to do this under the current restrictions, and would it be best to re-entry Thailand from the UK or Turkey? 

 

Thank you in advance for you time 

 

Liam

[Peter Denis]

If the current permission to stay based on your original Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement 

a) has not expired, and

b) is protected by a Re-Entry Permit,

then you meet the Visa requirement for entering Thailand.

So in principle it would be possible flying from Turkey back to Thailand (especially since also VisaExempt entries are now allowed).

However, you would of course have to meet the CoE requirements that every visitor to Thailand now has to comply with, which means a 100.000 US $ covid-19 treatment coverage insurance as well as a booking on an ASQ hotel where you will be quarantained for 15 days.

Note that the covid-19 insurance only needs to cover the period of your remaining permission to stay (so no need to buy a 1-year one). 

[ubonjoe]

You can apply for a certificate of entry at the Thai embassy in Ankara.

Info here: https://ankara.thaiembassy.org/en/content/guidelines-for-foreigners-entering-thailand-during?cate=5f069ee272a783584326eb16

But as you will see on that page you will need the following insurance valid to at least the day your re-entry permit expires. It is the same insurance required for a OA visa.

Foreigner with re-entry retirement visa – applicant needs to obtain a health insurance as per stipulated by the Office of Insurance Commission and health insurance of Thailand which has insurance money for outpatient not less than 40,000 Baht and for inpatient not less than 400,000 Baht

Info for the insurance is here. https://longstay.tgia.org/home/companiesoa

[Peter Denis]

13 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

...

But as you will see on that page you will need the following insurance valid to at least the day your re-entry permit expires. It same insurance required for a OA visa.

...

>> I did PM you some info on the cheapest way to meet that 400K/40K health-insurance requirement now imposed also on Non Imm O Visa entries.

Be aware that that Non Imm O compliant insurance is DIFFERENT than the CoE required covid-19 treatment insurance on which you also need to subscribe.

[Vermillionline]

Sorry if I'm being redundant, but I'm still unclear if in-country annual extensions of a retirement non-immigrant O visa in 2021 must have proof of the mandatory health insurance coverage. 

 

I see entries regarding re-entering Thailand with a retirement non-immigrant O visa, but not for the annual extension while here.

 

Does anyone know the final answer to this?

 

And if so, which health insurers do you recommend? And, any tips to being accepted for coverage?

 

Thx!

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, Vermillionline said:

Sorry if I'm being redundant, but I'm still unclear if in-country annual extensions of a retirement non-immigrant O visa in 2021 must have proof of the mandatory health insurance coverage. 

 

I see entries regarding re-entering Thailand with a retirement non-immigrant O visa, but not for the annual extension while here.

 

Does anyone know the final answer to this?

 

And if so, which health insurers do you recommend? And, any tips to being accepted for coverage?

 

Thx!

I can't speak to future changes in policies but I recently got yet another annual extension based on retirement with no requirement of insurance based on an original O visa (obtained many years ago), not an O-A. My understanding of CURRENT policies for annual extensions is that extensions where the original visa was O do not require insurance, but extensions where the original visa was O-A do require insurance. 

[ubonjoe]

5 hours ago, Vermillionline said:

Sorry if I'm being redundant, but I'm still unclear if in-country annual extensions of a retirement non-immigrant O visa in 2021 must have proof of the mandatory health insurance coverage. 

The insurance will not be required when applying for a new extension of stay based upon retirement.

It is only needed to get a certificate of entry (COE) at some embassies and official consulates.

[jacko45k]

5 hours ago, Vermillionline said:

Sorry if I'm being redundant, but I'm still unclear if in-country annual extensions of a retirement non-immigrant O visa in 2021 must have proof of the mandatory health insurance coverage.

No current requirement. 

[Peter Denis]

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I can't speak to future changes in policies but I recently got yet another annual extension based on retirement with no requirement of insurance based on an original O visa (obtained many years ago), not an O-A. My understanding of CURRENT policies for annual extensions is that extensions where the original visa was O do not require insurance, but extensions where the original visa was O-A do require insurance. 

Fully correct, but I made the last sentence more specific. 

> An in-country 1-year extension based on your original Non Imm O-A Visa requires a mandatory THAI and IO-approved 400K/40K health-insurance policy when applying for reason of RETIREMENT

Note: The LMG Insurance Plan-1 policy (with 200K deductible) is by far the cheapest 'throw-away' policy that meets the requirements, with the additional advantage that it does not require an (expensive) Medical to subscribe to it.

 

[CMBob]

On 12/17/2020 at 3:23 AM, ubonjoe said:

.....But as you will see on that page you will need the following insurance valid to at least the day your re-entry permit expires. It is the same insurance required for a OA visa.

 

It's fairly clear that one holding a still-valid retirement extension and re-entry permit (based on an original Non-O....and not an O-A) has to have the so-called $100,000 covid insurance to re-enter Thailand currently; however, your statement seems to imply that such a person (again, I'm not referring to an O-A) must also comply with the O-A insurance requirements (400k inpatient, 10k outpatient)?  I didn't think that was the case.

[ubonjoe]

12 hours ago, CMBob said:

It's fairly clear that one holding a still-valid retirement extension and re-entry permit (based on an original Non-O....and not an O-A) has to have the so-called $100,000 covid insurance to re-enter Thailand currently; however, your statement seems to imply that such a person (again, I'm not referring to an O-A) must also comply with the O-A insurance requirements (400k inpatient, 10k outpatient)?  I didn't think that was the case.

If you go back to my post and click the link on it you will see this.

"Foreigner with re-entry retirement visa – applicant needs to obtain a health insurance as per stipulated by the Office of Insurance Commission and health insurance of Thailand which has insurance money for outpatient not less than 40,000 Baht and for inpatient not less than 400,000 Baht"

Also on this site: https://thaiembdc.org/2020/09/30/nonimmigrantoaox/

It is also shown on other embassy websites with the exception of the embassy in the UK.

 

[daejung]

On 12/17/2020 at 9:23 AM, ubonjoe said:

You can apply for a certificate of entry at the Thai embassy in Ankara.

Info here: https://ankara.thaiembassy.org/en/content/guidelines-for-foreigners-entering-thailand-during?cate=5f069ee272a783584326eb16

But as you will see on that page you will need the following insurance valid to at least the day your re-entry permit expires. It is the same insurance required for a OA visa.

Foreigner with re-entry retirement visa – applicant needs to obtain a health insurance as per stipulated by the Office of Insurance Commission and health insurance of Thailand which has insurance money for outpatient not less than 40,000 Baht and for inpatient not less than 400,000 Baht

Info for the insurance is here. https://longstay.tgia.org/home/companiesoa

Hello

I understand that insurance has to be valid to at least the day your re-entry permit expires

But in case you book a return flight ticket for a date after the re-entry permit validity,they will notice it,  no problem with insurance then ? won't they be suspicious ?

 

 

[Peter Denis]

4 hours ago, daejung said:

Hello

I understand that insurance has to be valid to at least the day your re-entry permit expires

But in case you book a return flight ticket for a date after the re-entry permit validity,they will notice it,  no problem with insurance then ? won't they be suspicious ?

In case your insurance just covers the period till your Re-Entry Permit protected permission to stay expires, you could say to the Thai Embassy or the border officer on entry - little white lie - that you plan to buy a Thai insurance in-country for the intermediate period.

Or even easier you could book the return flight (in case you do not plan to use it) on a date before your Re-Entry Permit protected permission to stay expires.

Or if you do plan to use it, you could of course buy the insurance for a period that does include the return-date of that outward-bound flight you booked.