Retirement Visa/2 insurances required now for reentry?

[jonnyscot]

Thanks for that info Peter, so it’s likely each trip I travel for business I may have a different origin therefore each reentry I will have to provide new covid cover for up to a year depending on the remaining period of my retirement extension, just checking taiwan my next destination will cost around 14k whereas UK will cost in excess of 40k for a years coverage 

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, jonnyscot said:

Thanks for that info Peter, so it’s likely each trip I travel for business I may have a different origin therefore each reentry I will have to provide new covid cover for up to a year depending on the remaining period of my retirement extension, just checking taiwan my next destination will cost around 14k whereas UK will cost in excess of 40k for a years coverage 

You would not have to get a new covid 19 policy everytime you apply for COE. If you got one for the first entry valid to when your extension ends you could use it for every COE you apply for.

[Peter Denis]

33 minutes ago, jonnyscot said:

Thanks for that info Peter, so it’s likely each trip I travel for business I may have a different origin therefore each reentry I will have to provide new covid cover for up to a year depending on the remaining period of my retirement extension, just checking taiwan my next destination will cost around 14k whereas UK will cost in excess of 40k for a years coverage 

It is only when using the TGIA covid-19 insurance that the price is dependent on your 'country of origin'.  I do not think TGIA means the country from which you are departing, but rather your NATIONALITY 

Anyway, the SafetyWing travel-insurance package provides far better value than the ridiculous covid-19 only insurance provided by TGIA.

Also as UJ already mentioned the covid-19 insurance is not single-trip related, so you do not need to buy new insurance every time you return from a trip, but can use the same covid-19 insurance that you already subscribed to for the period of your current permission to stay.

 

[jonnyscot]

In that case my current covid travel insurance I took out in UK for my initial COE application should be suitable,, the coverage was for 15 months which would cover my permission to stay, however duration in thailand is limited to up to 100 days, which although my permission to stay remaining is just under a year, I will be exiting within the 100 days as defined in my policy due to business commitments, and maybe can provide flight itinerary showing this , but of course unlikely that will satisfy CEO  requirements?

[Peter Denis]

6 minutes ago, jonnyscot said:

In that case my current covid travel insurance I took out in UK for my initial COE application should be suitable,, the coverage was for 15 months which would cover my permission to stay, however duration in thailand is limited to up to 100 days, which although my permission to stay remaining is just under a year, I will be exiting within the 100 days as defined in my policy due to business commitments, and maybe can provide flight itinerary showing this , but of course unlikely that will satisfy CEO  requirements?

Often travel-insurance (surely those covering one year) provide coverage PER TRIP up to a certain maximum of days (30, 60, 90 or 180 days) after which the travel-insurance is not valid anymore during that trip.  In order to 'revive' it you would have to go back to your home-country for a certain period of time (e.g. 2 weeks) before your next trip would once again provide you with coverage.

So it is indeed possible that if you did not do that, that your travel-insurance is not valid anymore.  But of course it is well possible that the Thai Embassy where you present that travel-insurance will only look at the insurance validity period (15 months in your case), and would not check whether it is still valid for the particular trips you are making after the initial 100 days of coverage.

[jonnyscot]

Yes understand that fully, I will rather be sure to have the proper coverage in place,

just looking at best options since there’s quite a price difference in that origin specific cover,, I do think (or hope)it is rather origin at time of departure rather than the color of your passport when applying for the covid coverage 

[Peter Denis]

16 minutes ago, jonnyscot said:

Yes understand that fully, I will rather be sure to have the proper coverage in place,

just looking at best options since there’s quite a price difference in that origin specific cover,, I do think (or hope)it is rather origin at time of departure rather than the color of your passport when applying for the covid coverage 

When subscribing to the SafetyWing travel-insurance package (which includes a +100.000 US $ covid-19 treatment coverage, on top of the regular and quite generous travel-insurance it provides) your nationality/country of origin does NOT matter.

It is only for the ridiculous TGIA covid-19 only insurance that your nationality seems to be a matter of importance.  A 25 year old healthy American will pay three times more for that TGIA insurance than a 90-year old Australian (even if the American is flying to Thailand from Australia).  That's why I refer to it as ridiculous, but that crazy insurance has the big advantage that it is not age-dependent and that you can subscribe to it till 99 years of age (it would be as good as impossible to find regular insurance at that age).

[ubonjoe]

43 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

When subscribing to the SafetyWing travel-insurance package (which includes a +100.000 US $ covid-19 treatment coverage, on top of the regular and quite generous travel-insurance it provides) your nationality/country of origin does NOT matter.

But does that cover the first 15 days after arrival. I can recall a post done saying it doesn't.

[Peter Denis]

9 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

But does that cover the first 15 days after arrival. I can recall a post done saying it doesn't.

It's a somewhat moot issue.

Normally that SafetyWing travel-insurance will cover you from date of policy start (which would be your date of departure for or date of arrival in Thailand).

As you also need a negative covid-19 test issued not later than 72 hours before departure, the risk of you testing positive while in quarantaine is slim.  But indeed if you test positive on your arrival in Thailand or on one of the subsequent 2 covid-tests while under quarantaine, it is not 100% clear whether the insurance would cover the costs of hospitalization.

They would have no ground to deny your claim, if you really 'got it' (as any pre-existing condition was unknown at time of departure, since you tested negative then).

But they might refuse to pay the hospitalization cost in case of a 'false positive', as - on hindsight - there was no illness, but just mandatory quarantaine at a hospital.

>> Imo, there is no reason to discard the SafetyWing travel-insurance, as it would cover you in case you do get covid-19 during those 15 days (and beyond).  And in the very unlikely case of a false-positive and mandatory hospitalization because of that, the risk of that event is very small. 

 

[David T Pike]

On 2/19/2021 at 12:08 PM, Peter Denis said:

Hi Jonny,

 

For the 100.000 US $ covid-19 treatment coverage insurance (currently required for EVERYBODY wanting to enter Thailand), you only need to cover the period of the permission to stay you will receive by border immigration when entering Thailand.  So depending on which Visa you enter you will need either 45 days (Visa Exempt entry), 60 days (60-day Tourist Visa), 90 days (STV or Non Imm O Visa), 1 year (Non Imm O-A Visa).  Or when entering on a Re-Entry Permit protected permission to stay from the 1-year extension based on your Non Imm O or O-A Visa, it would need to cover that remaining period of stay.

 

SafetyWing travel-insurance <  https://safetywing.com/nomad-insurance > which includes such covid-19 coverage as part of their generous travel-insurance package, would - depending on your age (under 70) and nationality - most probably be your best option to meet that requirement.  Alternatively you could opt for the TGIA covid-19 only insurance < https://covid19.tgia.org/ > and take that for the required period of stay (= your permission to stay).  But if the difference in cost is small, obviously SafetyWing provides far better value.

 

When you fly with Emirates to return to Thailand, they currently provide FREE covid-19 insurance on your flights with them (30 days for one-way flights, but full coverage of your return flight period).  However, you would need to check with your home-country's Thai Embassy, whether they accept that free airline covid-19 insurance to meet that CoE requirement.  There are reports from applicants at the London Thai Embassy where such Emirates covid-19 insurance was approved, but also from Dubai Thai Embassy that did not accept it (they actually have no ground for not accepting it as it fully meets the requirements, but Thai Embassies and Imm Offices are notorious for twisting or making up the rules as they see fit).

What if your entering on a non-O 90 day and then want to get a year extension as a Thai's spouse? Do I only need the 90 day covid insurance?

[David T Pike]

On 2/19/2021 at 12:08 PM, Peter Denis said:

Hi Jonny,

 

For the 100.000 US $ covid-19 treatment coverage insurance (currently required for EVERYBODY wanting to enter Thailand), you only need to cover the period of the permission to stay you will receive by border immigration when entering Thailand.  So depending on which Visa you enter you will need either 45 days (Visa Exempt entry), 60 days (60-day Tourist Visa), 90 days (STV or Non Imm O Visa), 1 year (Non Imm O-A Visa).  Or when entering on a Re-Entry Permit protected permission to stay from the 1-year extension based on your Non Imm O or O-A Visa, it would need to cover that remaining period of stay.

 

SafetyWing travel-insurance <  https://safetywing.com/nomad-insurance > which includes such covid-19 coverage as part of their generous travel-insurance package, would - depending on your age (under 70) and nationality - most probably be your best option to meet that requirement.  Alternatively you could opt for the TGIA covid-19 only insurance < https://covid19.tgia.org/ > and take that for the required period of stay (= your permission to stay).  But if the difference in cost is small, obviously SafetyWing provides far better value.

 

When you fly with Emirates to return to Thailand, they currently provide FREE covid-19 insurance on your flights with them (30 days for one-way flights, but full coverage of your return flight period).  However, you would need to check with your home-country's Thai Embassy, whether they accept that free airline covid-19 insurance to meet that CoE requirement.  There are reports from applicants at the London Thai Embassy where such Emirates covid-19 insurance was approved, but also from Dubai Thai Embassy that did not accept it (they actually have no ground for not accepting it as it fully meets the requirements, but Thai Embassies and Imm Offices are notorious for twisting or making up the rules as they see fit).

Hey Peter... Would you suggest I get AXA over TGIA? I am not hearing good things about TGIA and AXA would be 3k baht cheaper than TGIA!

[Peter Denis]

31 minutes ago, David T Pike said:

What if your entering on a non-O 90 day and then want to get a year extension as a Thai's spouse? Do I only need the 90 day covid insurance?

There is no need  for covid-19 insurance when applying for extensions once you are in Thailand.  You only need it now (100.000 US $ coverage) as part of the CoE requirements when entering Thailand, and only for the period of time that would cover the permission to stay you would be stamped in by border-immigration on entry.

So depending on which Visa you enter Thailand you would need that 100.000 US $ covid-19 treatment insurance for 45 days, 60 days, 90 days, 180 days or 1 year.

[Peter Denis]

30 minutes ago, David T Pike said:

Hey Peter... Would you suggest I get AXA over TGIA? I am not hearing good things about TGIA and AXA would be 3k baht cheaper than TGIA!

Are you talking about the 100.000 US $ covid-19 treatment insurance that anybody now entering Thailand has to comply with as part of the CoE requirements?

If so, the covid-19 only insurance offered by TGIA would be only of interest when you are over 70 years of age (as it might be difficult to get alternative insurance when over that age) and when being a national of a low-risk covid country (e.g. US nationals have to pay approx 3 times more than Australian nationals for same period of stay).

When under 70 years of age and coming from a so-called high-risk country, in almost all cases subscribing to SafetyWing travel-insurance for the required period would be a cheaper option and it would provide you with a decent travel-insurance policy that includes covid-19 coverage.