Does a thai vife visiting UK for 6 months need a health insurance ?

[North]

A friend of mine (UK citizen) is moving back to the UK for health reasons / treatment.

His thai wife have a visa valid till mid-November.

My friend say, that she will not need any health insurance, because they are married, and therefore she can receive free treatment in the UK.

 

If that is really so, then it is very generous of the UK, but is it true ?

[yeahbutif]

If it's a tourist visa .it says on the visa no recourse to public funds.thought you had to have a settlement visa to get health care But not even sure that's right.uk passport yes..

[richard_smith237]

 

It's not true.

 

Your ‘friends’ wife will need insurance (i.e. travel insurance) to cover her for the duration of her stay in the UK while on a Tourist Visa, which I believe is for a maximum of 6 months per visit. 

 

IF planning to stay long term in the UK your friends Wife should apply for a Spouse visa (settlement visa) your friend will need to show more than ±£62,000 in savings (or assets I think) or have a minimum income of £18,600 per year, you will need to prove suitable accommodation etc.. 

The spouse visa fee is £1526 if applying from outside of the UK and £1033 if applying from within the UK (from within the UK is also faster if I’m not mistaken ±8 weeks If I recall correctly). 

 

Your friends wife will also need to pay the £1560 (for 2.5 yrs) Immigration Health Surcharge for access to free medical care (National Health Service).

 

 

[North]

11 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

It's not true.

 

Your ‘friends’ wife will need insurance (i.e. travel insurance)................

 

Thank you for the answer.

At this moment I am not sure, what type of visa she has, I just know, that she got the visa to accompany her husband to the UK, they used some agent to help them get the visa, and this agent indicated, that it would be possible to get an extension in the UK, if they needed it.

Personally I think, his stay will be more like one year, because, as far as I have read, the NHS is really overloaded and has been so for a long time because of the pandemic, and millions of people are waiting for treatment because of the pandemic.

 

Edited May 30, 2021 by North
spelling

[hotandsticky]

Your friend's wife has a standard visit visa of 180 duration - it clearly states across the middle of the visa sticker "No work or recourse to public funds".

 

 

She will need insurance; it  is cheap as chips and I usually arrange my wife's through MSIG.... https://www.msig-thai.com/ecommerce/travel.php?lang=en

 

 

I imagine that she will probably need to arrange the MSIG insurance whilst she is still in Thailand.

Edited May 30, 2021 by hotandsticky

[theoldgit]

Your friend is wrong, as others have rightly his wife will not be covered for NHS during her stay as a visitor, apart from life saving emegency treatment. So whilst travel insurance isn't compulsary, it would be foolish to travel without cover.

 

If she intends staying in the UK with her husband she should apply for settlement visa before she travels, and pay for the NHS Surcharge.

 

If she's planning on returning to Thailand whilst her husband is staying in the UK, she may need to satisfy the Border Force Officer of the fact at the UK Border when she arrives.

[Tanoshi]

On 5/30/2021 at 7:21 PM, North said:

A friend of mine (UK citizen) is moving back to the UK for health reasons / treatment.

His thai wife have a visa valid till mid-November.

She will be entitled to emergency treatment only, but not the care of that treatment.

She is not covered by the NHS scheme and it would be very unwise to stay for such a period without taking out some Insurance plan.

 

Just an additional note.

You state his wife has a Visitor Visa valid until mid November, so issued and valid from mid May.

He may falsely assume that as with Visas to Thailand, she can enter during the validity of the Visa (up to mid November), then stay for 6 months.

 

That is not the case, the validity of the Visa is also the same as her permission to stay.

In other words if she enters in August, she will only be permitted to stay until mid November as per the validity date on the Visa.

[youreavinalaff]

58 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

She will be entitled to emergency treatment only, but not the care of that treatment.

This is the experience we had. My wife and I were visiting UK. She had a visitor visa.

 

During her stay she developed an ear infection. It was extremely painful after a couple days so I took her to A and E.

 

At reception I told them the whole story. They gave us some forms to fill out. My wife had insurance and we put the name and policy number on the form.

 

My wife received consultation. A prescription was issued. At this point the hospital pharmacy was closed. We went to many pharmacies in town but the medication was not available due to the rarity of this particular medicine being prescribed.

 

The issue worsened overnight and we returned to the hospital. The pharmacy was open, the medicine was issued and we returned home. We paid for the prescription.

 

I was expecting a bill to be sent to my parents house as that is the address we used. 3 years past now and nothing. 

 

It does appear, therefore, that hospital services are free to a certain degree, although I would not rely on it and would definitely advise insurance.

On 5/30/2021 at 1:57 PM, hotandsticky said:

MSIG.... https://www.msig-thai.com/ecommerce/travel.php?lang=en

 

This is the company that my wife used. No complaints although, as stated above, we didn;t need to make any claims.

 

[The Hammer2021]

On 5/30/2021 at 7:42 PM, richard_smith237 said:

 

It's not true.

 

Your ‘friends’ wife will need insurance (i.e. travel insurance) to cover her for the duration of her stay in the UK while on a Tourist Visa, which I believe is for a maximum of 6 months per visit. 

 

IF planning to stay long term in the UK your friends Wife should apply for a Spouse visa (settlement visa) your friend will need to show more than ±£62,000 in savings (or assets I think) or have a minimum income of £18,600 per year, you will need to prove suitable accommodation etc.. 

The spouse visa fee is £1526 if applying from outside of the UK and £1033 if applying from within the UK (from within the UK is also faster if I’m not mistaken ±8 weeks If I recall correctly). 

 

Your friends wife will also need to pay the £1560 (for 2.5 yrs) Immigration Health Surcharge for access to free medical care (National Health Service).

 

 

They will not need travel insurance.  They will need medical insurance.

[Surelynot]

My Thai wife has a NINO and payed UK NI for 11 years whilst working for a British company in Germany.....she visits the UK on a visitor's visa.......does she need health insurance?.........sorry to hijack....didn't want to start a whole new thread.

[The Hammer2021]

On 5/31/2021 at 10:22 AM, theoldgit said:

Your friend is wrong, as others have rightly his wife will not be covered for NHS during her stay as a visitor, apart from life saving emegency treatment. So whilst travel insurance isn't compulsary, it would be foolish to travel without cover.

 

If she intends staying in the UK with her husband she should apply for settlement visa before she travels, and pay for the NHS Surcharge.

 

If she's planning on returning to Thailand whilst her husband is staying in the UK, she may need to satisfy the Border Force Officer of the fact at the UK Border when she arrives.

Travel insurance  not required.  Medical  insurance  is required or advisable

[Tanoshi]

8 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

My Thai wife has a NINO and payed UK NI for 11 years whilst working for a British company in Germany.....she visits the UK on a visitor's visa.......does she need health insurance?.........sorry to hijack....didn't want to start a whole new thread.

If she has a NI number then she is entitled to be registered with a doctor and receive free NHS care, assuming she also has an NHS number.

Edited June 5, 2021 by Tanoshi

[Surelynot]

3 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

If she has a NI number then she is entitled to be registered with a doctor and receive free NHS care.

Brill...cheers.

[Tanoshi]

Just now, Surelynot said:

Brill...cheers.

I just edited my post, re-read.

[youreavinalaff]

Just now, Surelynot said:

Brill...cheers.

It is my understanding that it is not that simple.

 

I believe that one has to prove that they live in UK. Even a British national has to prove that they are in the UK to stay and not just on holiday.

[Surelynot]

2 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

I just edited my post, re-read.

Thanks need to check that....we did have EHIC's from the NHS whilst in Germany, but not sure that means she has an NHS number....

[Surelynot]

2 minutes ago, youreavinalaff said:

It is my understanding that it is not that simple.

 

I believe that one has to prove that they live in UK. Even a British national has to prove that they are in the UK to stay and not just on holiday.

That rings a bell......vaguely remember reading somewhere that you can lose your right to the NHS after as little as 30 days!!!!!

[Tanoshi]

16 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

That rings a bell......vaguely remember reading somewhere that you can lose your right to the NHS after as little as 30 days!!!!!

That depends if you notified your GP your moving abroad and he removes you from the NHS register.

 

If your wife resided in Germany, then I doubt she was registered with any UK GP who registered her for an NHS number. The NHS is a residency based healthcare scheme.

[Surelynot]

Just now, Tanoshi said:

That depends if you notified your GP your moving abroad and he removes you from the NHS register.

 

If your wife resided in Germany, then I doubt she was registered with any UK GP who registered her for an NHS number. The NHS is a residency based healthcare scheme.

Mmmm......need to investigated....we both worked for the military so both were given access to the German healthcare system via the NHS/British Army...........now'ts easy!!

[youreavinalaff]

8 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

That depends if you notified your GP your moving abroad and he removes you from the NHS register.

 

If your wife resided in Germany, then I doubt she was registered with any UK GP who registered her for an NHS number. The NHS is a residency based healthcare scheme.

I did not notify my Dr that I was leaving.

 

After sometime, not sure how long, I was removed. I'm not sure how, when or why but I was removed. 

 

 

[IvorBiggun2]

Took my wife, along with our children, to the UK without any insurance. My wife thought she'd got a fish bone stuck in her throat. I took her to emergency at the hospital. She hadn't got the bone stuck. It had just scratched her throat lining. I offered to pay after treatment but they wouldn't charge. All emergencies are treated free in the UK irrespective if you have insurance or not. Or being a foreigner.

Edited June 5, 2021 by IvorBiggun2

[youreavinalaff]

16 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

All emergencies are treated free in the UK irrespective if you have insurance or not. Or being a foreigner.

That has already been covered and is not in doubt.

 

The OP is suggesting that his friend believes his wife is covered for all treatments that she may need whilst in UK.

[Tanoshi]

23 minutes ago, youreavinalaff said:

I did not notify my Dr that I was leaving.

 

After sometime, not sure how long, I was removed. I'm not sure how, when or why but I was removed. 

 

 

Someone must have notified them.

[youreavinalaff]

3 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Someone must have notified them.

Nobody that I know of. 

 

I did not have a registered address in UK for sometime as I had sold my property. Maybe that is how they found out. Maybe electoral register?

 

Having said that, my brother was struck off of the register at his doctor's surgery as he had not been there for some time, I think it was 10 years. He recently had to re register. He had not been out of the country all that time and was on the electoral register.

Edited June 5, 2021 by youreavinalaff

[Tanoshi]

1 minute ago, youreavinalaff said:

I did not have a registered address in UK for sometime as I had sold my property. Maybe that is how they found out.

Maybe.

I know I'm still registered.

I pop in regardless whenever I visit the UK and last year formerly changed my UK address with my GP via email.

[youreavinalaff]

13 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Maybe.

I know I'm still registered.

I pop in regardless whenever I visit the UK and last year formerly changed my UK address with my GP via email.

I have just found out why.

 

There was a cost cutting drive by NHS 2016 to save money. It was to save £100 per patient that they considered "ghost patients" at each surgery. 

 

Each registered patient, who had not attended for a while, was sent 2 letters. If they failed to respond to either they were stuck off that surgery's register.

 

Not a big issue when returning. Just show new address and re apply. 

Edited June 5, 2021 by youreavinalaff

[theoldgit]

1 hour ago, Tanoshi said:

If she has a NI number then she is entitled to be registered with a doctor and receive free NHS care, assuming she also has an NHS number.

She’s only entitled to free NHS care in a hospital if she’s actually resident in the UK, NI number or not.

 

Many GP Practices require evidence that a prospective patient is legally resident in the UK before they are accepted onto their “list”.

 

I have an NHS number and am a UK tax taxpayer, but as I’m no longer resident in the UK, I’m not entitled to free healthcare, in a hospital apart from emergency treatment and treatment for a few very specific conditions.

 

NHS Trusts are required by law to check the eligibility of prospective patients, whether they do or not is another matter. 

[theoldgit]

1 hour ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Travel insurance  not required.  Medical  insurance  is required or advisable

Medical insurance is not required but most certainly advisable, the same applies to travel insurance.

[Tanoshi]

3 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

She’s only entitled to free NHS care in a hospital if she’s actually resident in the UK, NI number or not.

As I stated the NHS is a residency based service.

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, The Hammer2021 said:

They will not need travel insurance.  They will need medical insurance.

 

Don’t get hung up on the pathetic semantics..... everyone knows travel insurance usually covers health...