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

[Surelynot]

1 minute ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

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

I got caught out thinking my travel insurance with Visa card covered me........only to find out it only covered me whilst actually traveling.

[Tanoshi]

Just now, Surelynot said:

I got caught out thinking my travel insurance with Visa card covered me........only to find out it only covered me whilst actually traveling.

I once took out a 'Worldwide' Travel Insurance policy, not cheap, covered sports activates and anything else you could think of,  only to find out it only covered me in Europe ...... go figure why it was called a 'Worldwide' policy.  ????

[Surelynot]

Just now, Tanoshi said:

I once took out a 'Worldwide' Travel Insurance policy, not cheap, covered sports activates and anything else you could think of,  only to find out it only covered me in Europe ...... go figure why it was called a 'Worldwide' policy.  ????

Hahaha....so unlike the insurance industry .......can only think it was a genuine mistake.....

[richard_smith237]

4 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

7 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

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

I got caught out thinking my travel insurance with Visa card covered me........only to find out it only covered me whilst actually traveling.

 

Fair enough... that sounds more like ‘trip insurance’ (oh no, I’m getting caught out with semantics now !)... Its something both my Wife and I have but we never rely on it as the level of cover is usually limited or below the standards I want of an insurance cover. 

 

Travel Insurance... i.e. AXA, AIG, Allianz etc...  all provide cover for accidents and emergency cases. 

 

https://www.axa.co.th/en/travel-accident-protection

https://www.aig.co.th/en/personal/travel-guard-insurance

https://aga24h.allianz-assistance.co.th/en/home/

 

 

My Wife, Son and I have full healthcare which covers us worldwide (ex USA). 

 

 

[Tanoshi]

2 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

Hahaha....so unlike the insurance industry .......can only think it was a genuine mistake.....

Hidden in the small print on page 236 of the terms and conditions.

[theoldgit]

25 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

As I stated the NHS is a residency based service.

You did indeed, in a later post.

 

I was responding to and clarifying your earlier post where you didn’t make that point clear.

 

I was concerned that a reader may not read all the posts in the thread and not get the full facts of their entitlements.

[KhaoYai]

So many different answers.  The truth of the matter is that no insurance is required - it is however, advisable.

 

Should anything go wrong whilst a visitor is in the UK then only emergency treatment is free - that is, in theory.  Should further treatment be necessary then even the emergency portion becomes chargeable. However, as one member pointed out, they never received the bill and that's not the first time that I've heard of bills not being received.

 

The one thing your friend's wife can be sure of is that in an emergency situation, she will NOT have to prove she has insurance before receiving treatment in the UK.  Conversely, I laid unconscious and bleeding (seriously) at the scene of a road accident in Bangkok 10 years ago whilst the ambulance driver and police went through my belongings to see if I had the means to pay!

 

As a bonus, your friend's wife will be able to have her Covid 19 vaccinations for free during her visit as the UK is offering them to visitors and citizens alike.

[brewsterbudgen]

8 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

So many different answers.  The truth of the matter is that no insurance is required - it is however, advisable.

 

Should anything go wrong whilst a visitor is in the UK then only emergency treatment is free - that is, in theory.  Should further treatment be necessary then even the emergency portion becomes chargeable. However, as one member pointed out, they never received the bill and that's not the first time that I've heard of bills not being received.

 

The one thing your friend's wife can be sure of is that in an emergency situation, she will NOT have to prove she has insurance before receiving treatment in the UK.  Conversely, I laid unconscious and bleeding (seriously) at the scene of a road accident in Bangkok 10 years ago whilst the ambulance driver and police went through my belongings to see if I had the means to pay!

 

As a bonus, your friend's wife will be able to have her Covid 19 vaccinations for free during her visit as the UK is offering them to visitors and citizens alike.

 

Great post.  As a Brit who's lived in Thailand since 2005, the wonderful NHS is about the only reason why I may one day return.   Unless Boris and his cronies have destroyed it by then.

[theoldgit]

A couple of bickering posts removed.

[KhaoYai]

3 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Unless Boris and his cronies have destroyed it by then.

The only good thing to come from the Covid 19 Pandemic is that he wouldn't dare now.  The UK public has re-claimed its beloved NHS and it would be a brave man who tried to meddle with it now.  Boris doesn't have the balls.

[Tony M]

A couple of points, not strictly relevant to the post itself :

 

As said above, visitors to the UK are not entitled to NHS treatment, except in some (emergency) situations. One post mentions a wife/girlfriend having had treatment, but no payment was required.  Don't forget that one of the questions on the Visa Application Form asks if the applicant has ever had NHS treatment in the UK. Many applicants, even those having had treatment, answer "no", and this can result in refusal of the application if the UKVI learn otherwise. Some applicants answer "no" when they are aware that, as a visitor, they did previously have treatment as they are aware that they should have paid for that treatment, but didn't. Again, if the UKVI become aware that money is owed to the NHS (above a certain financial level, currently 500 GBP, I think), then it is a mandatory visa refusal.

 

So how could the UKVI find out that a visa applicant previously had treatment and didn't pay the charges (if there were any) ? Some hospitals and NHS trusts don't care about charging visitors to the UK and some do. Some hospitals and NHS trusts used to have immigration staff working at hospitals and Trusts checking patient records (I'm not sure if that still happens).  But, coming to the point, the British government is introducing something called "data matching exercises" and the consultation document is attached. Soon, every government department, and other "organisations" will be sharing data (voluntarily or not).  The NHS may be one of the "relevant authorities" who will be a mandatory participant, as the related documents state :

 

Who will be participating?

 

 Under the 2014 Act the Cabinet Office may require relevant authorities, best value authorities, and NHS Foundation Trusts in England to provide data for data matching exercises. Bodies required to participate in this way are referred to in this Code as mandatory participants.  Any other body or person may provide data (not including patient data) voluntarily for data matching exercises if the Cabinet Office decides that it is appropriate to use their data and where to do so would not breach data protection legislation or the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. This includes bodies or persons outside England and Wales. These are referred to as voluntary participants in this Code. Note - mandatory participants can also submit additional data on a voluntary basis, that is, where data has not been required by the Minister.

 

 

2021-01-28-FINAL-NFI-New-Purposes-Consultation-document-v1.2-Version-control-added.pdf

[youreavinalaff]

2 hours ago, Tony M said:

Don't forget that one of the questions on the Visa Application Form asks if the applicant has ever had NHS treatment in the UK.

I believe you are correct.

 

If memory serves me well, there is a following question asking about outstanding payments. On my wife's second application, following her visit to the hospital, she answered "yes" to having received treatment and "No" to any outstanding payments.

 

Her application was accepted. As was a further application for a settlement visa.

 

As TonyM suggested, always best to just tell the truth.

Edited June 6, 2021 by youreavinalaff