Non Immigrant OA Visa - Health Insurance

[JimGant]

4 hours ago, Lee4Life said:

Call it what you want, but it can't be done without the original O-A Visa, so I'll call it an extension of that.

Ah, semantics. If the visa has not expired when you enter Thailand, you get stamped in with a "permission of stay" at your entry point. If your visa has expired, and you're reaching the end of your last permission/extension of stay, then subsequent applications for stay are presented to your local Immigration office, where they'll issue an "extension of stay." Which, in some circles, including embassies and Immigration, such an extension is euphemistically called a "visa extension." Clear?

[OJAS]

7 hours ago, steven100 said:

I don't believe this ,  it sounds like I heard it from a friend of a friend type post ...   Lol

scaremongering perhaps.

 

 

It is possible that Chiang Mai Immigration are privy to what the Police Order confirming the increase to 3m for existing retirement extensions from 1 September will actually say when it is issued.

 

All will no doubt be crystal clear from 23:59:59 on 31 August.

 

[OJAS]

On 6/25/2022 at 11:49 AM, JimGant said:

A week or so ago there was a post on this forum by one of our veteran and sharp posters, NancyL. She mentioned that her husband was going to do a border bounce to come back, without a reentry permit, and get stamped in with a visa exempt entry. Then get an in-country Non Imm O visa, and then get his retirement extension without having the onerous insurance requirement due to his historical OA visa. But, he was told that Chiang Mai Immigration would see through this scheme and thus still require insurance. WOW. Don't know who told him this info (NancyL's postings indicate she and her husband use a facilitating agent), but I'm surprised I have not heard any follow on banter from this posting. Anyway, maybe just a quirk -- or maybe the insurance mafia is seeing revenues dry up with conversions from OA to O visas..... Obviously, this would be big news if true, and if not just in Chiang Mai. Keep your eyes peeled.

Indeed, it could be big news, as you say. As I have stated on this thread, we are still awaiting confirmation of the increase to 3m for existing retirement extensions in the form of a Police Order, even though 1 September is now barely only 2 months away. I, for one, am seriously tempted to wonder whether, in the light of what@NancyLhas allegedly said on the other thread to which you have referred, Chiang Mai Immigration have caught wind of what the new Police Order will say when it is eventually issued - and it could be to extend the 3m insurance requirement to ALL those seeking retirement extensions, regardless of whether the original (or latest) visa which they used to enter Thailand was of the non-OA or non-O variety!

 

Hence my Doomsday scenario which I described up thread coming about even sooner than I had thought!

 

In the circumstances I would strongly advise everyone planning to ditch their original non-OA visas to hold fire until we see what the new Police Order actually has to say. Why the Immigration Bureau are dragging their feet on issuing it is a complete mystery to me.

 

[ubonjoe]

10 hours ago, OJAS said:

Indeed, it could be big news, as you say. As I have stated on this thread, we are still awaiting confirmation of the increase to 3m for existing retirement extensions in the form of a Police Order, even though 1 September is now barely only 2 months away. I, for one, am seriously tempted to wonder whether, in the light of what@NancyLhas allegedly said on the other thread to which you have referred, Chiang Mai Immigration have caught wind of what the new Police Order will say when it is eventually issued - and it could be to extend the 3m insurance requirement to ALL those seeking retirement extensions, regardless of whether the original (or latest) visa which they used to enter Thailand was of the non-OA or non-O variety!

In my opinion it is all a lot of false and misleading info.

A agent stating immigration might get smart and make problems for those that change from NOon OA visa entry to a non- visa is just scaremongering. There is a chance the agent has financial interest  in this case.

I can assure immigrating does not want to deal with thousands of more applications done that require proof of having the insurance. That is why they only accept insurance from Thailand companies for extensions of a OA visa entry that they can verify online.

[JimGant]

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

I can assure immigrating does not want to deal with thousands of more applications done that require proof of having the insurance.

Yeah, but the TGIA mafia would be salivating ... unless they realize such a large influx would bring considerable unwanted attention on their "Thai only" insurance scam.

[OJAS]

13 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Agent stating immigration might get smart and make problems for those that change from NOon OA visa entry to a non- visa is just scaremongering. There is a chance the agent has financial interest  in this case.

But the continuing delay on the Immigrant Bureau's part in confirming what is to happen in the case of existing retirement extensions from 1 September is only, I think, going to encourage more speculation and rumours which may or may not prove to be unfounded. And even if the necessary Police Order were issued tomorrow it would in my view be totally unreasonable for the Immigration Bureau to enforce its requirements on us with barely 2 months notice.

 

Unfortunately this is by no means the first occasion of foot-dragging on the Immigration Bureau's part that I can recall. It took them ages to issue the necessary Police Order sanctioning 65k monthly bank transfers in lieu of embassy income confirmations following the discontinuation of this service by 3 embassies including mine - to the extent that I was forced into panic measures to accumulate 400k in my bank account for a marriage extension instead. And by no means all retirees were in the same relatively fortunate position of having this option open to them as I was!

 

[Sheryl]

On 6/24/2022 at 5:13 PM, Bogbrush said:

One change in the OA insurance rules that some seem to forget is that the ‘new’ insurance can be purchased internationally and no longer is limited to the Thai companies.  This must suit many who initially complained bitterly that they already possessed far better overseas insurance whilst being forced to also buy the local ‘worthless’ policies….

It has always been possible to use a foreign policy  to get the initial visa IF the foreign insurer was willing to sign a special certificate worded in such a way that almost none would.

 

It remains to be seen if this will change.

 

It has not been.possible to get an in-country extension using foreign policy. Remains to be seen if that will change.

[Bogbrush]

The initial announcement stated international companies could be used wef September, although it didn’t come from Dept of Immigration but some other govt source, and as we know the left hand is frequently contradicted by the right hand…so much also depends on the attitude of the specific immigration office itself - Phuket, for example, has never shown any interest in wanting to see insurance for an OA EoS.

 

Logic would dictate any EoS prior to September would require the 400 000/40 00 baht local policy, and any EoS after that date would require 3.5m baht, local or otherwise. As with most LoS matters, however, it’s like a pig on acid - you don’t know which way it’s going to go….

[JimTripper]

On 6/28/2022 at 7:54 AM, Sheryl said:

It has always been possible to use a foreign policy  to get the initial visa IF the foreign insurer was willing to sign a special certificate worded in such a way that almost none would.

 

It remains to be seen if this will change.

 

It has not been.possible to get an in-country extension using foreign policy. Remains to be seen if that will change.

Do I need the special certificate for the initial or extention if I get a Thai insurer?

 

Has anybody had the opportunity of using their Thai insurance for something serious and getting the costs covered, and what company did you have?

[Sheryl]

3 hours ago, JimTripper said:

Do I need the special certificate for the initial or extention if I get a Thai insurer?

 

Has anybody had the opportunity of using their Thai insurance for something serious and getting the costs covered, and what company did you have?

People's experiences have varied depending on the specific company but generally speaking Thai companies have a poor record for paying out. No comparison to foreign insurers. In fact, some people opt to get (or maintain) their international policies and then get what is often called a "throw away" local Thai policy with high deductible just to meet visa requirement

[JimTripper]

On 6/24/2022 at 12:33 AM, Lee4Life said:

I just renewed ours with LMG, they offer O-A Longstay Visa Insurance that meets the new requirements as do many others listed in the link UJ supplied above. I have seen that if you google search for O-A Longstay Visa Health Insurance you come up with a whole bunch of information on Insurance policies that met the old 400,000/40,000 requirements. A lot of websites that "help" you buy the correct insurance are also offering incorrect information. Everyone seems to be struggling to keep up with the changing regulations and rules.

       The health insurance policy we purchased from LMG provided coverage THB 3,500,000 per policy per year for Inpatient and THB 60,000 for Outpatient per policy per year.

          I do believe that AseanNow also needs to update information provided in links in their own O-A Insurance Advertorial.

I was about to go with LMG for their worldwide coverage and decided against it after reading the Yelp reviews. Page after page of complaints that they did not pay claims. Not one positive review on Yelp.

 

Those nice people who sell you the policies are not in claims, it's a different department.

[JetsetBkk]

On 6/29/2022 at 4:03 AM, Bogbrush said:

<snip>  so much also depends on the attitude of the specific immigration office itself - Phuket, for example, has never shown any interest in wanting to see insurance for an OA EoS.  <my emphasis>

 

Logic would dictate any EoS prior to September would require the 400 000/40 00 baht local policy, and any EoS after that date would require 3.5m baht, local or otherwise. As with most LoS matters, however, it’s like a pig on acid - you don’t know which way it’s going to go….

Thank you for reminding me!  I just checked through my LMG file and found this note in it:

I originally got the LMG 400k/40k insurance in April 2020 for my O-A extension at Phuket Immi.

In April 2021 I did the same but, at Phuket Immi., I was given the insurance certificate back. 

So that's when I wrote the note to myself to get the insurance in 2022, but not give the certificate to Immigration.

 

That's what I did and got my O-A Extension without problems this year.

 

So the question now is, will Phuket Immi. want to see the new 3,000,000 baht insurance certificate next April?

 

[oldcpu]

On 7/2/2022 at 12:37 PM, JetsetBkk said:

In April 2021 I did the same but, at Phuket Immi., I was given the insurance certificate back. 

So that's when I wrote the note to myself to get the insurance in 2022, but not give the certificate to Immigration.

 

That's what I did and got my O-A Extension without problems this year.

 

So the question now is, will Phuket Immi. want to see the new 3,000,000 baht insurance certificate next April?

 

My understanding, and please correct me if I am wrong, that the Insurance company branches on the Thai 'immigration approved' list of companies, have to make an entry into a database (that is accessed by immigration) of those who have purchased the health insurance for a Type-OA visa extension. Hence the Immigration office in Phuket (in your example given) may not need the paper health certificate, as they can simply check the electronic database (that insurance companies are required to enter your data into).

 

Again, I would be interested to be corrected if my understanding is wrong.

[JetsetBkk]

1 hour ago, oldcpu said:

My understanding, and please correct me if I am wrong, that the Insurance company branches on the Thai 'immigration approved' list of companies, have to make an entry into a database (that is accessed by immigration) of those who have purchased the health insurance for a Type-OA visa extension. Hence the Immigration office in Phuket (in your example given) may not need the paper health certificate, as they can simply check the electronic database (that insurance companies are required to enter your data into).

 

Again, I would be interested to be corrected if my understanding is wrong.

You make a very good point!

Unfortunately, I don't know if your understanding about insurance companies, their database and immigration access is correct! 

I will probably get the 3,000,000 insurance later in the year, just to be on the safe side, if there are no definitive answers forthcoming.

 

[oldcpu]

42 minutes ago, JetsetBkk said:

Unfortunately, I don't know if your understanding about insurance companies, their database and immigration access is correct! 

I will probably get the 3,000,000 insurance later in the year, just to be on the safe side, if there are no definitive answers forthcoming.

 

My being married to a Thai, on a 'permission to stay' extension on a Type-OA visa, what I did, to avoid that 3,000,000 insurance requirement was to go for an extension based on marriage to a Thai.  I was able to do this (last extension based on marriage instead of based on retirement) without leaving Thailand.

 

I have great subsidized Health Insurance from a European Health Insurance company (superior to the 3,000,000 THB coverage), where there is a Thai branch of the Insurance company on the Thai list, but the European branch refuses to issue appropriate paperwork for Thailand (and refuse to fill in the Thai database). 

 

The Thailand branch (same Health Insurance mother company)  refuses to issue me appropriate paperwork for Thailand (and refuses to fill in Thai database for me) for their mother company in Europe. There is no money in it for their branch of the company, so they refuse.  When I asked how much they wanted to do the paperwork/fill in database, it was a full (double) 3,000,000 insurance from them.  

 

Obviously I wasn't interested in double Health Insurance AND I did not want to stop my superior subsidized European Health insurance (with the same company but a branch located in Europe) , so I elected to go for the 'extension of my permission to stay' based on marriage. 

 

I also want to add - I have visited a couple different Thai hospitals in Thailand, and without exception the Thai hospitals have accepted my European Health Insurance.

 

I have some international travel coming up, and I am debating if I will let my Type-OA expire (when I exit Thailand) and then try to go for a Type-O shortly after a re-entery Visa Exempt. However timing of my various travel complicates this ... so I am puzzling over it.

 

If international travel is an option for you, then you could consider leaving Thailand to invalidate your Type-OA and then re-enter Tourist Visa exempt, and immediately attempt the Type-O visa route, to avoid this health insurance requirement.  I think if you already have good health insurance (like myself) or have massive financial savings in the bank (for a self insurance) than such an effort to change to a Type-O visa (based on retirement) is an acceptable "moral" approach.

 

I wish the Thailand implementation of the Health Insurance proof would better accept European coverage (for when in Thailand) and also accept Self Insurance (by maintaining large amount of money in a Thai bank).

[JetsetBkk]

18 hours ago, oldcpu said:

My being married to a Thai, on a 'permission to stay' extension on a Type-OA visa, what I did, to avoid that 3,000,000 insurance requirement was to go for an extension based on marriage to a Thai.  I was able to do this (last extension based on marriage instead of based on retirement) without leaving Thailand.

 

I have great subsidized Health Insurance from a European Health Insurance company (superior to the 3,000,000 THB coverage), where there is a Thai branch of the Insurance company on the Thai list, but the European branch refuses to issue appropriate paperwork for Thailand (and refuse to fill in the Thai database). 

 

The Thailand branch (same Health Insurance mother company)  refuses to issue me appropriate paperwork for Thailand (and refuses to fill in Thai database for me) for their mother company in Europe. There is no money in it for their branch of the company, so they refuse.  When I asked how much they wanted to do the paperwork/fill in database, it was a full (double) 3,000,000 insurance from them.  

 

Obviously I wasn't interested in double Health Insurance AND I did not want to stop my superior subsidized European Health insurance (with the same company but a branch located in Europe) , so I elected to go for the 'extension of my permission to stay' based on marriage. 

 

I also want to add - I have visited a couple different Thai hospitals in Thailand, and without exception the Thai hospitals have accepted my European Health Insurance.

 

I have some international travel coming up, and I am debating if I will let my Type-OA expire (when I exit Thailand) and then try to go for a Type-O shortly after a re-entery Visa Exempt. However timing of my various travel complicates this ... so I am puzzling over it.

 

If international travel is an option for you, then you could consider leaving Thailand to invalidate your Type-OA and then re-enter Tourist Visa exempt, and immediately attempt the Type-O visa route, to avoid this health insurance requirement.  I think if you already have good health insurance (like myself) or have massive financial savings in the bank (for a self insurance) than such an effort to change to a Type-O visa (based on retirement) is an acceptable "moral" approach.

 

I wish the Thailand implementation of the Health Insurance proof would better accept European coverage (for when in Thailand) and also accept Self Insurance (by maintaining large amount of money in a Thai bank).

Fantastic post - much appreciated. I haven't left Thailand in 20 years and I don't want to take any risk of screwing up my stay here by changing from an O-A to an O - I have nowhere else to go. I do have sufficient money in the bank, so I'll pay for the crappy Health Insurance if that's what it takes to continue to stay here. It's hard to believe that someone at Immigration in Bangkok can't see a way to let people change from O-A to O without actually leaving the country and coming back in again - it IS just a paper exercise that could be done at any Immigration department if a rule was changed. And why have this Health Insurance requirement just for O-A visa holders? Is it because we showed that we had enough money to get the visas in the first place, so we must have money to pay for the Health Insurance? 

[JimTripper]

On 7/5/2022 at 10:37 PM, JetsetBkk said:

Fantastic post - much appreciated. I haven't left Thailand in 20 years and I don't want to take any risk of screwing up my stay here by changing from an O-A to an O - I have nowhere else to go. I do have sufficient money in the bank, so I'll pay for the crappy Health Insurance if that's what it takes to continue to stay here. It's hard to believe that someone at Immigration in Bangkok can't see a way to let people change from O-A to O without actually leaving the country and coming back in again - it IS just a paper exercise that could be done at any Immigration department if a rule was changed. And why have this Health Insurance requirement just for O-A visa holders? Is it because we showed that we had enough money to get the visas in the first place, so we must have money to pay for the Health Insurance? 

Can you get the o in vietnam or cambodia?

 

Only the o-a requires you to apply from your home country.

[oldcpu]

On 7/6/2022 at 12:37 PM, JetsetBkk said:

Fantastic post - much appreciated. I haven't left Thailand in 20 years and I don't want to take any risk of screwing up my stay here by changing from an O-A to an O - I have nowhere else to go. I do have sufficient money in the bank, so I'll pay for the crappy Health Insurance if that's what it takes to continue to stay here.

I share the feeling of trepidation in letting a permission to stay (based on a perfectly good O-A visa) be invalidated deliberately leaving the country without a re-entry permit.

 

I obtain some confidence by my planning to do this soon, by others also having successfully done this before me (ie leaving Thailand without a re-entry permit, invalidating their Type-OA visa (and associated permission to stay) and re-entering Visa Exempt, followed by applying for a 90-day Type-O Visa and then applying for a one-year permission to stay on the Type-O for reasons of retirement. 

 

I feel there is a lot that can go wrong in changing the underlying Visa - but others have successfully done this, so I plan to give it a try - leaving Thailand in August without a re-entry permit (on a previously planned 2 month visit to Europe), and return 7-October visa-exempt.   I think that will give me a permission to stay until 6-November, so on 10-October I plan to head to immigration and apply for the Type-O 90-day Visa.

 

I suspect there will be some risk in (my coming into Thailand VisaExempt and applying for a Type-O) could mess up my attending a wedding on 7-Nov in a separate Thai province, as I don't know the timing as to how long it will take to have the Type-O 90-day visa approved.  The wedding will clearly be just after my 30-day visa exempt status expires, and I will feel nervous about traveling about in Thailand (far from Phuket immigration) until my permission to stay past ~6-November is updated by obtaining a Type-O 90-day visa.  I read somewhere worst case time needed for Visa approval could be as much as 30-days ...

 

On 7/6/2022 at 12:37 PM, JetsetBkk said:

And why have this Health Insurance requirement just for O-A visa holders? Is it because we showed that we had enough money to get the visas in the first place, so we must have money to pay for the Health Insurance? 

I think it was implemented because there were many cases of foreigners without Heath Insurance, running up large bills in Thailand hospitals and not paying.  I know of one such case of a a friend who sadly ended up doing such - where the hospital was initially short money due to him running up a massive medical bill.  So Type-OA was chosen for a "trial".

 

I believe (albeit I am not sure) that the Type-OA health insurance was intended to be a trial  - so to see if this might work for a broader application. Hence there is speculation other Visas could eventually sadly have such applied also - although we all hope that will not be the case and for CERTAIN that is cynical speculation.

 

I wish thou the limited list of Insurance companies was not so restrictive.  It would be nice if someone with lots of money could self insure themselves for health insurance by showing a LOT of money in a Thai bank.  I also wish a superior method existed for non-Thai Health Insurance to be recognized.

[JimGant]

Oldcpu, why are you wanting to invalidate your OA visa and switch to an O? From your postings, you use Phuket Immigration, which from all reports doesn't require insurance for OA extensions. Plus, even if they did, or for some reason changed their policy about retirement extensions -- your OA extension is based on marriage, not retirement. And OA marriage extensions have no requirement for insurance at any of Thailand's Immigration offices. So, sounds like you have no need to switch to an O -- or am I missing something?

[oldcpu]

On 7/11/2022 at 10:13 AM, JimGant said:

Oldcpu, why are you wanting to invalidate your OA visa and switch to an O? From your postings, you use Phuket Immigration, which from all reports doesn't require insurance for OA extensions.

The posts about people stating no proof of health insurance needed for Phuket immagration are misleading at best and honestly, FLAT WRONG for anyone with a more recent Type-OA visa.

 

Almost everyone who has posted no health insurance needed in Phuket for a Type-OA visa never posted when they obtained their original type-OA visa.

 

I can no longer recall the exact 'cut off date', but I do know that for my Type-OA visa, for an extension based on retirement, Phuket immigration require Health Insurance from the limited Thai list of Insurance company branches.  I know this for a fact as i was refused by Phuket immigration an extension based on retirement - and they would not accept my superior foreign insurance.  For that one extension, I ended up buying double insurance with a basically throw-away Thai insurance (worthless because of its massive deduction).

 

My Type-OA visa was issued on 28-March-2019, and was valid until 27-March-2020.  I left Thailand in February-2020 and I returned on 29-February-2020 which gave me an extension to stay until 27-February-2021.  In late January-2021/early-February-2021 (last year) Phuket immigration refused to give me an extension based on retirement without Health Insurance from the limited Thai list.

 

Hence this year (in February-2022) I went for an extension based on marriage to a Thai, to avoid once again having to purchase double health insurance.  However that extension based on marriage has downsides. It has a lot more paperwork (in order to prove marriage still valid), it requires my wife and I go go to City Hall to have our marriage document updated (every year), it requires my wife to accompany me to immigration, and it took over 5 weeks to be approved once applied for - while an extension based on retirement is nominally MUCH quicker ( a few days or less for approval).

 

Those  expats in Phuket, with type-OA visas, who do not need to prove Health Insurance, have been here for a long time, longer than myself, and hence that is why they do not need to prove the Health Insurance.  There is a specific cut off date (for the Phuket immigration office) for a Type-OA visa issue (and one's last entry to Thailand) where Health Insurance is not required.  I don't recall that date, but I do know that I do not meet that requirement.

 

On 7/11/2022 at 10:13 AM, JimGant said:

Plus, even if they did, or for some reason changed their policy about retirement extensions -- your OA extension is based on marriage, not retirement. And OA marriage extensions have no requirement for insurance at any of Thailand's Immigration offices. So, sounds like you have no need to switch to an O -- or am I missing something?

You are correct, if the requirement for Health Insurance is extended to those with an underlying type-O visa then changing to a type-O from the type-OA would make no difference.  However that possible change is no more than speculation at this time. Perhaps speculation based on an excellent view, but speculation never the less.

 

I was already planing to leave Thailand for two months ... so why not let my Type-OA Visa expire?  I live a 10-minute car drive from Phuket immigration. So  what this means with my letting my Visa expire is I need to go to Immigration a few times.  I return to Thailand (planning on a Visa Exempt entry) in early-October.  I go to immigration once to apply for the 90-day Type-O visa in October. Again a few weeks later to get my passport stamped with the 90-day Type-0 visa.  Then in December go to to immigration to apply for the 1 year extension based on retirement and presumably return to Immigration a couple of days later take my passport to get that extension stamped in the passport.

 

The amount of money immigration ask for the 90-day Type-O and the 1-year retirement extension on the Type-O are insignificant compared to the amount of money required for double health insurance for someone my age.  Also the extra trips to immigration are less of an annoyance than the trip to City Hall (which is 3x the distance from my place compared to the distance to immigration office).

 

It all boils down to  .... what are the odds that this year, there will be a change that requires all Type-O visa holders to obtain Health Insurance from a Thai approved list of Thai branches of insurance companies to stay in Thailand ?

[JimTripper]

32 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

The posts about people stating no proof of health insurance needed for Phuket immagration are misleading at best and honestly, FLAT WRONG for anyone with a more recent Type-OA visa.

 

Almost everyone who has posted no health insurance needed in Phuket for a Type-OA visa never posted when they obtained their original type-OA visa.

 

I can no longer recall the exact 'cut off date', but I do know that for my Type-OA visa, for an extension based on retirement, Phuket immigration require Health Insurance from the limited Thai list of Insurance company branches.  I know this for a fact as i was refused by Phuket immigration an extension based on retirement - and they would not accept my superior foreign insurance.  For that one extension, I ended up buying double insurance with a basically throw-away Thai insurance (worthless because of its massive deduction).

 

My Type-OA visa was issued on 28-March-2019, and was valid until 27-March-2020.  I left Thailand in February-2020 and I returned on 29-February-2020 which gave me an extension to stay until 27-February-2021.  In late January-2021/early-February-2021 (last year) Phuket immigration refused to give me an extension based on retirement without Health Insurance from the limited Thai list.

 

Hence this year (in February-2022) I went for an extension based on marriage to a Thai, to avoid once again having to purchase double health insurance.  However that extension based on marriage has downsides. It has a lot more paperwork (in order to prove marriage still valid), it requires my wife and I go go to City Hall to have our marriage document updated (every year), it requires my wife to accompany me to immigration, and it took over 5 weeks to be approved once applied for - while an extension based on retirement is nominally MUCH quicker ( a few days or less for approval).

 

Those  expats in Phuket, with type-OA visas, who do not need to prove Health Insurance, have been here for a long time, longer than myself, and hence that is why they do not need to prove the Health Insurance.  There is a specific cut off date (for the Phuket immigration office) for a Type-OA visa issue (and one's last entry to Thailand) where Health Insurance is not required.  I don't recall that date, but I do know that I do not meet that requirement.

 

You are correct, if the requirement for Health Insurance is extended to those with an underlying type-O visa then changing to a type-O from the type-OA would make no difference.  However that possible change is no more than speculation at this time. Perhaps speculation based on an excellent view, but speculation never the less.

 

I was already planing to leave Thailand for two months ... so why not let my Type-OA Visa expire?  I live a 10-minute car drive from Phuket immigration. So  what this means with my letting my Visa expire is I need to go to Immigration a few times.  I return to Thailand (planning on a Visa Exempt entry) in early-October.  I go to immigration once to apply for the 90-day Type-O visa in October. Again a few weeks later to get my passport stamped with the 90-day Type-0 visa.  Then in December go to to immigration to apply for the 1 year extension based on retirement and presumably return to Immigration a couple of days later take my passport to get that extension stamped in the passport.

 

The amount of money immigration ask for the 90-day Type-O and the 1-year retirement extension on the Type-O are insignificant compared to the amount of money required for double health insurance for someone my age.  Also the extra trips to immigration are less of an annoyance than the trip to City Hall (which is 3x the distance from my place compared to the distance to immigration office).

 

It all boils down to  .... what are the odds that this year, there will be a change that requires all Type-O visa holders to obtain Health Insurance from a Thai approved list of Thai branches of insurance companies to stay in Thailand ?

The O-A is only good for 2 years, so if your here many years you must already be on an O, unless your getting a new one and applying in your home country every 2 years.

 

When your O-A expires immigration changes it to an O which theoretically does not need the insurance, not another O-A.

 

I'm not sure why you would still be needing the insurance that the O-A requires???

[ubonjoe]

16 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

When your O-A expires immigration changes it to an O which theoretically does not need the insurance, not another O-A.

Immigration does not change the OA visa to a non-o visa after the OA visa expires. They will extend the permit to stay from a OA visa to a extension based upon retirement and it requires the same medical insurance required for the OA visa.

The only way to change to a non-o visa is to leave and re-enter the country with a non-o visa or applyf one at immigration if you enter visa exempt or  a tourist visa.

[JimTripper]

19 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Immigration does not change the OA visa to a non-o visa after the OA visa expires. They will extend the permit to stay from a OA visa to a extension based upon retirement and it requires the same medical insurance required for the OA visa.

The only way to change to a non-o visa is to leave and re-enter the country with a non-o visa or applyf one at immigration if you enter visa exempt or  a tourist visa.

Does the 800k baht need to be transferred into a thai bank 2 months prior to the O-A permit to stay extension?

 

Is it possible to get a re-entry permit on the extension of stay, so when I go visit relatives I don't need to ever re-apply for the O-A again every 2 years?

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

Does the 800k baht need to be transferred into a thai bank 2 months prior to the O-A permit to stay extension, and is there a limit to the times it can be extended?

The 800k baht has to be in a Thai for 2 months on the day you apply or proof of 65k baht income.

You can apply for a new extension every year for as long as you want to.

[oldcpu]

27 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

Is it possible to get a re-entry permit on the extension of stay, so when I go visit relatives I don't need to ever re-apply for the O-A again every 2 years?

Yes - one can obtain a re-entry permit on one's permission to stay in Thailand (where the permission to stay is based on an underlying Type-OA and also if on an underlying Type-O visa).  One has a choice of a single re-entry permit for each time one leaves Thailand (to return later prior to permission to stay expiring), or one can obtain a multiple re-entry permit for the entire duration of one's permission to stay.

[ubonjoe]

45 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

Is it possible to get a re-entry permit on the extension of stay, so when I go visit relatives I don't need to ever re-apply for the O-A again every 2 years?

Yes you can.

You can get a single re-entry permit for a fee of 1000 baht or a multiple re-entry permit for 3800 baht. Either one will be valid to use for entry up to the day the permit to stay it is issued for ends.

[flexomike]

1 hour ago, JimTripper said:

The O-A is only good for 2 years, so if your here many years you must already be on an O, unless your getting a new one and applying in your home country every 2 years.

 

When your O-A expires imhnges it to an O which theoretically does not need the insurance, not another O-A.

 

I'm not sure why you would still be needing the insurance that the O-A requires???

Immigration does not change an OA to an O, I am going on my seventh year with my original OA, going to leave the country next month and change to an O, the only way you can change to an O is to leave the country without a reentry permit

[Andrew Dwyer]

2 hours ago, JimTripper said:

The O-A is only good for 2 years, so if your here many years you must already be on an O, unless your getting a new one and applying in your home country every 2 years.

 

When your O-A expires immigration changes it to an O which theoretically does not need the insurance, not another O-A.

 

I'm not sure why you would still be needing the insurance that the O-A requires???

A little bit off track there.

 

A retirement extension from an original OA visa is identical to a retirement extension of an O visa EXCEPT mandatory health insurance is required since October 2019.

 

Many holders of a retirement extension of stay based on an original OA will leave/or have left Thailand to return with an O visa ( or visa exempt) to achieve a retirement extension from the O visa and not pay the mandatory health insurance.

[Andrew Dwyer]

2 hours ago, oldcpu said:

The posts about people stating no proof of health insurance needed for Phuket immagration are misleading at best and honestly, FLAT WRONG for anyone with a more recent Type-OA visa.

 

Almost everyone who has posted no health insurance needed in Phuket for a Type-OA visa never posted when they obtained their original type-OA visa.

 

I can no longer recall the exact 'cut off date', but I do know that for my Type-OA visa, for an extension based on retirement, Phuket immigration require Health Insurance from the limited Thai list of Insurance company branches.  I know this for a fact as i was refused by Phuket immigration an extension based on retirement - and they would not accept my superior foreign insurance.  For that one extension, I ended up buying double insurance with a basically throw-away Thai insurance (worthless because of its massive deduction).

 

My Type-OA visa was issued on 28-March-2019, and was valid until 27-March-2020.  I left Thailand in February-2020 and I returned on 29-February-2020 which gave me an extension to stay until 27-February-2021.  In late January-2021/early-February-2021 (last year) Phuket immigration refused to give me an extension based on retirement without Health Insurance from the limited Thai list.

 

Hence this year (in February-2022) I went for an extension based on marriage to a Thai, to avoid once again having to purchase double health insurance.  However that extension based on marriage has downsides. It has a lot more paperwork (in order to prove marriage still valid), it requires my wife and I go go to City Hall to have our marriage document updated (every year), it requires my wife to accompany me to immigration, and it took over 5 weeks to be approved once applied for - while an extension based on retirement is nominally MUCH quicker ( a few days or less for approval).

 

Those  expats in Phuket, with type-OA visas, who do not need to prove Health Insurance, have been here for a long time, longer than myself, and hence that is why they do not need to prove the Health Insurance.  There is a specific cut off date (for the Phuket immigration office) for a Type-OA visa issue (and one's last entry to Thailand) where Health Insurance is not required.  I don't recall that date, but I do know that I do not meet that requirement.

 

You are correct, if the requirement for Health Insurance is extended to those with an underlying type-O visa then changing to a type-O from the type-OA would make no difference.  However that possible change is no more than speculation at this time. Perhaps speculation based on an excellent view, but speculation never the less.

 

I was already planing to leave Thailand for two months ... so why not let my Type-OA Visa expire?  I live a 10-minute car drive from Phuket immigration. So  what this means with my letting my Visa expire is I need to go to Immigration a few times.  I return to Thailand (planning on a Visa Exempt entry) in early-October.  I go to immigration once to apply for the 90-day Type-O visa in October. Again a few weeks later to get my passport stamped with the 90-day Type-0 visa.  Then in December go to to immigration to apply for the 1 year extension based on retirement and presumably return to Immigration a couple of days later take my passport to get that extension stamped in the passport.

 

The amount of money immigration ask for the 90-day Type-O and the 1-year retirement extension on the Type-O are insignificant compared to the amount of money required for double health insurance for someone my age.  Also the extra trips to immigration are less of an annoyance than the trip to City Hall (which is 3x the distance from my place compared to the distance to immigration office).

 

It all boils down to  .... what are the odds that this year, there will be a change that requires all Type-O visa holders to obtain Health Insurance from a Thai approved list of Thai branches of insurance companies to stay in Thailand ?

I believe 2018 was the cut off point for existing OA extension holders to be “ grandfathered in “ for Phuket only, which made sense as when the mandatory health insurance ( OA visa and retirement extension of ) was introduced in 2019 they allowed existing holders to be exempt.

A shame other IO’s didn’t adopt the same practice.

[JimGant]

3 hours ago, oldcpu said:

I can no longer recall the exact 'cut off date', but I do know that for my Type-OA visa, for an extension based on retirement, Phuket immigration require Health Insurance from the limited Thai list

Yeah, your OA visa and last entry on that visa are past the grandfather date for the "no insurance required" by Phuket Imm:

 

Quote

– If the Non-OA visa from your home country is issued In or BEFORE 2017 then the health insurance is NOT required for your extension.
– If the Non-OA visa from your home country is issued in 2018 or later but the last entry date is before 1 October 2019 then the health insurance is NOT required for your extension.
– If the Non-OA visa from your home country is issued in 2018 or later but the last entry date is AFTER 1 October 2019 then the health insurance is IS required for your extension.

https://piv-phuket.com/long-stay-extensions/retirement/