Questions re OA visa application from UK

[Seagull Sam]

I am 63 old British male looking to spend significant time in Thailand. I still have some property in UK so I need to travel home from time to time, hence OA requirement. My flight leaves on 25th October.

 

I have a few problems after spending some time on the Thai Embassy website. The relatively simple question is where do I find the medical document for the doctor showing I don't have the various random / unlikely diseases? I could probably find and use the one I used in May 2021 but it might have changed.

 

The second issue is the many, various, contradictory and overlapping questions about insurance. I have some fairly serious health conditions which will be covered by WR Life. They have a few offices in various countries including Thailand but don't appear on the Embassy's 'jobs for the boys' list. In this situation I assume they will be considered a foreign company so have sent them the form which should be signed by two directors and a third signatory. On the assumption this can't or won't be forthcoming would I be better advised purchasing a chuck away policy like the one I bought from LMG last time out.

 

I need

1. Proof of health insurance coverage letter - I don't have a simple one page coverage letter

2. Health Insurance issued by a Thai or foreign insurer for general illnesses, including COVID-19, with the insured sum of not less than 100,000 USD or 3,000,000 THB - I don't have a separate figure for Covid, only the policy as a whole.

3. Foreign Insurance Certificate as stipulated by the Office of Insurance Commission and Health Insurance of Thailand, which must be completed, signed and stamped by the insurance company. - Unlikely to be issued if my insurers are considered foreign.

 

Additionally

1. Proof of the permanent residence in the country where the application is submitted 

2. Applicant must apply for e-Visa via specific Embassy/Consulate conforming with his/her consular jurisdiction and residency. Applicant is required to upload document that can verify his/her current residency

Isn't this the same thing? Should I use the same or different documents?

 

What is the latest with Covid jabs and proof of having had them which I have? 

 

Finally the application process seems to suggest that I no longer need to send in my passport but that confirmation will be sent by email(s) which I simply print and bring to the airport. I can foresee all sorts of problems with this. Perhaps I have got the wrong end of the stick on this point.

 

All help very gratefully received.

 

 

 

[lanng khao]

For residency I uploaded my current lease on the apartment that I'm living at now, and permanent residence I uploaded my tax information of self employment for last year, took one working day to get the visa emailed back to me.

[ubonjoe]

I found the medical certificate on another embassy website (same form used at all of them)

http://thaiembdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Medical-Certificate-Form-For-Non-Immigrant-O-A-Long-Stay-Only.pdf

I think the download for it is also on the e visa site when you do the application.

1. Foreign insurance form. https://longstay.tgia.org/document/foreign_insurance_certificate.pdf

2. There is no coverage amount for the covid insurance. It just to has be included in the policy.

 

"Additionally"

1. A copy of your UK passport photo page to prove you are a UK citizen.

2. Same as number one.

 

You need proof of being fully vaccinated to board your flight and enter Thailand. Show the certificate you have.

 

You do not need to send your passport to the embassy. You will get a e visa by email when your application is approved. It has been about the same for almost a year now. Many people have used one when entering the country.

 

 

 

 

[DrJack54]

Non O-A...?

Is that just to avoid the money in Thai bank requirements.

What is the cost of the insurance policy that presumably would not cover your pre existing health issues. 

Entering Oct 25 visa exempt would give 45 day stamp.

Enough time to obtain non O retirement at immigration and 12 month extension.

No insurance for either. 

 

 

[OJAS]

Info on obtaining an initial non-O conversion at your local immigration office, as suggested by @DrJack54, is contained in the following link:-

 

https://www.immigration.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/9.FOR-RETIREMENT-PURPOSES-50-YEARS-OLD-NON-O.pdf

 

In connection with Clause 6, though, please note that you will stand absolutely no chance in obtaining a letter of guarantee from the British Embassy since they ceased providing income confirmation services meeting various Immigration requirements for us Brits some time ago.

 

 

[Seagull Sam]

Thanks to all for the feedback. Ubon Joe helped a lot on a previous occasion I remember so special mention is again due.

The OA is the only visa allowing multiple entry and must be obtained in your home country I understand.

My medical conditions are such that I need pricey insurance regardless of other conditions.

 Re The many, various, contradictory and overlapping questions about insurance. All the questions have an asterix by them which suggests that all need answering but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it and come back here if required.

 

Re Additionally

1. Proof of the permanent residence in the country where the application is submitted 

2. Applicant must apply for e-Visa via specific Embassy/Consulate conforming with his/her consular jurisdiction and residency. Applicant is required to upload document that can verify his/her current residency

I might read this as 1. requiring passport & 2. Requiring proof of UK address. Is this important. It looks like I only get one shot for my money.

The insurance have sent back my signed insurance document which I attach. Will this pass muster please?

[DrJack54]

15 minutes ago, Seagull Sam said:

The OA is the only visa allowing multiple entry and must be obtained in your home country I understand

Any permission of stay can be protected by purchase of reentry permit.

Multiple 3800 and single 1000.

By all means obtain your non O-A.

The non O with extentions and reentry permits achieves same result.

Please report back what the cost of non O-A insurance is. 

[OJAS]

15 hours ago, Seagull Sam said:

The OA is the only visa allowing multiple entry and must be obtained in your home country I understand.

The more I think about it, the more I think that the non-OA visa option is the more practicable for prospective first-time retiree non-immigrants like yourself in any event, despite the insurance requirement. While non-O conversions are definitely the way to go for existing retiree non-immigrants who wish to ditch their original non-OA visas so as to avoid the insurance requirement, these non-immigrants already have established Thai bank accounts and sufficient resources in them to enable financial requirements for both the initial non-O conversion and subsequent extension of stay to be met from the get-go.

 

In this connection, I am taking it that you haven't yet opened a Thai bank account - and there are various reports on here of this proving easier said than done in some cases. However, provided that you use your non-OA visa to the maximum extent possible, you should be able to get nearly 2 years out of it, which should be more than long enough to open a Thai bank account and get the necessary finances for your first annual extension of stay in due course sorted!

 

EDIT: That said, non-O conversions might well work for initial retiree non-immigrants whose embassies are prepared to issue letters of guarantee of monthly pension income equalling at least 65,000 THB - which, in practice, means those who are not American, Australian or British.

 

 

 

[Seagull Sam]

Thanks for your input OJAS. For the record I am not a first timer. I have a Thai bank account opened in the very scruffy / half empty mall in Chiang Mai. (Details on request). I need insurance regardless and my experience with Thai Immigration offices and British Embassies abroad suggests more hassle than simply going with the OA and getting the headache out of the way at the first hurdle. 

I was expecting to send originals of everything but was told by the branch that I could only do this by coming in and signing for it. Catch 22! As everything is done online I assume I will get away a digital copy.

Proof of income, despite appearing on the British Thai Embassy as a possible avenue to a visa, is simply not accepted as you rightly suggest.

 

PS link to easy to open Thai bank account