Health insurance Non O and Non O-A

[glegolo18]

May I ask you guys, how is the rules now when it comes to the demand of health-insurance when you are applying for 1 year extensions based on both marriage as well as retirement when you are having a Non O or a Non O-A in your passport????

Is there any need for a health-insurance??

[MPoll]

When you apply for a 1 year extension of an OA visa you will need approved health insurance. I have Thai health insurance. Prior to applying for my 1 year extension of my OA visa at Chaengwatana, Bangkok, I would renew my insurance. They would send me an insurance certificate. I would include both this year’s certificate and next year’s certificate as part of the documentation for the extension. You need to have insurance on the day you apply and they will only give you an extension until the end of your insurance is the reason for both insurance certificates. I applied as a retiree, not as married.

[Red Phoenix]

# When applying for an extension of your Non Imm O Visa (be it for reason of retirement, marriage or any other reason) there is NO need for health-insurance.

# When applying for an extension of your Non Imm O-A Visa, you need to provide evidence that you have Thai health-insurance which meets the Non Imm O-A requirements

[glegolo18]

11 minutes ago, Red Phoenix said:

# When applying for an extension of your Non Imm O-A Visa, you need to provide evidence that you have Thai health-insurance which meets the Non Imm O-A requirements

Does this concern BOTH marriage as well as for retirement reason????

[lom]

14 minutes ago, MPoll said:

When you apply for a 1 year extension of an OA visa you will need approved health insurance.

What other benefits does the A give you?

[Red Phoenix]

7 minutes ago, glegolo18 said:

Does this concern BOTH marriage as well as for retirement reason????

There are no specific categories like marriage, retirement, dependant children and other for the Non Imm O-A Visa.  The Non Imm O-A Visa is meant for people over 50 years of age that plan to stay long-term in Thailand.  It can only be applied for in your home-country or country of residence, and it has that pesky mandatory Non Imm O-A compliant Health-Insurance requirement. 

Only under very specific circumstances would it currently make sense to apply for the Non Imm O-A Visa, as the benefits of that Visa would be off-set by that Health-Insurance requirement, especially if after the almost 2-year period that initial Visa can provide you, you would be applying for annual extensions.

[Red Phoenix]

17 minutes ago, lom said:

What other benefits does the A give you?

See my response in this link

>

 

[1948wjm]

I am not aware of any changes to the Marriage Extension whereas a health policy is required whatsoever. I am currently on my 7th marriage extension and health policy has never been requested by any IMO.

[glegolo18]

53 minutes ago, Red Phoenix said:

# When applying for an extension of your Non Imm O Visa (be it for reason of retirement, marriage or any other reason) there is NO need for health-insurance.

# When applying for an extension of your Non Imm O-A Visa, you need to provide evidence that you have Thai health-insurance which meets the Non Imm O-A requirements

I am still curious if you need health insurance when you have a Non Imm O-A and applying for extension based on marriage?????   Retirement is sorted above, no need there I note.....

[Red Phoenix]

22 minutes ago, glegolo18 said:

I am still curious if you need health insurance when you have a Non Imm O-A and applying for extension based on marriage?????   Retirement is sorted above, no need there I note.....

Afaik you CANNOT apply for reason of marriage, when applying for the 1-year extension of your Non Imm O-A Visa. 

You can only apply for reason of marriage on a Non Imm O Visa.

So when you want to apply for reason of marriage (e.g. in order to free up the semi-permanent +800K on your Thai bank-account, and have it replaced with the +400K for two months only), you would first need to 'kill' your Non Imm O-A Visa.  Which means exiting Thailand (without a re-entry permit, or doing it on the last day of your current permission to stay), and then return.  

Easiest way would be simply coming back VisaExempt which would provide you with a 30-day Permit to stay, and then - when there are still at least 15 days left on that Permit to stay - applying at your local Imm Office for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa for reason of marriage.  And in the last month of those 90-day you can then apply for a 1-year extension of that Non Imm O Visa for reason of marriage.

[DrJack54]

4 minutes ago, Red Phoenix said:

Afaik you CANNOT apply for reason of marriage, when applying for the 1-year extension of your Non Imm O-A Visa.

You can obtain extension based on marriage from a non O-A.

 

When doing so no insurance is required.

 

OP.....When applying for extension from a non O-A based on retirement insurance is required 

When applying for extension from a non O retirement or marriage NO insurance requirement 

[Red Phoenix]

8 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

You can obtain extension based on marriage from a non O-A.

 

When doing so no insurance is required.

 

OP.....When applying for extension from a non O-A based on retirement insurance is required 

When applying for extension from a non O retirement or marriage NO insurance requirement 

Hi dr Jack,

That's interesting as I was totally unaware of that option. 

So I would be interested if you could provide me with a link to the official requirements where that option is addressed. 

[glegolo18]

12 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

You can obtain extension based on marriage from a non O-A.

 

When doing so no insurance is required.

 

OP.....When applying for extension from a non O-A based on retirement insurance is required 

When applying for extension from a non O retirement or marriage NO insurance requirement 

A good clear explained answer, thank you so much... And thank you for a nice tone in it as well...

[glegolo18]

1 minute ago, Red Phoenix said:

Hi dr Jack,

That's interesting as I was totally unaware of that option. 

So I would be interested if you could provide me with a link to the official requirements where that option is addressed. 

F.y.i. I have it confirmed from a close friend that he got his extension (have a O-A) here in Chaiyaphum. He came here on O-A and was going for retirement like he always is.. But did found out that Immigration (Chaiyaphum), said that he needed a health insurance.... He (his wifey) did ask, so if they apply based on marriage instead?? That was OK NO health insurance was needed....

 

So he got his extension based on marriage and he is happy, So Dr Jack is correct...

[glegolo18]

Thank you so much you guys, for your answers, all is clear for me now without any doubts... Having a O-A, health insurance only needed for retirement not for based on marriage..

[MPoll]

12 hours ago, lom said:

What other benefits does the A give you?

If we are talking about 1 year extensions of the O and OA as a retiree there is no advantage to having an OA and arguably there is a disadvantage because of the insurance requirement. When I got my OA in 2017 there was no insurance requirement. If I were to come to day I would pursue a non-O visa. However, I just got a 10 year pensioner LTR which also requires insurance so I’m glad I got insurance years ago when I was younger. In general though I think insurance is a good thing but there is no need to tie it to your visa.

[DrJack54]

8 minutes ago, MPoll said:

When I got my OA in 2017 there was no insurance requirement. If I were to come to day I would pursue a non-O visa.

Indeed.

Excellent option prior to introduction of insurance requirement.

 

Strange how (I think) Phuket immigration has grandfathered non O-A prior to certain date. 

The other 70+ offices did not. 

[Pib]

11 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

You can obtain extension based on marriage from a non O-A.

 

When doing so no insurance is required.

 

OP.....When applying for extension from a non O-A based on retirement insurance is required 

When applying for extension from a non O retirement or marriage NO insurance requirement 

Just to add my ditto.  I originally retired to Thailand under an OA visa and did around a dozen extension of stays based on retirement....no insurance required. 

 

However, around 2019 when Immigration started requiring medical insurance for anyone using an underlying OA visa for their annual retirement extension of stay, I switched to a marriage extension of stay which did "not" require insurance with the underpinning OA visa.   Did three marriage extensions of stay with the underlying OA visa....no medical insurance required.   

[Pib]

11 hours ago, Red Phoenix said:

That's interesting as I was totally unaware of that option. 

So I would be interested if you could provide me with a link to the official requirements where that option is addressed. 

Para 2.22 Retirement extension of stay of the immigration regulation specifically says medical insurance is required "if having an underlying OA visa," but para 2.18 Marriage extension of stay does not mention a medical insurance requirement and also does not mention of type of any underlying visa type.   

 

So, you will not find a reference that says medical insurance is not required for a marriage extension of stay....since there is no reference that means insurance is not required.

[DrJack54]

5 minutes ago, Pib said:

Para 2.22 Retirement extension of stay of the immigration regulation specifically says medical insurance is required "if having an underlying OA visa," but para 2.18 Marriage extension of stay does not mention a medical insurance requirement and also does not mention of type of any underlying visa type.   

 

So, you will not find a reference that says medical insurance is not required for a marriage extension of stay....since there is no reference that means insurance is not required.

Brilliant.

@Red Phoenix asked me for link to rule.

I could not find one.

Thanks for clarification. 

[Red Phoenix]

13 minutes ago, Pib said:

Para 2.22 Retirement extension of stay of the immigration regulation specifically says medical insurance is required "if having an underlying OA visa," but para 2.18 Marriage extension of stay does not mention a medical insurance requirement and also does not mention of type of any underlying visa type.   

 

So, you will not find a reference that says medical insurance is not required for a marriage extension of stay....since there is no reference that means insurance is not required.

Yes indeed, that's sound logic. And the OP mentioned Khalasin Imm Office where they seemed to have followed that logic. 

Thanks!

[DrJack54]

21 minutes ago, Red Phoenix said:

Yes indeed, that's sound logic. And the OP mentioned Khalasin Imm Office where they seemed to have followed that logic. 

Thanks!

It's a common change to based on marriage for the very reason of no insurance requirement as outlined earlier. 

 

Kalasin doesn't have much to do with it. 

It's not about logic. 

 

you seem to suggest it's about logic and individual offices. No

 

 

[Pib]

Yes, many married folks with an underlying OA visa switched from retirement extensions to marriage extensions beginning in 2019 when the OA visa insurance came into effect 1 Oct 2019.    I was one of those folks.   

 

And many others killed off their OA visa and got an O visa instead to avoid the insurance since an O visa extension does not require medical insurance.

 

I still remember well the day in mid 2019 I went to CW (Bangkok) immigration to ask about the upcoming OA medical insurance requirement change as the pending change had been leaked several months before the official change was published.   I had a set-down, face-to-face 10 minute meeting with an immigration officer at CW to ask various questions about the upcoming change. 

 

One question was can I change from doing an annual retirement extension on my old, underlying OA visa to doing a marriage extension to avoid the insurance?  The answer was Yes.   So, that is what I started doing since I didn't want to go thru the process of killing off the OA visa and then getting an O visa.

 

No problem in doing a marriage extension of stay with an underlying OA visa.  Well, no problem if you have a good Thai spouse which I thankfully have.  ????

 

AseanNow weblink to OA Retirement extension of stay medical insurance requirement effective 1 Oct 2019

https://aseannow.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=874628&key=3ac22c8aa0266ccc9402b52fd4b76675

 

[DrJack54]

@Pib think it's ridiculous that your extensions were not grandfathered. 

 

Insurance is not possible for many older folk expats living in Thailand due to exclusions for pre existing conditions.

The policy in some cases becomes a moot point. 

 

[Pib]

2 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

@Pib think it's ridiculous that your extensions were not grandfathered. 

 

Insurance is not possible for many older folk expats living in Thailand due to exclusions for pre existing conditions.

The policy in some cases becomes a moot point. 

 

Yea....in 2019 just before and right after the change went into affect quite a few folks on AseanNow thought people issued an OA visa "before 1 Oct 2019" would be grandfathered.  Grandfathering was one of the questions I asked during my meeting at CW and was told no grandfathering would be authorized although Phuket (and maybe a precious few small immigration offices) is the only immigration office that ended up allowing grandfathering. 

 

Yeap....some folks thought immigration would "surely allow grandfathering of the medical insurance for pre-1 Oct 2019 folks" as it was the descent thing to do although the policy did not address grandfathering.  However, but, TIT where immigration policies can sometimes vary from immigration office to office....national standardization really does not exist....or should I say policy flexibility exists and varies especially if using a visa agent.

 

[BritTim]

13 hours ago, glegolo18 said:

I am still curious if you need health insurance when you have a Non Imm O-A and applying for extension based on marriage?????   Retirement is sorted above, no need there I note.....

Health insurance is not needed for a marriage extension, even if you originally entered Thailand using a Non O-A visa.

[Red Phoenix]

@Pib - Many thanks for crystal clear explanation about this issue.

So that means that you could apply for the 1-year Non Imm O-A Visa in your home-country if you have foreign Health Insurance that meets the Non Imm O-A requirements. And then at the end of the 2-year period that Visa can provide you (without the need to park funds on a Thai bank-account), apply for the 1-year extension for reason of marriage. That's good news for those married to a Thai national (or have Thai dependant children) as it would avoid the need for subscribing to Thai Health Insurance, which is the main deterrent to apply for the Non Imm O-A Visa. 

Now of course if you are married to a Thai national or have Thai dependant children, you could also apply for the Non Imm O Visa for that reason in your home-country. But if you already have foreign (or Thai) Health Insurance that meets the Non Imm O-A requirements, applying for the Non Imm O-A Visa would be an attractive option to consider.

 

[Red Phoenix]

9 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

It's a common change to based on marriage for the very reason of no insurance requirement as outlined earlier. 

 

Kalasin doesn't have much to do with it. 

It's not about logic. 

 

you seem to suggest it's about logic and individual offices. No

Yes, I was mistaken about the possibility of applying for an extension based on marriage (without the need for Thai Health Insurance) from your original Non Imm O-A Visa.

But this is Thailand, so I wouldn't bet my life that every Imm Office in Thailand would allow such application.  Hence - as always - it would be wise when considering that option to enquire beforehand at the Imm Office of the province where you are residing.

[jeffandgop]

22 hours ago, glegolo18 said:

I am still curious if you need health insurance when you have a Non Imm O-A and applying for extension based on marriage?????   Retirement is sorted above, no need there I note.....

NO.  Only on the basis of retirement.  NOT marriage.  That is why 4 years ago I switched my extension of stay from retirement to marriage.

[DrJack54]

21 hours ago, glegolo18 said:

A good clear explained answer, thank you so much... And thank you for a nice tone in it as well...

Here is a thread with some comments regarding insurance for extensions from a non O-A based on retirement or marriage