O-A visa with expiring health insurance.

[Thai Visa Member 999999]

Hi all,

 

My friend has an Non O-A visa from the US that started September 10, 2022. For some reason he was lazy and didn't renew his health insurance which expires September 30, 2023 (one month). He will enter Thailand tomorrow, September 2, 2023 and I am assuming he will be allowed to stay until the 30th September but if he were to go to CW with a renewed policy before the 30th of September, would he be able to extend his visa until September 1, 2024? What would be the pest course of action, if it's not possible? Switching to a Non-O for 90 days after leaving Thailand and returning visa-exempt or perhaps a 60 day TR visa? Thanks for your help, as always.

[DrJack54]

15 minutes ago, Thai Visa Member 999999 said:

Switching to a Non-O for 90 days after leaving Thailand and returning visa-exempt or perhaps a 60 day TR visa?

Bit of a mess as he is flying tomorrow.

You are correct he will only be stamped in till Sept 30.

He could immediately obtain health insurance and exit and reenter Thailand prior to Sept 10 and be given 12 month stamp.

 

OR he could (as you outlined) exit Thailand at end of his non O-A and enter Thailand visa exempt then obtain non O and subsequent extension 

[Thai Visa Member 999999]

57 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Bit of a mess as he is flying tomorrow.

You are correct he will only be stamped in till Sept 30.

He could immediately obtain health insurance and exit and reenter Thailand prior to Sept 10 and be given 12 month stamp.

 

OR he could (as you outlined) exit Thailand at end of his non O-A and enter Thailand visa exempt then obtain non O and subsequent extension 

Thank you!

[Sheryl]

He can also get a one year extension of stay at CM immigration based on this OA (applying by the 30th) but would have to show up to date insurance policy.

 

Leaving and re-entering after the current visa has expired wull "kill off" the O-A making it possibel ot then convert to an O whoich has no incurnace requirement...but will entail an extra step or 2 (first to convert his visa exemopt entry to a non-O and then 3 months later to do a 1 year extension).

 

Note that, unlike the original O-A visa,  both options require funds in a Thai bank account.

[OJAS]

3 hours ago, Thai Visa Member 999999 said:

Thank you!

The following link sets out the procedures for obtaining non-O visa conversions for retirement:-

 

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

 

As already said, though, your pal will first need to do a border bounce in order to kill off his non-OA visa.

 

[Thai Visa Member 999999]

19 hours ago, Sheryl said:

He can also get a one year extension of stay at CM immigration based on this OA (applying by the 30th) but would have to show up to date insurance policy.

 

Leaving and re-entering after the current visa has expired wull "kill off" the O-A making it possibel ot then convert to an O whoich has no incurnace requirement...but will entail an extra step or 2 (first to convert his visa exemopt entry to a non-O and then 3 months later to do a 1 year extension).

 

Note that, unlike the original O-A visa,  both options require funds in a Thai bank account.

Hi Sheryl and thanks. So you're saying it is possible to extend the O-A without leaving Thailand as long as he renews his insurance policy before his current O-A expires. That would be easiest but I wasn't sure if it was possible. Thanks for your time and help.

[Thai Visa Member 999999]

16 hours ago, OJAS said:

The following link sets out the procedures for obtaining non-O visa conversions for retirement:-

 

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

 

As already said, though, your pal will first need to do a border bounce in order to kill off his non-OA visa.

 

Thank you OJAS. I will pass along the link in case he is too lazy to renew his health insurance. Thanks for taking the time to help.

[Sheryl]

4 hours ago, Thai Visa Member 999999 said:

Hi Sheryl and thanks. So you're saying it is possible to extend the O-A without leaving Thailand as long as he renews his insurance policy before his current O-A expires. That would be easiest but I wasn't sure if it was possible. Thanks for your time and help.

That is correct but note he must have 800K baht in a Thai bank account  to do that and I believe it has to have been in the bank there for at least 2 months but perhaps @BritTimcan clarify the rule for very first time extension based on an O-A.

 

After that he can continue ot extend every year in-country but subject to the requirement of having 800K in a Thai bank with restrictions on spending it (800 balance 2 months before and 3 months after each extension and not less than 400K balance in the intervening 7 months). OR proof of transferring at least 65K baht in from abroad every single month in the prior year.  The main advantage to an O-A as opposed to an O is that one can avoid these requirements for funds in Thailand.

 

If he can't meet this requirement  then he will have to leave and re-enter as otherwise discussed.

[Thai Visa Member 999999]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

That is correct but note he must have 800K baht in a Thai bank account  to do that and I believe it has to have been in the bank there for at least 2 months but perhaps @BritTimcan clarify the rule for very first time extension based on an O-A.

 

After that he can continue ot extend every year in-country but subject to the requirement of having 800K in a Thai bank with restrictions on spending it (800 balance 2 months before and 3 months after each extension and not less than 400K balance in the intervening 7 months). OR proof of transferring at least 65K baht in from abroad every single month in the prior year.  The main advantage to an O-A as opposed to an O is that one can avoid these requirements for funds in Thailand.

 

If he can't meet this requirement  then he will have to leave and re-enter as otherwise discussed.

Thanks for the clarification. I'll pass along your helpful suggestions and he'll have to sort it out. It sounds like it would have been much easier to just renew the health insurance for another year prior to entry but different strokes for different folks as they say. Thanks for your help. The always generous spirit of UbonJoe lives on, RIP. Many, many thanks to all.

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

That is correct but note he must have 800K baht in a Thai bank account  to do that and I believe it has to have been in the bank there for at least 2 months but perhaps @BritTimcan clarify the rule for very first time extension based on an O-A.

 

After that he can continue ot extend every year in-country but subject to the requirement of having 800K in a Thai bank with restrictions on spending it (800 balance 2 months before and 3 months after each extension and not less than 400K balance in the intervening 7 months). OR proof of transferring at least 65K baht in from abroad every single month in the prior year.  The main advantage to an O-A as opposed to an O is that one can avoid these requirements for funds in Thailand.

 

If he can't meet this requirement  then he will have to leave and re-enter as otherwise discussed.

It is my understanding that you have everything correct Sheryl. Just in case anyone misunderstands this, you are not extending the Non O-A visa. You are extending the permission to stay, the reason being retirement in Thailand. Except for the insurance requirement, you can forget that you ever had a Non O-A visa.

[DrJack54]

6 hours ago, Thai Visa Member 999999 said:

Hi Sheryl and thanks. So you're saying it is possible to extend the O-A without leaving Thailand as long as he renews his insurance policy before his current O-A expires. That would be easiest but I wasn't sure if it was possible. Thanks for your time and help.

It is possible however not best option imo.

He has time to obtain one year of insurance when he arrives.

Then exit and reenter Thailand prior to non O-A expiry Sept 10 and will be given 12 month stamp.

No financial requirements.

 

The other alternative is to exit and kill off the non O-A and obtain non O and subsequent extension.

No insurance requirements.

 

 

Edited September 2, 2023 by DrJack54

[Sheryl]

10 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

It is possible however not best option imo.

He has time to obtain one year of insurance when he arrives.

Then exit and reenter Thailand prior to non O-A expiry Sept 10 and will be given 12 month stamp.

No financial requirements.

 

 I had not thought of this and it would indeed work. He could just go to a neighboring country and re-enter Thailand from there. As long as he does this before his visa ends, and has by then renewed his insurance, he'll be given another full year stay (going almost a year past his visa expiration date). During that year he can decide if in future he wants to apply for another O-A visa in his home country, do in-country extensions based on the original O-A, or leave and re-enter on other visa. There are pros and cons to all these options...it boils down to how much time he  wants to spend in Thailand, whether he would in any case return to his home country for a month or more every 1-2 years, how he feels about having money tied up in a Thai bank, etc etc.

 

Unless he alfready has 800k baht in a Tha bank account this would make sense.

[richn4]

On 9/3/2023 at 1:01 AM, Sheryl said:

 I had not thought of this and it would indeed work. He could just go to a neighboring country and re-enter Thailand from there. As long as he does this before his visa ends, and has by then renewed his insurance, he'll be given another full year stay (going almost a year past his visa expiration date). SNIP

For the OP, I did exactly this. I got a new 12-month approved health insurance policy (from Axa via a broker) valid from the last day of my O-A and did a day trip to Penang with Air Asia on that day to get stamped out of Thailand, in and out of Malaysia, and back in to Thailand with a new 12-month stamp based on the expiry date of the new Axa insurance policy. The next time I left Thailand, I got a Multi Re-Entry Permit at the airport immigration on the way out which is also valid until the last day of the new insurance policy so I can come and go as I please now until August next year. Perfectly easy.