Health insurance now mandatory for long-stay foreigners

[Edmin]

Is there anyone on this forum who came back to Thailand on O-A multiple visa after October 31, 2019? Did immigration agent asked about mandatory health insurance?

Thanks

[Scout]

Is there anyone on this forum who came back to Thailand on O-A multiple visa after October 31, 2019? Did immigration agent asked about mandatory health insurance?

Thanks

I activated my O-A visa in January 2013, and have been renewing it annually every year since then. When I leave Thailand I always get a re-entry permit before departing, then the immigration officer at Suwannabhumi Airport stamps the re-entry permit when I come back in to Thailand. I left Thailand this last November for a short vacation, then re-entered at the airport in early December. There was no discussion at the airport about health insurance, it wasn’t until a week after I re-entered,when I went to Hua Hin Immigration for my annual renewal that I learned I needed to purchase Health Insurance from one of the 14 pre-approved Thai insurance companies. Even though I had a much better health insurance policy that provides world wide coverage, from an American health insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and even though some of the Thai embassy websites list a form what you can have your foreign insurance company sign, I was told I had only 3 options:
1. Let my existing O-A visa expire, then leave.
2. Cancel my existing O-A visa by exiting the country without a re-entry permit, then come back in on a tourist visa, then apply for a non-immigrant O visa.
3. Purchase the Thai health insurance and return to Hua Hin Immigration before my current visa expires to process my annual renewal.

[Dannie Boy]

Is there anyone on this forum who came back to Thailand on O-A multiple visa after October 31, 2019? Did immigration agent asked about mandatory health insurance?

Thanks

I activated my O-A visa in January 2013, and have been renewing it annually every year since then. When I leave Thailand I always get a re-entry permit before departing, then the immigration officer at Suwannabhumi Airport stamps the re-entry permit when I come back in to Thailand. I left Thailand this last November for a short vacation, then re-entered at the airport in early December. There was no discussion at the airport about health insurance, it wasn’t until a week after I re-entered,when I went to Hua Hin Immigration for my annual renewal that I learned I needed to purchase Health Insurance from one of the 14 pre-approved Thai insurance companies. Even though I had a much better health insurance policy that provides world wide coverage, from an American health insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and even though some of the Thai embassy websites list a form what you can have your foreign insurance company sign, I was told I had only 3 options:
1. Let my existing O-A visa expire, then leave.
2. Cancel my existing O-A visa by exiting the country without a re-entry permit, then come back in on a tourist visa, then apply for a non-immigrant O visa.
3. Purchase the Thai health insurance and return to Hua Hin Immigration before my current visa expires to process my annual renewal.

I’m going to go with your option 2 and leave the country without a re-entry stamp. During my absence my O-A visa will expire and then after returning on a 30 day tourist entry, apply for an O visa


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Edmin]

Is there anyone on this forum who came back to Thailand on O-A multiple visa after October 31, 2019? Did immigration agent asked about mandatory health insurance?

Thanks

I activated my O-A visa in January 2013, and have been renewing it annually every year since then. When I leave Thailand I always get a re-entry permit before departing, then the immigration officer at Suwannabhumi Airport stamps the re-entry permit when I come back in to Thailand. I left Thailand this last November for a short vacation, then re-entered at the airport in early December. There was no discussion at the airport about health insurance,

This is what I want to know. I still have time to go out and come back before my multiple entry O-A expires and get 1 more year of it.

[Scout]

Is there anyone on this forum who came back to Thailand on O-A multiple visa after October 31, 2019? Did immigration agent asked about mandatory health insurance?

Thanks

I activated my O-A visa in January 2013, and have been renewing it annually every year since then. When I leave Thailand I always get a re-entry permit before departing, then the immigration officer at Suwannabhumi Airport stamps the re-entry permit when I come back in to Thailand. I left Thailand this last November for a short vacation, then re-entered at the airport in early December. There was no discussion at the airport about health insurance,

This is what I want to know. I still have time to go out and come back before my multiple entry O-A expires and get 1 more year of it.

My best guess is you won’t have a problem, in my recent experience, no one is checking for health insurance at the airport, only at the immigration office when you apply for renewal. When will you be attempting your travel ? I hope you will post your experience here so we can learn how it turned out.

[Edmin]

I activated my O-A visa in January 2013, and have been renewing it annually every year since then. When I leave Thailand I always get a re-entry permit before departing, then the immigration officer at Suwannabhumi Airport stamps the re-entry permit when I come back in to Thailand. I left Thailand this last November for a short vacation, then re-entered at the airport in early December. There was no discussion at the airport about health insurance,

This is what I want to know. I still have time to go out and come back before my multiple entry O-A expires and get 1 more year of it.

My best guess is you won’t have a problem, in my recent experience, no one is checking for health insurance at the airport, only at the immigration office when you apply for renewal. When will you be attempting your travel ? I hope you will post your experience here so we can learn how it turned out.

It depends on my negotiations with insurance. If I could get reasonable premium I would not go and, I will apply for extension.

[caller]

Well, for what it's worth, I re-entered Thailand on an O-A at the land crossing with Lao on the 28th December, with a multi re-entry stamp and the only question the IO asked me, was where I was heading and I told him that eventually Hua Hin, as that's where I live. He smiled and waved me through.

To be honest, whilst I can understand the concerns about this, the regs have now been clarified and backed up by posts here, you only need to have the insurance in place when you extend the visa.

[smiles]

This question is triggered by the newly-bred Immigration need for folks who have entered Thailand on a O-A visa ~ that would be me ~ and it seems that now those who did so apparently have to cough up Thai medical insurance.

So here's my query (not having noticing it since initial entrance in 2009).

~~ In 2012 I had to get a new Canadian passport, which I did at the CA Embassy in Bangkok.

~~ Went to Hua Hin Immigration for my September extension as well as getting them to change most of the stamping from the old passport into the new one. No trouble there on either counts, and the Imm dude loves the sounds of a thousand stampings.

~~ Because of the new Medical Insurance rule I went back to both old and new passports and found two odd entry stamps sitting together: From the Visa Class NON-OA stamp ...it was switched over to the Visa Class NON-RE stamp.

From that date on (2012) any Visa Class Imm stamps in my passport say NON-RE. No use of the stamp NON-OA ever again. (I assume "RE" means 'Retirement', but am not sure.)
Does any one know whether the NON O-A are essentially the same thing ... in which case I suppose I'll either have to purchase insurance (shit!) or change over to a NON-O visa (annoying!). Or, is the NON-RE a different animal which lets me off the train, stopping at neither.

[Nereus]

Does any one know whether the NON O-A are essentially the same thing ... in which case I suppose I'll either have to purchase insurance (shit!) or change over to a NON-O visa (annoying!). Or, is the NON-RE a different animal which lets me off the train, stopping at neither.

Not sure because of the changes, but I believe that NON-RE means NON-RESIDENT, ie: "long stay" as the 0-A is still called.

[REEM]

This may be repeating info that has been posted before, but anyway.

Today I renewed my "retirement visa" based on entering the country many years ago on a NON-O visa obtained in the UK.
This visa was transferred to a new passport 6 years ago and although each year they mark it as a NON-RE visa, the original stamp when they transferred the visa into my current passport states NON-O.

Health insurance was not asked for or mentioned and my extension was quickly processed with a flurry of rubber stamping and paper shuffling. The immigration officer never once looked up at my face during the whole procedure and this year, no photo was taken by the little cameras they have at the desks.

In another post in either this topic or a similar one, someone claimed they were asked to purchase health insurance before the renewal could be granted, even though they originally entered Thailand on a NON-O visa, but I have no idea why that should be so. There are lots of information posters around the immigration office laying out requirements for extending permissions based on retirement, but nowhere is there any mention of health insurance or the differences between NON-O and NON-OA.

[robcar]

I did my renewal in December without any mention of insurance or anything else. I was asked for my address twice even though it was on the paperwork and I had also written in on the accompanying map (must have been my turn for the grumpy one that day 555).

As a aside a friend told me this morning that Blueport Immy is now closed. Has anyone got any further info on this, I have a 90 day to do next week and BP is by far the quickest office I have used.

[Edmin]

I did my renewal in December without any mention of insurance or anything else. I was asked for my address twice even though it was on the paperwork and I had also written in on the accompanying map (must have been my turn for the grumpy one that day 555).

Was your renewal based on retirement or on marriage?

[musungu]

I have been seeing this subject for some time and was under the impression that this heath insurance was only for persons with OA visa. It was not for those extending for retirement .The reason for me was that retirement requires one to prove financial ability by way of a flat sum of 800,000 bht or a regular monthly income not less than 65,000bht where as the
A visa person does not need any personal finance. This seemed to make sense to me because it showed the person had funds to pay the hospital whereas the OA visa does not require any proof of funds.

I am not aware of anybody having an O Visa extending for retirement requiring medical insurance?

We shall see because on 29th I am going to renew but this time I am changing from retirement extension with my O visa to a marriage visa, so we shall see.

[Scout]

I have been seeing this subject for some time and was under the impression that this heath insurance was only for persons with OA visa. It was not for those extending for retirement .The reason for me was that retirement requires one to prove financial ability by way of a flat sum of 800,000 bht or a regular monthly income not less than 65,000bht where as the
A visa person does not need any personal finance. This seemed to make sense to me because it showed the person had funds to pay the hospital whereas the OA visa does not require any proof of funds.

I am not aware of anybody having an O Visa extending for retirement requiring medical insurance?

We shall see because on 29th I am going to renew but this time I am changing from retirement extension with my O visa to a marriage visa, so we shall see.

For those that bother to read the earlier posts on this thread, it’s quite simple, health insurance is required if your original visa was a Non-Immigrant O-A. It is not required, currently, if your original visa was a Non-Immigrant O. The health insurance is required for annual extensions if your original visa was Non-Immigrant O-A and even if you’ve been successfully renewing for many years. If your original visa was Non-Immigrant O-A you now need to buy Thai health insurance from one of the 14 approved insurance companies, even if you have comparable or better foreign insurance. By the way, the financial requirements are identical for both the Non-immigrant O and Non-immigrant O-A. The only difference that I can see between the 2 visas (besides one requiring health insurance and the other does not) is that when you activate a Non-immigrant O-A you are permitted to stay for 1 year, whereas when you activate a Non-immigrant O visa you are permitted to stay 90 days. 45 days prior to expiration of either visa (O-A or O) you can renew for an additional 1 year permission-to-stay.

[smiles]

"For those that bother to read the earlier posts on this thread, it’s quite simple:

... health insurance is required if your original visa was a Non-Immigrant O-A.

... It is not required, currently, if your original visa was a Non-Immigrant O. ... "

Thanks Scout, that's it in a nut shell. Everyone who is confused regarding the Medical Insurance really should copy these two sentences and paste them to one's forehead.