Health insurance now mandatory for long-stay foreigners

[buksida]

Clear as mud as usual ...

[Ratsima]

Email today from ACS (American Consular Services) Bangkok:

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New Health Insurance Requirement for Long-Stay Visa Applicants (November 8, 2019)

Location: Thailand

Event: As of October 31, 2019, Thailand requires all long-stay (O-A and O-X) visa applicants to carry health insurance. Per Royal Thai Police Order Number 548/2562 dated September 27, 2019, foreign nationals who have been granted a nonimmigrant O-A or O-X visa must purchase health insurance which covers their length of stay in the Kingdom of Thailand. The coverage must be no less than 400,000 Thai Baht per policy year for inpatient care and not less than 40,000 Thai Baht per policy year for outpatient services.

U.S. citizens can present proof of existing insurance (U.S.-based or otherwise) that covers them in Thailand or they can purchase an insurance policy via the Thai General Insurance Association’s website at http://longstay.tgia.org.

U.S. citizens will need to download the Overseas Insurance Certificate and have it completed, signed, and stamped by their insurance company if using a non-Thai insurance policy to qualify.

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I'm not sure why it just says that U.S. citizens will need to download the certificate. It seems it would be appropriate for anyone needing proof of insurance.

I wonder how companies like Blue Cross will deal with this.

[Ratsima]

I asked Blue Cross if they would fill out the form wanted by Thai Immigration. All they did was send me their own form letter verifying that I have health insurance with them, but it doesn't give some of the specifics asked for in the Thai form.

I wonder what comes next.

[handdrummer]

no one will sell an 80 yr. old, with preexisting conditions, health insurance. Maybe the'll just take us out back and shoot us.

[RegularGuy]

I am currently on a Retirement extension based originally on an OA retirement visa. Has anyone here with this status gone to Hua Hin immigration to get a extension renewal since 31 October 2019?
Did they require the medical insurance to get the next extension?

[Ratsima]

Good News: Blue Cross actually filled out and sent me (online) the form that Immigration wants.

Bad News: My neighbor went to Immigration in Korat this week to do his annual extension of stay and was told that non-Thai health insurance does not meet the requirement. It has to be a Thai company offering health insurance. I'm not sure what to make of this.

[Dannie Boy]

I guess we are all anxiously waiting for the first expat to go to the local Hua Hin or Tha Yang immigration office to renew their extension and see what happens!!

[laser]

I am currently on a Retirement extension based originally on an OA retirement visa. ... Did they require the medical insurance to get the next extension?

It seems the new rule should not apply in your case but none can predict the mood of Officer Somchai. Will he be happy or pesky?

[caller]

It seems the new rule should not apply in your case but none can predict the mood of Officer Somchai. Will he be happy or pesky?

That last para simply states they you can continue to stay here under the rules as they were when your last extension was granted, but from the date of your next one-year extension, you have to have the mandatory health insurance.

As far as I can see there is no get out clause, so if insurance cannot be arranged, then you cannot stay.

[mat]

At AA Insurance Brokers (Office in Hua Hin) we have all the approved Thai Companies so let us assist you in comparing the plans, applying and make sure the dates of the Insurance Policy and your Visa match.
Premiums are the same regardless if you go direct or through a broker like us.
www.aainsure.net
matt@aainsure.net
08 - 1006 7008

[migrant]

At AA Insurance Brokers (Office in Hua Hin) we have all the approved Thai Companies so let us assist you in comparing the plans, applying and make sure the dates of the Insurance Policy and your Visa match.
Premiums are the same regardless if you go direct or through a broker like us.
www.aainsure.net
matt@aainsure.net
08 - 1006 7008

I have had many insurance agents for personal, and business, here and in the US. Mat, and his office, have, in my opinion, been among the best.

[Lost]

At AA Insurance Brokers (Office in Hua Hin) we have all the approved Thai Companies so let us assist you in comparing the plans, applying and make sure the dates of the Insurance Policy and your Visa match.
Premiums are the same regardless if you go direct or through a broker like us.
www.aainsure.net
matt@aainsure.net
08 - 1006 7008

I have had many insurance agents for personal, and business, here and in the US. Mat, and his office, have, in my opinion, been among the best.

Is this a competition for the amount of commas we can use in a sentence?

[migrant]

At AA Insurance Brokers (Office in Hua Hin) we have all the approved Thai Companies so let us assist you in comparing the plans, applying and make sure the dates of the Insurance Policy and your Visa match.
Premiums are the same regardless if you go direct or through a broker like us.
www.aainsure.net
matt@aainsure.net
08 - 1006 7008

I have had many insurance agents for personal, and business, here and in the US. Mat, and his office, have, in my opinion, been among the best.

Is this a competition for the amount of commas we can use in a sentence?

Hey, I'm a beancounter proper grammar classes were lacking.

[Edmin]

I still did not get it.

"Following the announcement, Thaivisa has been inundated with comments, messages and emails from concerned expats, many of whom mistakenly think this requirement for mandatory health insurance affects them.

The requirement for mandatory health insurance appears to only affect those applying for a Non-Immigrant Visa OA.

According to the announcement on the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) website, it does not affect anyone who stays in Thailand on an extension of stay based on retirement, which is often incorrectly referred to as a ‘retirement visa’.

Extensions of stay are not visas. Most retirees who stay in Thailand do so on an ‘extension of stay based on retirement’."

Can this be proved by any official immigration documents?

[handdrummer]

Can this be proved by any official immigration documents?

Will proof matter, when faced with an IM officer?