Friday, December 28, 2018

181228 Did I get this one all wrong? Mandatory health insurance for expats in the making

The article is  O-A visa Specific.

The argument here is  my misconception I have had all these years that I was renewing my O-A visa yearly.  The yearly 'extension of stay is not a O-A visa, it is retirement extension: 'Extension of Temporary Stay in the Kingdom.'

Based on this article insurance requirement is only for O-A visa which is only valid for one year
Details are still being formulated. Will details remain O-A specific or address all long stay visas? 

The article has created over 31 pages of comments and questions at Thai Visa  

Insurance for foreigners had been tried under previous administrations, none seemed to have survived 
 

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

3 comments:

malinsakonnakhon said...

"Mandatory health insurance for expats in the making
It will be interesting to see what policy costs will be. This is a very ambiguous, misleading post. The original article in the media referred to O-A visas. Marriage & retirement extensions are not O-A visas. My understanding is that an O-A visa is applied for in the home country of the passport holder. It permits the holder of said visa to remain in the Kingdom for a period of ONE year without applying for a marriage or retirement extension. NO financial commitment is required. To obtain a marriage or retirement extension, one has to prove income or the nominated sum of either 400,000 or 800,000 baht. This sum must be readily available for health, medical situations. I stand to be corrected but inferring all expats are to be included in the mentioned insurance scheme is NOT correct, at this time. As I state, I'm happy to be proven incorrect, but to make such a statement is unnecessarily making many expats very nervous.

Hans-Jürgen Lenz said...

Absolutely right.
I had to do a bit of reading on that one and dispose of a misconception of extending my O-A visa yearly. An extension is not a visa, nor renewal of visa it's an "Extension of Stay."

Thanks for the education

Unknown said...

The Thai cabinet has approved the proposal to make health insurance mandatory for all long stay foreigners.
I believe the o/a visa was misquoted and should have been o/x (5 year elite visa)
The o/× requirement has been implemented
O/a visa applicants must have 800,000 baht
Viriyah Insurance among others are quoting premiums up to 100 years old
We are expecting further clarification in July 2019