The Embassy notice has caused some confusion because it is not complete. It addresses only the requirements being imposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Thai Embassies/Consulates to issue a Non-Immigrant OA Visa. It leaves out the requirements of the Immigration Bureau for entry into Thailand using the Visa or for granting extensions of the initial permission to stay based on the OA Visa.Bob wrote: ↑Sat Nov 09, 2019 8:42 amI was a bit surprised reading a message from the US State department which indicated that the required long-stay insurance (currently for new O-A visa holders and apparently for prior O-A visa holders too) could be obtained from either a Thai or foreign insurance company...provided the policy would cover the annual amounts (400,000 baht or about $13,333.00 basic coverage and 40,000 baht or about $1,333.00 outpatient coverage). Not quite believing that (the police order seems to say only insurance from one of the 12 blessed Thai companies is acceptable), I checked out the US Thai embassy website. There the language was identical to that in the US State department message. It reads:
Effective from 31 October 2019 , the applicant must be medically insured for the entire period of stay in Thailand with the following coverage: . . .
But, given the actually rather low coverage requirements (400k baht and 40k baht for outpatient), it would seem to me that just about any foreign insurance company could issue that kind of coverage for far less than any of the 12 Thai companies. Hopefully a couple of the foreign companies will seize the opportunity to issue "Thai tailored" health insurance policies for a price far less than what the approved Thai companies are offering.
The heading of the US Embassy notice states: "New Health Insurance Requirement for Long-Stay Visa Applicants (November 8, 2019)" [Emphasis Added]
A foreign policy can only be used for applying for the Visa at a Thai Embassy or Consulate. A foreign policy will not be accepted by Immigration, they require it from one of the companies listed on the TGIA webpage for the OA Visa. The latest information as of 7 November being provided by the Pattaya City Expats Club can be seen here: http://www.pcecnews.com/permNL/Visa-Imm ... rement.pdf