At this point, nothing is known - other than the initial announcement, there has been no additional news - there is even uncertainty as to whether Immigration will consider the mandate applicable only to O-A Visas and not to extensions of their one year permitted stay (although many argue that they are one and the same, they are not). The Ministry of Public Health official, who obviously does not understand the difference, made reference to its applicability to renewals of the O-A Visa -- O-A Visas cannot be renewed - they are issued with a one year validity period, then they expire. You can apply for a new one in your country of residence, but you cannot renew it. Immigration does not issue O-A Visas and likewise cannot renew one.fountainhall wrote: ↑Sat Jun 29, 2019 4:23 pm Apologies if this has already been asked and answered. As mentioned a few times, many of us with insurance policies that have much higher benefits than the minimum required for hospitalization gave up outpatient insurance because it becomes too expensive for the potential benefits as one ages. At one time there was talk of having Bt. 40K or more in a separate account as being permissible in its place. Does anyone know what the Immigration Dept. policy is?
But, that said they could decide to interpret the rule as applying to extensions of stay if the original stay was based on the O-A Visa. Also, the announcement mentioned you could have insurance from your own country so long as it met requirements. It also, as I recall, mentioned a speculation on the part of the official that for those that could not obtain health insurance, perhaps a cash deposit might be required.
As mentioned, other than the initial announcement, there has been silence -- IMO, the 3 agencies are trying to come to grips and agreement with those issues, thus my mentioning it may be sometime later in July or even later than that before they work out the details. Until they do and we hear some official announcements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (related to O-A Visa issuance) or Immigration (applicability to extensions of stay and what documentation will be required to show proof of meeting the requirements).
So it is a wait and see mode that we find ourselves -- until such official announcements are forthcoming, saying what may come to pass at this point is just speculation.