Non-immigrant O-A visa, bank deposit and Emirates insurance

[Tangogolf]

When applying for an extension to this visa with a view to retirement, do I have to deposit 800,000 baht into a Thai bank account or show a statement that I have it in UK. Will Thai immigration accept the Emirates insurance cover with flight. I keep being sent to "local" companies like AXA costing around £160 for 3 months. Saving that with the flight makes a huge difference to the entry cost.

[JamesE]

Short answer 1: Yes. You can use your UK account to prove funds for the initial OA but extensions must have those funds in Thailand. The benefit of an OA is that it can be gamed to give you almost two years in Thailand. That's the only benefit.

Short answer 2: Yes - kind of. The Emirates insurance is for a 365 day max. But only on a return ticket. And the clock starts rolling on departure, not arrival. Insurance requirements for COE are a policy that covers your entire stay which, in the case for an OA is 1 year.

Long answers: Browse through the topics and look for @Faz's and @BlueSphinx's discussions. They go into all of it in great detail. You've got options but not going the OA route.

Edited October 4, 2021 by JamesE
Added timing consideration

[Faz]

Hi Tangogolf and welcome to the Thaiger forum.

To apply for the Non O-A Visa from a Thai Embassy to enter Thailand, you can use your UK account for proof of meeting the financial requirement. A mandatory Health Insurance applies 400K THB inpatient, 40K THB outpatient. Also Covid Insurance for $100,000 currently applies to all foreigners entering Thailand.

More details about the Non O-A Visa here; Common Visa Types explained. - > Visas, Long Stay, Extensions, Re-entry Permit - Thaiger Talk (thethaiger.com)

 

To apply for annual extensions of stay at internal Immigration offices within Thailand, the proof of meeting the financial requirements must be from a Thai bank account in your sole name.

There are 3 ways to meet the financial requirement for 1 year extension applications.
1. 800K THB deposited in a Thai bank for 2 months prior to the date of application (you can withdraw 400K 3 months after the extension is issued, but must leave a min of 400K in the bank throughout the year), before topping up to 800K 2 months prior to your next extension application.
2. 12 x 65K monthly overseas transfers to a Thai bank account.
3. A combination of fixed funds and 12 monthly overseas transfers totalling 800K THB for the year.
(i.e. 400K THB funds in a Thai bank account + 12 x 35K THB monthly overseas transfer).

The mandatory 400/40K THB Health Insurance policy also applies to annual extension applications in the case of entering on a Non Imm O-A Visa.

LMG offer an almost worthless cheap Health Insurance policy that meets the 400/40K requirements.
Purchase your Health Insurance here: Home - Health Insurance for Long Stay Visa in Thailand (tgia.org)

Why the Non Imm O-A Visa and not the Non Imm O Visa, if it's your intention to permanently reside in Thailand?

 

[BlueSphinx]

44 minutes ago, Faz said:

...

Why the Non Imm O-A Visa and not the Non Imm O Visa, if it's your intention to permanently reside in Thailand?

@Tangogolf > FAZ gave you fully correct advice.

Re FAZ's question to you > Applying for the Non Imm O Visa at the London Thai Embassy has less requirements to be met than the Non Imm O-A Visa.  And surely when you are married to a Thai national that latter Visa would probably be your best choice. 

But when applying for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement (i.e. being +50 years of age and not married to a Thai national), the main benefits - besides the less stringent document requirements - are that instead of 1-year policies for the 400K/40K health insurance and the 100.000 US $ covid-19 insurance, that you would only need to subscribe to policies that cover you for 90 days (i.e. the period of stay you will be stamped in for when entering Thailand on such Visa). 

You need to compare those benefits of a 90-day Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement, with the benefits a 1-year ME Non Imm O-A Visa will provide you.  The main benefits of the latter being that such Non Imm O-A Visa can provide you with almost 2 years of Immigration hassle-free stay in Thailand.  With NO need to park/transfer funds to a personal Thai bank-account during those 2 years, and NO need to apply for extensions of stay at a local Immigration Office during that period. 

Note 1: And if you foresee to visit your home-country by the end of that 2-year period, it is a simple matter of exiting Thailand (without having bought a Re-Entry Permit that protects your permission to stay if that one does not expire during your stay) and re-applying in UK for a NEW Non Imm O-A Visa to repeat the process.

Note 2: With current border restrictions it is not convenient to hop over a border to make use of the 2nd year that Non Imm O-A Visa can provide you.  Myself having entered Thailand on a Non Imm O-A Visa, was not able to do such a border-hop so my benefits from the Non Imm O-A Visa were less than the normal 2 years it can provide you, and I was 'forced' to apply for the 1-year extension at my local Immigration Office. But nobody knows whether such restrictions would still be in place more than 1 year from now for doing such border-hop, and if that becomes easy again your Non Imm O-A Visa can provide you with full 2 years of immigration hassle-free stay.

Note 3: I did PM you a comprehensive Guideline document on how to meet the mandatory 400K/40K health insurance requirement when applying for the Non Imm O-A Visa at the Thai Embassy in your home-country.  As the policy expiry date of that insurance will impact the permission to stay you will receive when entering Thailand, it is important to make sure that you have a 1-year policy (otherwise your permission to stay will be capped to insurance expiry date) or even better if you already have foreign insurance that meets the 400K/40K in/out-patient requirements to request your insurer to provide you with an insurance  statement that your policy is valid for 2 years or more. 

[Faz]

1 hour ago, BlueSphinx said:

Re FAZ's question to you > Applying for the Non Imm O Visa at the London Thai Embassy has less requirements to be met than the Non Imm O-A Visa.  And surely when you are married to a Thai national that latter Visa would probably be your best choice. 

Surely, you meant the 'prior' Visa (Non Imm O), not the latter (Non Imm O-A).

[BlueSphinx]

8 minutes ago, Faz said:

Surely, you meant the 'prior' Visa (Non Imm O), not the latter (Non Imm O-A).

Yes indeed.  Too late to edit now, but I should have written.

> Applying for the Non Imm O Visa at the London Thai Embassy has less requirements to be met than the Non Imm O-A Visa.  And surely when you are married to a Thai national applying for the Non Imm O Visa for reason of marriage, would probably be your best choice.