Can I extend my O-A retirement visa while in Thailand and what are the health insurance requirements?

you can renew your OA here without leaving thailand. the insurance part is a bit trickier, how did you get Immigration to accept it initially?

I’ve renewed an OA 19  times already and I haven’t left Thailand

I did a quick google search & the rules specially say that the O-A requires mandatory health insurance. From what source, I can’t say- best to contact a health on agent on this. That way you can learn what options you have. The difference with a an O visa is there is no mandatory health insurance - I had a regular O retirement visa for 3 years & I was never asked to show any proof of health insurance. I applied for this visa after living in Thailand for 7 years on a spousal visa tied to my husband’s work permit. The OA retirement visa has different rules, as this one is applied for in your home country. You might want to reapply for the O-visa, if the health insurance cost is a concern- as it is still a 1-year, annual renewal visa. This part is the same.

Hey Bigd, I entered Thailand this year on an OA visa and like you, I had many questions. I went to Bangkok immigration to learn about the renewal process and can confirm a few things written here, at least according to them.

Yes, you can extend the OA within the country. And contrary to what some people on this board say, IT IS an immigration requirement that you complete your 90 day reporting. Perhaps there are some other provinces where they don’t look at this as much, but certainly in Bangkok they made a point of telling me that it is a legal requirement, if you are in Thailand for 90 consecutive days. If you go traveling outside of Thailand before the 90 days are concluded, then the clock on the next 90-day reporting starts the minute you return from your travel, and you must complete your reporting at the next 90-day interval. Also note, that the first time you do 90-day reporting, you must do it in person at Thai immigration. After that, you can do it online. 

Also, I confirmed that I must change my excellent international insurance to one of the approved Thai insurances at the one year extension or they won’t approve me. You’re right, that it is not clear on the Embassy websites and in fact the Thai Embassy in my country told me she believed I would be able to continue on my international insurance at the first year extension if they filled out the foreign certificate again. However, she told me to double check at Bangkok immigration, which is what I did. They told me in no uncertain terms that the rep at the Thai Embassy was incorrect. I must choose one of the approved Thai insurances to extend the OA, OR I have the option of leaving to a neighboring country and starting the process over for the non-immigrant O, which does not carry a health insurance requirement.

There are different options regarding the financial requirements, depending on what your long-term plans are. Since I don’t wanna go home every two years to reapply, which seems unnecessary, my plan is to deposit 800 K into a Thai bank and just let it stay there. I understand this is not everyone’s choice, but it will allow me the most latitude whether I extend the OA or begin the process again with the O. So ultimately you have to decide. I hope this helps.

As you can see a lot of people have different experiences, but these boards have been very helpful to me. However, I encourage you to go to Bangkok immigration and ask questions there, as I did, because some of the opinions on this board are just not accurate from the current legal policy, and if you’re doing this yourself, as I am, it’s better to do it with information directly from Thai immigration, especially on points where you can see some people disagree. Also, be aware that rules seem to change frequently, which is why it helps to do things directly at immigration, even if it’s a bit of a pain in the ass🙏 We are foreign guests here, and it helps to learn the system, even if it frequently changes.

If you extend your type OA visa inside Thailand then it is no longer a multi entry visa, and requires a re-entry permit if you leave and return during that year.

I had an OA for 6 years. Yes you can extend an OA inside Thailand 1 year at a time (same as the O) and you have to have Thai insurance. To get your home country health insurance to qualify you have to have them sign a form available from Immigration. A lot of people will say that most insurance companies won’t sign it. All you can do is give it a try.

Yes you have to meet the 1 year extension financial requirements of money in a Thai bank.

There are 2 ways of using the OA visa.

The only way that really makes sense is entering Thailand with it and getting a 1 year entry stamp. Just before the visa ends (not your entry stamp), make sure you have another year of insurance and then leave and re-enter Thailand to get another year entry stamp. After that go back home and get another non-OA visa. This means you never need to deposit money in a Thai bank and never really have to deal with Thai immigration.

The other thing you can do is to apply for an extension at immigration. The reason this isn't a good option is because you require Thai insurance, and this must be from a specific list of Thai insurance companies. Whatever insurance you have on your own is irrelevant. You must also meet every other extension requirement, which means you have the worst of both worlds. You to have this mandatory insurance AND have to put 800,000 in a Thai bank account. So if you plan to do extensions in Thailand, you should get a non-O instead of non-OA.

There are normally no issues obtaining yearly extensions based on a Non O-A visa as long as you maintain health insurance approved by Thai immigration. The Non O-A visa itself can only be issued through a Thai embassy or consulate in your country of citizenship or legal permanent residence.