Can I switch from a Non-Immigrant O-A visa to an O visa in Thailand, especially at my age with health insurance concerns?

@Paul *******

, come to think of it I DO remember reading a post somewhere that the FIRST time you get an extension from any Non-Imm visa (O, O-A etc) it has to be for the reason you got that visa. (which in your case was because you're over 50-retirement)

A guy had a 90 day single entry Non-O visa based on being over 50 (which he got from a thai consulate that still sold them), He got stamped in for 90 days and then during that time he got married and when that 90 days was up he tried to go get the year extension based on marriage,

BUT

he was denied because they said he had to get at least the first extension for the reason the visa was issued (in his case retirement) and then after that he could change the reason for the extension to something else.

That could be the reasoning up at your immigration office..

An immigration lady last week suggested to my girlfriend & I that marriage would be a great way to avoid OA insurance. I smiled and politely said isn't that something crazy people do?, followed with have a nice day😆

Strange, because the requirement to get an extension based on marriage is only that you previously held a Non-Immigrant TYPE visa (yours just happened to be a type O-A)

I have not heard of people being told that the first extension from a year long O-A stamp has to be based on retirement BUT if that's the line they're taking you don't have many options. Maybe get the deductible super high on your insurance (200K baht if you can) to get the premium down. Sorry but I have no other suggestions 　 :(

Take an insurance with the highest deductible amount. At your age you can get one with 200,000 deduction for 7700 baht a year (about 150 baht a week). Do not even worry about it not covering you for virtually anything, just adopt the mindset that it's a "visa extension fee". Cholesterol is not such a serious problem.

My plan was to switch from from an O-A to an O Visa this year. An agent told me this year just do what you have to do to comply with the O-A requirements and hopefully next year everything is back to normal and make the switch then.

You COULD apply for a yearly extension based on marriage from the O-A visa entry you have now and that would mean you don't need to hold health insurance and that's the only way you could do anything without leaving and without having the required insurance you need on the O-A when you apply for an extension

Sadly there is NO way to go from an O-A visa to an O visa inside the country, BUT the good news is you don't need to change to an O visa, you just need to apply for your next extension based in being married to a thai not based on being retired.