Do You Need Health Insurance for Yearly Extensions Based on O-A Visa in Thailand?

Copied from another forum

"Heads up for those of you who originally entered Thailand on an OA and then got an annual extension - have a friend who was forced to take out the Thai 400,000 baht insurance to get his extension - even though he has been on extensions for 9 years. It was either that or leave the country and start again.

May have just been a rogue IO WITH THEIR OWN INTERPRETATION OF THE RULES but maybe not."

Ouch

Following.

At this particular time, yes that works. Do you really think though that they will continue to allow the exact same extension for retirement on an 'O' with no insurance as you get on an O-A needing Insurance? They very obviously want those over 50 years old to be on this Health Insurance scheme.

So if you have a current extension ( 0-A ) that is valid ( in my case until next September 2020 ) I won’t need that insurance until I need to renew it ? . I mean if I leave the country on a multi entry , next week in my case , that’s fine no need for insurance on my return in December ... until I come to renew ?

I'm flying into BKK on the 8th Nov with my current Non O A issued in July. Will post any issues if they arise.

Thanks good info

Mine says NON - RE in my new passport, my original visa was NON - O. So what does that mean?

Biggest question for me is how long they grant the extension, if it’s just the duration of the insurance means you have to extend your insurance the day of your extension to get the full year.

We are flying in to BKK with brand new OA visas (approved in mid October) on 13th November, so are watching the situation with much interest. Thank you to Tod, Robert et al, in advance, for all your information and updates.