How can I show proof of 800,000 THB for the OA visa and open a Thai bank account while currently abroad?

@René *******

no you can get the medical insurance here. This is my live stream from last Sunday. If you go to the 'description' there is a health insurance link. I use this company and Hammer Time Insurance Brokers are excellent.

@Kool ******

can't you get health insurance later, like a week after arrival?

@René *******

language barriers permitting... There's a lot of potential misunderstanding here...

@Kool ******

I haven't said 'not to get insurance', have I. Stop with your BS. I've recommended a more appropriate and cost effective route to his visa. What insurance cover he wants is his choice.

@Kool ******

which is why the oa is a bad choice and the wise advice is to get a non-o IN Thailand. No requirement for insurance...

@Lyndon ***********

actually it is very bad advice suggesting that a person not have health insurance.

@Kool ******

his level of cover or not with an in-country non-o is his choice. The mandatory insurance can be very expensive with many finding annual costs are well over 100k as they get older, for cover they don't want. Hence the visa advice pages are littered with posts from people desperate to get off their non-oa, which they can no longer afford.... Crap advice of the first order if they are willing to bank the required funds in Thailand, which he states he wants to do...

@Lyndon ***********

if you buy thai insurance it wont cover preexisting conditions, they will raise, cancel you or exclude the conditions if you make a claim, and the amount you’re likely to get for a serious illness is little more than your annual premium. Its fine to say everyone needs health insurance but its not that easy

@Robert *********

he can have whatever insurance he wants. What does your comment have to do with his visa type?

@Lyndon ***********

it evolved into a discussion of insurance, and therefore the merits of the OA visa.

@Robert *********

he can still have whatever insurance he wants on a non-o. Nowhere in the thread is anyone talking about the merits of different insurance companies

@Lyndon ***********

once you've got the bt800,000 in your Thai bank account it's actually pretty easy to switch over to a type O visa extension. You just leave the country, and return, without a re-entry permit, then apply for a new type O extension. The difficult part, and getting harder everyday, is coming in on a tourist visa, or visa exempt stamp, and getting a new Thai bank account. By initially getting the OA visa in the OPs case this eliminates that problem, as he's got the needed retirement visa in order to get a Thai bank account easily. In his case the initial OA visa has a lot less hassle for him initially trying to get a bank account, and meet the timeline requirement. Getting the OA first gives him almost two full years to get everything in order, and whether he has an OA visa, or not, has no bearing on what his health insurance will cost. It's the same either way, and the older he gets the more of a requirement it gets for his personal wellbeing and comfort.

@Kool ******

where have I said that? 'Not to have insurance'