@Tod ********

I just gave them all that to be sure. I did all 3, extension, 90 day, and reentry, TM30 was properly done already, I just took a copy. The IO who did the extension look at every doc.

@Joe **********

for many people the option for the O without the health insurance is better

You will need the school to assist you.

I have o visa converted in Thailand, requires no insurance, this is retirement. I had a thai Aetna policy, poor coverage, and it went up 30% in one year I’m age 66, so I dropped it. I keep a Medicare supplement, not advantage in the United States, which allows me to go to any Medicare doctor in any of the 50 states. It is not good in Thailand, except possibly a limited travel insurance benefit for the first 60 days of a trip.

You may save a lot if they allow high deductible. That being said, I bought from Mister Prakan, Aetna, last year, I’m not on OA so didn’t need for visa. Was ฿300K I patient, small OP coverage, almost no accident and emergency. ฿24k/age 66. This year, no claims, ฿32k. I dropped it. You may get priced out of the market in a couple years.

OP means extension of stay based on being over 50 1998 or before

Google voice has to be assigned to a USA cell but my workaround was to assign it to MagicJack/MagicApp, a voip service. Didn’t satisfy the bank though

@Justin ****

I got that (open from USA, they have a fit if you call/log in from overseas), but the best deal is capital one, if you live overseas. I have debit and credit cards, no foreign transaction fees and normal exchange rate. Make sure they ring up purchases in thai baht, ATMs still charge ฿200 (by thai banks). I have a thai bank account which I top up with TransferWise.

@Jason *******

sprint and Verizon work in CDMA, which is technologically different then GSM, used by T-Mobile, ATT, and all Thai carriers. However, iPhones have modems for both, so you can get a thai SIM card. Then you can have Google Maps, Facebook, etc, and use you line or Whatsapp. That being said, make sure your phone is unlocked. Especially many T-Mobile’s are locked. If you are staying in Thailand permanently, think carefully about giving up your USA cell phone account. I put mine on a Google Voice so I can get the texts from banks and credit cards, but recently they’ve started a thing where you have to have a real, American working cell phone, they verify with your carrier, not just have you enter the code.

@Adrian *****

that’s Bumrungrad Hospital