Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing like classes if you will of retirees in Thailand. Are there more than one class? Has it been sort of bifurcated down into different classes or classifications of retiree in Thailand? 

In a recent article from the Thai Visa, thaivisa.com, the article is titled: Perfectly Legal but can't Return: Retiree Expat Voices Frustrations to Thai Visa. Quoting directly:  "A British expat who says he can't return to Thailand has voiced his "heartbreak and frustrations". He also claimed discrimination of being unable to return to the Kingdom. We will just call him Mr. P and he has asked for anonymity. He is aged 60 and currently in the UK. He said that he has a perfectly legal visa but after leaving on a short holiday in March, he has been unable to get back home to Thailand. He holds a non-O category Visa with extension of stay based on retirement and is concerned that he and many like him are being treated differently to other classes of O Visa holders."  Before we continue with further analysis again that is thaivisa.com, the article is titled: Perfectly Legal but Can't Return: Retiree Expat Voices Frustrations to Thai Visa. There is quite a bit of content in there, a lot of insightful information. I urge folks watching this video to go ahead and check that out. 

What is he talking about with respect to the non O? We have made videos on this channel about this previously. There is this distinction in the Thai Immigration regulatory structure wherein O–A Retirement visas which are generally issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs abroad and then folks enter Thailand and extend status with that appellation associated with their Visa status. That is a different Visa designation from O, just standard O extension of stay in the Kingdom based on retirement. As I have discussed in prior videos, this distinction has several ramifications. Now I personally think long term, this distinction will effectively be sort of phased out one way or another. Exactly how remains to be seen but I think long-term they are trying to get everybody that is in Thailand in retirement status, I think the ultimate goal from a policy level, is to make sure all these folks are insured. As we saw back in 2019 with respect to Insurance associated with medical conditions, this is a real concern at a policy level for Immigration Authorities as well as Public Health Officials and just general policy authorities here in Thailand. 

Meanwhile we have this COVID-19 situation which is causing a lot of consternation and it is causing a lot of concern from a public health standpoint, and retirees, it is specifically pertinent to them because a lot of retirees fall in the higher risk or at-risk categories for those who can succumb to COVID-19; based on the literature that appears to be the case, at least as of the time of this video. 

So the point I am trying to make is, it looks to me like Thai Immigration is not only actively encouraging but they are actively discouraging Retirement Visa holders who do not have insurance and O-A Retirement Visas require Insurance in order to obtain them. As we have made videos, O-A are now currently coming online as eligible. The question that has been on the lips of many of our clients as well as many folks who watch this channel and people that just talk to me sort of in a social setting is "well what are they going to do about the O Retirement Visa holders?" My opinion at least it looks to me as at the time of this video, not much and I think moving forward, the policy is probably going to be "Look, if you want to retire in Thailand you need to apply for the O-A category. One of the requirements for issuance of that Visa is going to be Insurance to come in and then you are still going to be required to maintain that insurance via extension in O-A status here in Thailand”. Now the folks that are in O Retirement Visa, not O-A, that are here in Thailand, I think it is presumable that those folks to one degree or another I think they could be described as sort of “grandfathered in” to that status and permitted to continue extending under the terms they have always been extending. That leaves out though, O Retirement Visa holders who are trapped outside of Thailand. It looks to me, to reiterate, as of the time of this video, I do believe those folks are not being encouraged to enter the country, in fact they are being actively precluded from entering the country on an O Retirement Visa extension and they are being discouraged from returning on their reentry permit to take up their status again here in Thailand. While they are being discouraged, I think it is actually being encouraged and I should say actively being encouraged that folks looking to come to retire in Thailand go ahead and do so under O-A status and continue to maintain their status under O-A status. I think the underlying concern there is about insuring folks especially during this time where public health is such a concern.