Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing "Self-insurance" here in Thailand. This is in the context of Thai Retirement Visas. For those who are unaware, we have discussed this in other videos. Essentially Thailand is rolling out new rules regarding a heightened threshold for insurance requirement most notably $100,000 in coverage. This isn't just for COVID, this is for all disease. This is standard coverage for those who are looking to get an O-A, I stress O-A Retirement Visa for Thailand. Another option might be to "self-insure". If you can't obtain an insurance policy, it may be possible to basically put the equivalent of $100,000 into a bank account and use that as a methodology of proving up one's insurance coverage in order to obtain or maintain an O-A Retirement Visa. I want to be clear this is different from O Retirement Visas, we are talking about O-A Retirement Visas. 

Documentation regarding this, again it is early days here. We are not dealing with this until the fourth quarter of 2022 so we don't exactly know what this is going to look like. I have noticed that some commentators who I respect have pointed out that documentation here is going to be kind of where the devil resides in the details if you will. 

Again an article from the Pattaya Mail, pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Self-insurance for retirees in Thailand moves a step forward. There is a lot going on in this article. I urge folks who are concerned about this, check out this article, a lot of insight in here. But this one excerpt I thought was interesting with regard to documentation. Quoting directly: "According to the Embassy, (and they are talking about the Thai Embassy website in Norway) according to the Embassy, the required documents for those unable to find an insurer because of age, infirmity or pre-existing conditions, are "official proof of denial" issued by the rejecting Insurance Company, and proof of the Insurance related deposit. The bank in question must provide confirmation that the deposit can be withdrawn only for medical treatment in Thailand. The bank documentation must then be legalized by a public notary and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs based in Norway." As noted in this article as well, Norway seems to be the only one that have put up definitive guidelines with respect to these rules which will come into effect later this year. So they are kind of our best barometer if you will for what this is going to look like from a practical perspective. But as you see there is a lot of documentation associated with this: notarization, Bank documentation, denial letter from insurance company; that is in addition to the requirements already associated with the O-A Retirement Visa.

So for those who are looking around out there understand one, we are not talking about the O Retirement Visa. There currently are not these requirements associated with insurance in an O Retirement Visa category. For those who are looking at this, who find themselves a bit confused, it may not be a terrible idea to contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.