Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the question does everyone need to have insurance to enter Thailand. This is to enter Thailand, to gain admission to Thailand. For those who are unaware, they have been insurance requirements in place ever since Thailand reopened going back into summer of 2020. This has been a requirement associated with entry so as to mitigate any public health costs to the Kingdom that could be borne by foreigners entering the Kingdom, getting sick and essentially costing money so they want folks to be insured when they come in. Then the question becomes: "Well does everybody still have to meet that requirement?"

I thought about this when reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Six frequently-asked Thai Immigration questions in May 2022. Quoting directly:

Do all foreigners need medical insurance to enter?

Quoting further: Under Thailand Pass, they all (except Work Permit holders) need a minimum cover of US$ 10,000 to cover hospitalization in case they catch COVID. This requirement also covers foreigners returning with a re-entry permit authorized before they left Thailand." Yeah to be clear, there were some misconceptions out there like: "Yeah I have got a reentry permit, I can just come back in." Yeah, the entry permit preserves the Visa, the underlying Visa status. It doesn't have anything, the source law for these present requirements are the Emergency Decree. So as long as that is still in force, you are still dealing with this unless they change some of the regulations under that Decree. Quoting further: "Foreigners applying for some specific visas from Thai Embassies abroad need additional insurance coverage. These visas needing extra insurance currently are the nine months Special Tourist Vise (STV), and three visas based on retirement for those aged over 50: O-X(10 years), O(3 months), and O-A(12 months. The details are on Thai Embassy websites."

The availability of the differing Retirement Visas is going to depend on the country, the host country where that Thai Embassy is at. It may or may not be possible to get for example an O-X (10-year) Visa while abroad. It may also not be possible to get an O (3-month) Visa depending on which country you are in. So that is going to be country specific. The thing to take away from this video for now again with the exception noted of certain Work Permit holders here in Thailand, every other Foreigner that is looking to come into Thailand, yes presently there remains an insurance requirement to be able to gain admission to the Kingdom of Thailand.