Transcript of the above video: 

I've seen some comments and I've also seen some emails and things from viewers, and I felt like it was probably time to do a recap on the issue of insurance in association with Thai Retirement Visas. 

For those who are unaware, there are two different categories of standard Retirement Visa that one can seek to come to Thailand: one is the O-A Retirement Visa, the other is the O Retirement Visa. And the big difference between the two is that the O Retirement Visa does not, I repeat does not, require insurance in order to not only obtain it but maintain it on an ongoing basis. And for many, this is just an onerous requirement that's just not required, and you can just basically sidestep it by seeking the O as opposed to the O-A. 

Now that said, when dealing with Embassies abroad, if you are seeking a Retirement Visa especially for the first time, many people like the O-A and I see why, because it's issued in a one-year validity from the outset. Whereas the standard O Retirement Visa, you have to oftentimes get a 90-day, come in and then extend, but if you are looking at this from the situation of a long-term perspective, especially where we are talking about somebody who is looking to come to Thailand and retire into the foreseeable future, not having that insurance requirement is probably a benefit in the long run and for that reason, it's definitely something to look at. 

Now as discussed in another video made contemporaneously with this one, there has been a lot of talk about just it's impossible to get a Retirement Visa conversion. Under many circumstances it's very difficult, perhaps to the point of impossible. That being said, different facts will drive different analysis which I get into in that video, but the thing to take away from this video is yes, there is a major difference between the O and the O-A Retirement Visa, most notably its insurance and as the insurance requirements have become more stringent over time, in many ways from a long-term perspective, it's often better to be in standard O Retirement Visa status rather than O-A Retirement Visa status here in the Kingdom of Thailand.