Answers · Non-OA Retirement Visa

What is the health insurance requirement, and why does it matter so much?

Health insurance is not optional for the OA. There is no workaround and no alternative pathway. Without a qualifying policy in place, the application cannot be submitted.

The policy must provide at least 3,000,000 Thai Baht of in-patient care coverage and must cover the entire 12-month duration of the visa validity period. Travel insurance and life insurance are not accepted.

There is one practical reality that catches many applicants off-guard: the vast majority of foreign insurance companies will not complete the required Foreign Insurance Certificate form that Thai Embassies require when using a non-Thai policy. This creates a significant problem in practice, because even if you already hold a strong international health insurance policy, your insurer will most likely decline to certify it in the format Thailand’s Embassy system requires.

Because of this, in practice almost all OA applicants end up purchasing a health insurance policy from a Thai insurer. The good news is that this can be done entirely remotely. As part of the OA service, Thailand Blueprint introduces clients directly to a Thai insurer or qualified Thai insurance broker to assist with this, so you do not need to navigate that process independently.

One more important point: the length of your insurance policy directly affects how long you are permitted to stay in Thailand when you arrive. If your policy expires before the 12-month mark from your entry date, Thai Immigration will stamp you in only until your policy’s expiry date rather than for a full 12 months. For example, if you enter Thailand on April 1st 2026 and your insurance policy ends on March 15th 2027, you will be stamped in until March 15th only. This is not a minor detail. It is something to plan for before you purchase your policy.

Last verified 2 September 2026

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