Expat Health Insurance in Thailand by Visa

Match your visa to one row: the O-A needs USD 100,000 or THB 3,000,000, the O-X needs a Thai policy with THB 40,000 outpatient and THB 400,000 inpatient, and the LTR asks for a USD 50,000 policy or an alternative. The DTV list names no insurance.

Find your visa in the table below: the O-A and the O-X ask for different sums, and they are easy to mix up. The sums are the minimums on the embassy lists, so read the list of the embassy you apply at before you buy a policy.

Health insurance by visa type

O-A: USD 100,000 or THB 3,000,000

The embassy list asks for health insurance for general illnesses, including COVID-19, of at least USD 100,000 or THB 3,000,000. It must cover the whole period of stay. The Immigration Bureau order gives the same figure.

If you have seen a THB 400,000 inpatient figure for the O-A, it comes from older wording that some embassy texts still show. Today that figure belongs to the O-X.

O-X: a Thai policy

The O-X list asks for an insurer in Thailand, with outpatient benefit of at least THB 40,000 and inpatient benefit of at least THB 400,000. Both limits are per policy year. Each applicant, spouse and children included, needs their own certificate at the visa application.

Once the visa is granted, you must hold the Thai policy for the whole granted period, and the visa is withdrawn if you do not.

LTR: a policy, social security or a deposit

Each LTR category lets you meet the health requirement in one of three ways:

• a policy covering medical expenses in Thailand of at least USD 50,000, with at least 10 months of cover left on the endorsement date
• evidence of social security benefits covering medical expenses in Thailand
• a deposit balance of at least USD 100,000 held at least 12 months

DTV and the retirement extension

The London embassy’s DTV workcation list has no insurance on it. On a retirement extension, only holders of an O-A visa must have health insurance.

If you are here for a few months

Short stay, short cover: these are one provider’s published plans, a market price to compare against. SafetyWing Essential starts at USD 62.72 per 4 weeks for ages 10-39, covers up to 364 days at a time and has a USD 250,000 overall limit.

It excludes pre-existing conditions, maternity care and cancer treatment. Its Complete plan, full health insurance, starts at USD 177.50 a month for ages 18-39.

The certificate, and the hospital bill

For the O-A and O-X you also need a Foreign Insurance Certificate, which the insurance company completes, signs and stamps. The form can be downloaded from longstay.tgia.org.

Meeting the visa sum does not settle the hospital bill. UK government advice is that all hospitals require a guarantee of payment before treating patients, so read your insurer’s claim terms before you rely on direct billing. For the state-hospital option, see public hospitals in Thailand for foreigners.

Next, see English-speaking hospitals in Bangkok and vaccinations for Thailand.

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Not confirmed: DTV insurance at other embassies: only the London document list was read in full, so confirm with the post you apply at. Check with your embassy that your insurer's certificate form is accepted for the O-X.

General health information checked against the sources listed above, not medical advice. Rules, vaccine schedules and prices change; see a doctor or the hospital before you act. See how guides are checked.

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