Is Travel Insurance Required for Thailand? Entry Rules

You do not need travel insurance to get in, since none of the entry document lists names it, but buy it anyway because hospitals ask for a guarantee of payment before treatment. Long-stay visas are different: the O-A list asks for USD 100,000 or THB 3,000,000 of cover.

Not required to enter Thailand, but buy it anyway. None of the entry routes names insurance, yet all hospitals ask for a guarantee of payment before treating you.

Entry rules in one line

Visa exemption, visa on arrival, a tourist visa and the DTV all have document lists with no insurance on them. Read the page of the embassy that handles your application, because posts differ in detail.

Staying long

Long stays are the exception. The O-A long-stay list asks for health insurance of at least USD 100,000 or THB 3,000,000, including COVID-19. LTR applicants show a policy of at least USD 50,000 with at least 10 months of cover left.

If you are heading for the O-A, the rules are strict.

It is for applicants aged 50 or over on the day of applying, and your policy document must show at least 1 year of cover at the required amount. With a Thai insurer you submit 1 copy of the policy. With a foreign insurer you submit the policy plus a Foreign Insurance Certificate, completed, signed and stamped by the insurer. The embassy page does not say whether an ordinary travel policy qualifies, so check with the embassy that handles your application before you buy.

What happens at a Thai hospital

Private hospitals are of a high standard but can be expensive. If your insurer is contracted, the hospital contacts it on admission. If it is not, you pay and claim from the insurer directly.

Direct billing is not universal, so ask your own insurer which procedures qualify.

The motorbike catch

If you plan to ride, check your licence first. Riding without a valid licence in Thailand could invalidate your travel insurance, and you would be unable to claim after an accident or injury. Many policies expect the correct licence for the type of motorbike or scooter you ride.

One insurer’s wording, offered only as an example, covers riding a motorbike or moped under 125cc, but not touring or using a motorbike as your main way of getting around. It also leaves out theft of or damage to the motorbike, whether owned, borrowed or rented, and your personal liability while riding.

How to claim

1. Contact your insurance or medical assistance company quickly if you are referred to a medical facility.
2. Ask the hospital whether it bills your insurer directly.
3. If you pay and claim, collect the paperwork the hospital provides on discharge, and keep medical bills from hospitals or doctors.
4. After a theft or crime, ask the police for a statement or crime report.
5. Contact your insurance company as soon as possible to make a claim.

Save the numbers before you need them: see Thailand emergency numbers. For rabies shots after a bite, see rabies and dog bites in Thailand, and for vaccines see vaccinations for Thailand. Hospital choices in the capital are in English-speaking hospitals in Bangkok.

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Not confirmed: Whether insurance becomes an entry condition: a government release describes a proposed entry fee with insurance cover for some travellers, and no Royal Gazette announcement is confirmed. Whether your policy is accepted: ask the hospital's international desk before treatment.

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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