Health insurance and your visa
Which visas legally need insurance, how much cover, and what to check before you buy.
CHECKED 16 OCT 20261 min read2 sources
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When it's required
- Non-O-A retirement visa (applied for abroad): required, for the visa and every extension in Thailand.
- Non-O-X (10-year retirement): required, including extensions.
- Non-O retirement extension (converted in Thailand): not required.
- LTR visa: required.
- Everyone else: not legally required, but a hospital stay in a private Thai hospital can cost hundreds of thousands of baht.
How much cover
The official figure is US$100,000 (about 3,000,000 THB) covering your whole stay. Some embassies still apply the older amounts of 400,000 THB inpatient and 40,000 THB outpatient. Check with the embassy or immigration office handling your application before you buy.
Before you buy
- Make sure the policy runs for the whole period of your stay. A gap can block an extension.
- Ask the insurer for the immigration certificate in the official format; Thai insurers know what's needed.
- Watch the age limits and pre-existing condition exclusions, which get stricter after 70.
- Add the policy under Documents so you're reminded 30 days before it ends.
Never miss your own deadlines
Answer five quick questions and we'll list every date that applies to you: 90-day reports, extensions, re-entry permits and tax. Free to start.
Sources we checked
General information, not legal or tax advice. Immigration offices don't all apply the rules the same way, so check anything important with your local office. Spotted something out of date? Email Joshua.