Thailand appears to be a favorite destination for many British citizens. Thailand welcomes over 800,000 British tourists each year, representing over 5% of the country’s total visitors. Tens of thousands of Britons have chosen that the Land of Smiles as they can get their desirous lifestyle. Over 55,000 British expats currently live in Thailand!
Thailand is a country with its share of dangers for both residents and expatriates. All of these dangers should be considered when it comes to health and safety in any country to which one is considering relocating. Pacific Prime Thailand has written an article for people from the United Kingdom who are either expats in Thailand or thinking about moving here. Continue reading to learn more about local dangers and healthcare, as well as whether having private health insurance in Thailand is the best option for them.
UK travel advisories
What better source to use when analyzing the risks posed to British visitors or expats in Thailand than the UK government? According to the UK government’s international travel advice for Thailand, there are several parts of Thailand around the Thai-Malaysia border that British citizens should avoid unless it is deemed necessary to travel there. The southern Songkhla province, Narathiwat, Yala, and Pattani areas are among them.
Thailand’s present political atmosphere is “unpredictable and sometimes dangerous,” according to the UK government. Terrorism is a threat in Thailand, and the explosions of May 2017 in Bangkok are an example of it. In terms of other criminality, while the majority of UK nationals’ vacations to Thailand are incident-free, criminal acts against British tourists and expats are not uncommon.
Given Thailand’s expanding nature, it should come as no surprise that bag-snatchers and pickpockets may be found throughout the country, particularly in urban areas. Other crimes to keep an eye out for are:
- Drink spiking/drugging
- Passport theft
- Sexual assault
- Credit card fraud
- Gem scams
- Property scams
There’s also a list of common tourist activities that could put your safety at danger. Visitors and expats in Thailand should avoid them, but if the following activities are undertaken, participants should utilize a reputable and well-trusted provider:
- SCUBA diving
- Jet skiing or other water sports
- Swimming, diving, rafting, or kayaking near waterfalls
- Swimming in waters where jellyfish are known to dwell, or during monsoon season
- Jungle trekking; with and without an elephant being involved
- Bungee jumping
One last danger to mention is Thailand’s traffic. To operate a car in Thailand, an individual needs to have a Thai or international driver’s license. In Thailand, traffic accidents are rather common, and the chance of injury or death as a result of a traffic accident increases when traveling at night or soon before and during public holidays.
NHS use for British expats
Some Britons may relocate to Thailand with the expectation of being able to return to the UK if they require a very pricey medical procedure. After all, the NHS is intended to meet the medical needs of British citizens, and expats are still citizens, right? These assumptions are correct, but expats who believe they can rely on the NHS at any time may be disillusioned and financially burdened.
The wife in the couple, who was 7 months pregnant at the time, went into labour prematurely while travelling home to see family members, and the infant had to be delivered through the NHS system. Unfortunately for the family, problems during delivery necessitated the newborn’s stay in the hospital for an extended period of time, resulting in a hospital bill of over GBP 60,000!
The new parents were surprised to learn that as expats living outside of the UK or the European Economic Area, they would have to pay for their medical costs themselves. They had assumed that as British citizens, they would be covered by the UK’s universal healthcare programme.
Worse, due to changes in UK law in 2015, non-residents receiving NHS care would have to pay 150% more. For this, one has to pay out of pocket without private medical insurance that covers them in the UK. Needless to say, this is the kind of circumstance that no one wants to find themselves in.
Local healthcare and insurance
With a work visa, British expats can access Thailand’s universal healthcare system once they are lawful residents of the nation. Each person has a local medical facility. It will be their go-to source of medical care in an assigned hospital will be provided for free or at a very low cost.
The problem for many British expats in Thailand is that medical care may not meet their expectations in the place of their residence. It’s acceptable that the British healthcare standard is higher than that of some Thai facilities. The local healthcare system suffers from many problems as other nations with universal healthcare. They can be long wait times and impersonal treatment, the quality of care they provide is typically inferior.
Due to a lack of training among doctors, staff may be unable to communicate effectively in English. Moreover, there can be a lack of funding at Thailand’s public hospitals to match with the latest medical technologies and techniques.
Therefore, many British expats in Thailand prefer to use the country’s private or foreign hospitals for their medical requirements. However, it is due to the higher service and 5-star lodgings available. Of course, the Thai national healthcare system will not cover this. Therefore, they have to pay medical expenditures in private hospitals out of pocket or with health insurance.
British expats will need to acquire their own plan, if –
- The expat’s employer does not provide insurance, or
- The insurance provided by the employer is insufficient.
On this point, you have two choices:
- Get a local health insurance plan covering medical expenditures in Thailand, or,
- Buy an international health insurance plan that covers medical costs in hospitals across the world. This must be including your back home in the UK.
Contact us
Is acquiring a private medical insurance policy ideal for you? Are you currently or will be living in Thailand as a British expat? With the information in the article, you should be able to make the best selection possible. However, the above information cannot provide you with all of the answers. For additional information, please contact us at [email protected]. You may contact us for visa issuance or extension support as well.
