Latindancer

I met another Aussie guy recently who said his wife got a 12-month tourist visa for Australia. From what I've heard, it seems to be a rare but not unheard of phenomenon. I often wonder what kind of logic the visa-issuing officers use.....my wife got a 3-month visa with the "no extension of stay" condition attached to it.

David48, on 2012-05-17 05:57:18, said:

There is no operation due. This is just trying to avoid the sometimes extreme expense of possible future hospital stays.
Thanks for your input, David and others. I had forgotten that in over 70s it is difficult to get insurance.
I'll talk to the sister (or better still, her husband ! )

BigJohnnyBKK, on 2012-05-17 09:47:11, said:

And yes....I might take a step back.

Thankyou, MCA ! Finally, after two pages....a post giving the correct response to this situation. This is exactly what I have learned to do in Thailand, not to turn away and refuse to deal with the offending person. In Thailand, a calm response....not a reaction....is best. And that is the correct response.

Actually, my wife's sister just married another Westerner. I know him a little. She is my wife's only other sibling with a good job. However as the parents' hospital cover is currently provided by virtue of her being a government teacher, and they are losing this because she is coming to live with me in Australia, he may not be too keen to front up with money for health insurance. His wife has however been sending money every month, and this will no doubt continue when she too moves to Australia later this year.
What I am wondering is what level of care / support government hospitals in Thailand provide. I can't let her parents be at the mercy of a public hospital (which would probably send them home to die of cancer as they have with two penniless relatives already ), but at the same time, I will be on a lowish wage and desperately trying to save money in Australia, so I don't want to buy private health cover which may be expensive.
Perhaps I should, as two people just suggested, ask my wife to research and find a  health  fund giving the same level of care.

GreenSnapper, on 2012-04-27 10:38:48, said:

This is a well-balanced opinion. I treat everyone the same too.. Everyone has their own unique contribution to make to a conversation. It's just that with some, I want to exit earlier than with others.