Which Countries Require Health Insurance For Entry?

As of July 2025, Argentina requires all foreign tourists and short-term visitors to have valid health insurance as an entry requirement. This insurance must include cover for medical care, hospitalisation, repatriation and emergency medical evacuation, and must be valid for the entire length of the stay. It should also have a minimum coverage level of US$20,000.

When visiting Argentina, you will be required to show proof of insurance upon entry, and airlines may deny you boarding if you are unable to show insurance documentation. In addition, you must be able to show a sworn statement declaring the purpose of your trip. Foreign local health insurance policies with international clauses may not be accepted, so make sure you can show that your policy specifically includes Argentina within its coverage zone.

While Antarctica is a strange case (since it’s not a country, there is no legal obligation to purchase insurance), when visiting through an approved cruise carrier, you may find you are obligated to purchase health insurance.

This may need to be an approved Antarctica medical insurance package, which will include emergency rescue services and repatriation to nearby countries like Chile, Argentina and New Zealand.

If you are intending to visit Antarctica, check with your carrier to determine what kind of health insurance policy you will need before embarking.

From July 2025, the government of Brunei now requires all foreign nationals to provide proof of health insurance upon entry. This new policy is intended to relieve pressure on the national health system of Brunei, and it is expected that employers will cover the health insurance costs of their employees.

There are two types of health insurance you may need when travelling to or living in Brunei:

1. The professional visit pass provides minimum coverage of BND10,000/US$7,750/£5,800 and is for those visiting for under 90 days and those who intend to transfer to a permanent resident visa after arriving.
2. The employment pass provides up to BND100,000/US$77,500/£58,000 of cover and is for those who will be working long-term in Brunei without transferring to a permanent residency visa, plus their dependents and spouses.

Health insurance is mandatory for all visitors heading to the island nation of Cuba. This includes proof of yellow fever vaccination if you are coming from certain parts of Africa or South and Central America that are at risk of the disease.

You will need a visa to enter Cuba, even as a tourist, but you won’t need to show proof of medical insurance until you arrive.

If you are unable to show proof of health insurance, either in the form of travel insurance or international private medical insurance at the border, you may be turned away or made to purchase one of the government’s own ‘Asistur’ health insurance policies. Therefore, be sure to print off a copy of your insurance policy before arriving in Cuba.

If you intend to visit any country in the Schengen area, you will need to apply for a Schengen visa.

In order to obtain this visa, you must be able to show that you have a valid health insurance policy that shows these things:

1. Your policy is valid for the entire length of time you wish to stay in Europe;
2. That your policy covers all countries in the Schengen Zone, even if you do not intend to visit all of them – most insurance providers offer an EU/Schengen area policy especially for this reason
3. You have cover for hospitalisation, emergency treatment and repatriation
4. That your coverage is at least €30,000

This law applies to all 27 countries included in the EU Schengen Zone:

As of December 2025, Kuwait requires all foreign visitors to have health insurance before entering the country. This is true for both visitors and expats.

Kuwait now asks all entrants to declare the purpose of their stay and will match this purpose to the form of health insurance required. This includes eight visa types for expats and nine visa types for visitors. You will need to purchase the correct government-approved health insurance to match your travel purpose prior to your arrival.

For those intending to enter Kuwait as residents, health insurance fees range up to 100 dinar/US$325/£245. You will need to select the relevant health insurance to cover your stay from this list:

• Employment in the government sector
• Employment in the private sector
• Commercial activities
• Industrial activities
• Study
• Foreign investment
• Temporary government contract
• Temporary work in the oil sector

Meanwhile visitors will need to choose a visa and health insurance, with fees starting from 5 dinar/US$16/£12 from this list:

• Government visits
• Family visits
• Business visits
• Private visits
• Medical treatment visits
• Multiple entry visits
• Tourist visits
• Sports-related visits
• Cultural or social visits

Family reunification visits will also incur a 100 dinar fee, but certain types of visits may be exempt. These include foreign women married to a Kuwaiti citizen, foreign children of Kuwaiti citizens and parents of Kuwaiti citizens.

Health insurance coverage will be linked to the visa’s issuance date and duration, not the start date and duration of a person’s stay or to the terms of their passport.

From June 2024, anyone coming to Georgia with a passport that requires them to apply for a Georgian visa or eVisa will need to prove at the time of applying that they have a valid health insurance policy covering at least €30,000 worth of medical and funeral expenses. The policy must also last for the entire duration of your stay, and must be valid throughout the entire country.

Anyone who arrives in Georgia without a valid health insurance policy may be subject to a fine of 300 Lari/US$110.

Medical insurance is mandatory for all visitors to Iran, regardless of their visa status. Your policy must specifically state that it includes cover for Iran, and you may be turned away by border officials if they cannot find policy wording that specifically mentions Iran.

While there are no rules regarding the extent of the policy, it’s advisable to choose one that includes medical evacuations.

While there is no legal requirement for visitors or expats to have health insurance when entering Israel, it is highly recommended, as the Israeli government does not provide healthcare to non-Israeli citizens.

Due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and other Middle Eastern countries, you may find it difficult to find a policy that will cover you while travelling to or living in Israel. Therefore, be sure to look for policies that specifically mention Israel in their policy wording.

It is also strongly recommended that you seek a policy that includes repatriation insurance or medical evacuation insurance.

It’s uncertain whether or not Jordan requires full health insurance for visitors or people intending to stay there, but many official sources recommend that anyone travelling to Jordan takes out comprehensive health insurance just to be sure.

The official wording of Jordan’s policy is that all non-citizens should be ‘financially responsible’ for their own health. Your health insurance policy should be valid for the entire length of your intended stay in the country and must include Jordan as a stated territory.

If you are staying in Jordan for longer than 30 days, you will also need to undergo an HIV/AIDS test. The fee to obtain this test is 20 Dinars/US$28. If you are visiting for the purpose of medical tourism, i.e. you have already booked treatment in advance, you will not need to provide evidence of health insurance.

Travellers wishing to go to Moldova must have what the government has called ‘adequate’ medical insurance, and may be asked to show proof of their insurance policy at the border.

This policy should extend for the entire length of your stay, and ought to include emergency medical cover, medical evacuation insurance and repatriation costs. If you arrive in Moldova without the correct medical insurance, you may be obligated to purchase a policy at the airport.

While you won’t need to show proof of health insurance to visit Montenegro on vacation, it’s still highly recommended. It’s also worth remembering that European Health Insurance Cards (EHICs) and Global Health Insurance Cards (GHICs) are not valid in Montenegro, so all visitors should ensure they have adequate health insurance to cover the length of their stay.

If you are intending to stay in Montenegro on a temporary residence permit, you will need to show proof of health insurance in order to secure your application.

While tourists are not legally required to have medical insurance, anyone visiting Panama on a digital nomad visa will need to show proof of their personal health insurance at the border, lasting for the entire length of their stay, in order to secure entry.

While tourists and other visitors do not need medical insurance to enter the country, it should be remembered that since 2011 Panama has stopped providing free healthcare to tourists, and therefore it is highly recommended that anyone visiting Panama take out personal health insurance.

Qatar has a Mandatory Health Insurance Scheme. This means anyone intending to stay in Qatar for longer than 30 days must have private medical insurance in place. You must be able to provide proof of your medical insurance in order to obtain an entry visa, or to extend a visa once you have been in the country for longer than 30 days.

When arriving in Qatar, it’s recommended you bring a copy of your health insurance policy with you to show at passport control.

The Qatari government specifies that your policy must cover emergency and accident services. If you have an international health insurance policy, you must be able to show that it:

• Includes Qatar within your coverage zone
• Is valid for the entire length of your intended stay
• Provides accident and emergency care up to a sublimit of QAR150,000/US$42,000
• Provides cover for COVID-19 up to a sublimit of QAR50,000/US$14,000 (although this may no longer be essential)

Anyone who arrives in Qatar without health insurance will need to take out Visitors’ Health Insurance, which costs QAR50/US$14 for one month.

Health insurance is mandatory for all visitors to Rwanda, whether they are visiting or intending to live there.

Rwanda has not specified what a traveller’s health insurance policy must include, only that they must have one in order to make it into the country, and that it must be valid for the entire length of your intended stay.

It’s unclear whether visitors to the Seychelles require private health insurance, but many sources strongly recommend that all visitors take out comprehensive health insurance before arriving.

Your policy should include healthcare costs, repatriation insurance and medical evacuation insurance.

Those who intend to stay on the tropical island of Zanzibar will be required to purchase an approved health insurance policy from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation (ZIC). This policy lasts for up to 92 days and costs around US$44/£33 per person.

You can only purchase this policy from ZIC directly and you must be able to show proof of a policy to enter Zanzibar.

You will not be required to show proof of health insurance to enter mainland Tanzania.

The FCDO advises against all travel to parts of Ukraine in light on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, those who do wish to travel to Ukraine must be in possession of War Risks Insurance, which can be purchased from the Ukrainian government website.

Many health insurance providers will no longer provide coverage to travellers intending to visit Ukraine, so if you wish to purchase additional insurance, you may need to look into specialist providers.

While in Ukraine, you will find access to healthcare services, medical evacuations and repatriation to be extremely hard to find, perhaps even impossible.

Life insurance policies may also be invalidated if you die while in Ukraine.

As of February 2023, the government of Uruguay has stated that all visitors to Uruguay must be covered by a comprehensive medical insurance policy. However, they have not elaborated any further than that.

It’s recommend that all travellers visiting Uruguay should take out a comprehensive health insurance plan for the entire duration of their stay, which includes medical evacuation insurance. You should bring a copy of your policy with you when attempting to enter Uruguay.

If you require a visa to enter the UAE, you must be able to show that you have a valid health insurance policy when applying.

You won’t need health insurance if your passport allows you to enter the UAE visa-free, however it is still highly recommended as non-citizens will not be entitled to free medical care, and you could be left with a huge hospital bill if you need treatment.

Medicare is the US federal health insurance programme. Medicare does not normally cover medical care outside the US and its territories, although there are some very limited exceptions.

In all cases, if you have health insurance for your own country, you will need to check whether it offers any coverage in other countries too. If it doesn’t, you’ll need a separate health insurance policy.

No. Travel insurance is generally designed for short trips and often focuses on emergency medical treatment, trip cancellation, and lost belongings. International health insurance is designed for people living, working, or spending extended periods abroad and typically provides broader healthcare coverage

Possibly. Visa-free travel does not always mean you can enter without health insurance.

Some countries require visitors to show proof of adequate medical cover regardless of whether a visa is needed. Always check the entry requirements for your destination before travelling.

Requirements vary depending on the country, visa type, and length of stay. Some countries require foreign workers to have health insurance as part of the visa process, while others may provide access to local healthcare systems.

Regardless of local requirements, many expats choose international health insurance to help cover the cost of private medical treatment and provide access to healthcare both locally and internationally.