Tourists are outside the public system
Health care for residents in Türkiye is financed largely through the public health insurance system run by SGK. Foreign tourists are not part of it, so a visit to hospital is not covered by the state on your behalf.
European visitors often assume their EU health card will help. It will not: the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is valid only in EU and EEA countries, and Türkiye is not one of them.
What to expect at a private hospital
Private hospitals expect payment from the patient. Without insurance, you or your family settle the bill yourselves, for the consultation as well as for any tests, hospital stay or surgery that follow, and you carry that cost at a moment when you would rather think about recovery.
With a policy, the hospital can bill the insurer directly, or you pay and claim the costs back with the invoices and the medical report. Either way, the conversation at the desk is about your certificate, not your credit card limit.
Why evacuation and repatriation matter
The hospital bill is not always the largest risk. If a doctor decides you need to be moved to another hospital or flown home with medical support, that transport has to be organised and paid for. In the worst case, the return of remains to the home country is a cost and a burden for the family.
This is why Turkish missions that set a minimum for visa insurance name medical transport, repatriation and return of remains explicitly. Our tourist policy includes emergency medical evacuation, approved by the insurer in advance, and repatriation of remains.
What to do in an emergency
- Call 112, Türkiye’s single emergency number, for an ambulance, police or fire service.
- As soon as possible, call the 24-hour assistance line on your certificate; for our tourist policy it is +90 216 681 75 45.
- Show your passport and insurance certificate at the hospital and ask them to contact the insurer.
- Do not arrange medical transport yourself; evacuation must be approved by the insurer first.
- If you pay, keep the original invoices, payment receipts and the medical report with diagnosis and treatment.
Buy cover before you travel
A tourist policy covers sudden illness and accidents that first occur during the stay, from 00:00 Türkiye time on the start date. There is no waiting period, but nothing that started before the start date is covered, so a policy bought in the hospital waiting room will not pay for the visit you are waiting for.
Choose your arrival day as the start date and your departure day as the end date. The policy PDF usually arrives by email within minutes and shows your name, passport number, nationality, dates and cover in Turkish and English, which is what a hospital desk needs to see.