Why the consulate asks for health insurance
Article 15(1)(e) of Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection lists, among the cases in which a visa is not issued, a foreigner "who does not have valid health insurance covering the period of stay". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeats this for every application: "All applicants are required to have a medical insurance that will be valid during their stay in Türkiye."
The certificate is therefore a core document of the file, not an extra. A missing policy, or one that does not cover the whole stay, is treated in the same way as any other missing document.
What the officer checks on the certificate
- Your full name and passport number exactly as printed in the passport.
- A start and end date that cover the whole stay, from arrival to departure.
- Validity in Türkiye; a policy limited to your home country is not enough.
- The cover amount, at or above the minimum your mission names.
- Medical transport, repatriation and return of remains listed in the cover.
- The insurer's name and a certificate the officer can read, normally in English.
How much cover the missions ask for
There is no single figure for every country. Some Turkish missions, such as the embassy in Nairobi, name a minimum of EUR 30,000 including medical transport to hospital, repatriation and return of remains. Others, such as the embassy in Abuja, ask for travel health insurance covering the entire period of intended stay or transit without naming an amount. Some visa centres ask for a higher figure, for example USD 50,000.
Before you buy, open the checklist of the consulate or visa centre where you will apply and note the amount and the wording it uses. Our tourist policy covers treatment up to USD 35,000 in total, together with emergency medical evacuation and repatriation of remains, and meets the EUR 30,000 requirement. If your centre names a higher amount, follow that centre's checklist.
Match the dates to your flight booking
The officer reads the policy next to your flight reservation and your hotel booking or invitation letter. If the policy starts one day after you land, or ends one day before your return flight, the gap is easy to see.
Set the start date to the day you arrive in Türkiye and the end date to the day you fly out. Cover starts at 00:00 Türkiye time on the start date and applies only inside Türkiye. If your flights change after you buy, check whether the new dates are still inside the policy period before you submit the file.
If you are applying for a conditional e-Visa
Citizens of several countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Senegal, Yemen, the Philippines and Palestine, can obtain a conditional e-Visa. The conditions are a valid Schengen, US, UK or Irish visa or residence permit, a return ticket, a hotel reservation, at least USD 50 per day of stay and arrival by air.
The e-Visa does not change Law No. 6458: under Article 7(1)(c), a foreigner without health insurance covering the stay can be refused entry at the border, even when exempt from a consulate visa. Carrying an insurance certificate for your exact dates together with your ticket and hotel booking keeps your documents complete.
Buy before the appointment, and check the details first
The policy PDF usually arrives by email within minutes. For some nationalities our team checks the application first and the policy arrives within one business day, so do not leave it to the night before your appointment. Up to 6 travellers, for example a family applying together, can be insured in one purchase.
An issued policy cannot be cancelled or refunded, also if the visa is refused. Buy it once your travel dates are fixed, and check the spelling of each name and passport number before you pay.