In general, most of the countries
promoting medical tourism are simplifying visa procedures for
medical tourists. Many countries in eastern Europe, Latin
America – barring Cuba and Asia – barring India, do not need
tourists from western countries to apply for a visa in
advance. They permit visa-free travel or grant visas on the
border for short stays usually not exceeding 30 or, in some
cases, 60 days.
For detailed visa requirements for the countries profiled on
our website, please see the list below:
Costa Rica
Cuba
Hungary
India
Israel
Jordan
Malaysia
Singapore
South Africa
Thailand
Costa Rica
Not all persons wishing to travel to Costa Rica need a visa.
Your visa requirement will depend on your nationality, purpose
of the visit, country of residence and length of your stay.
Visas are valid for 30 or 90 days, again depending on
nationality.
Visas are required by all except the following:
1. Nationals of the UK and its dependencies for stays of up to
90 days;
2. Nationals of Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil,
Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Honk Kong (British passport holders only),
Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Rep), Latvia,
Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, The
Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal,
Puerto Rico, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay and USA for stays of up to 90 days;
3. Nationals of Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas,
Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Chile, Dominica, El
Salvador, Estonia, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras,
Iceland, Ireland, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand, The
Philippines, Russian Federation, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia,
St Vincent & The Grenadines, San Marino, Singapore, Slovak
Republic, South Africa, Surinam, Taiwan (China), Turkey,
Vatican City and Venezuela for stays of up to 30 days.
Cuba
Virtually all visitors need a Cuban visa or tourist card,
which allows a stay of 30 days. American citizens are
prohibited from traveling to Cuba unless they obtain a licence,
usually reserved for journalists or government officials.
Certain tour operators, travel agencies and airlines can issue
a Tourist Visa Card. Stipulations are that the traveler
pre-books and pre-pays hotel accommodation in Cuba through an
officially recognised tour operator. The card must be bought
in the country where the trip has been arranged. All
passengers must hold tickets and other documentation required
for their onward or return journey unless holding special
annotation issued by a Cuban Consulate.
Tourist Visa Cards must be used within six months of issue.
Tourist Visa Cards and Tourist and Business visas are valid
for 30 days from date of entry; extensions of a further 30
days are possible.
Visa Requirements
Application requirements: Tourist Visa Card: (a) One completed
application form. (b) Photocopy of valid passport. (c)
Photocopy of return ticket or travel agent voucher for
pre-paid package tour. (d) Fee (payable in cash, by postal
order or cheque).
How can you apply?
Application should be submitted to the Consulate (or Consular
section at Embassy) in your country.Application forms for
tourist visa cards can be obtained from certain tour operators
and travel agents.
Hungary
Most western tourists can enter Hungary without a visa if
their duration of stay is no more than 90 days and purpose of
the visit is not employment or other income-generating
activity.
Hungary also issues a Medical Treatment visa (“D-6” type visa)
which is issued for the foreigner who possesses the
certificate of the receiving medical institution or
accompanies an under-age child or incapable family member for
medical treatment in Hungary. However, Western tourists can
avail of the 90 visa exemption for their medical procedures.
What documents will be required?
Passport: Must be valid for at least 6 months, from the time
of return from Hungary. If applying exclusively for a medical
treatment visa, the applicant also needs to provide a
certificate of the receiving Hungarian medical institution
stating that payment for the expected costs of the treatment
is secured.
India
Among the countries promoting medical tourism in a big way,
India does, notably, require an entry visa for all nationals.
While medical tourists previously entered India on tourist
visas, India has, in 2006, decided to formally start granting
‘medical tourist visas’.
To read more on medical visa procedures for India, please go
to
http://www.incredibleindia.org/pdf/MedicalVisa.pdf
Israel
Visitors from most Western countries, Latin America, Japan and
Korea, and Australia and New Zealand are issued visitors visas
free of charge at the port of entry into Israel.
Anyone entering Israel needs a passport to be valid for at
least six months after period of intended stay and visitors
must hold onward or return tickets and sufficient funds to
cover intended period of stay in Israel.
Jordan
Citizens from all other countries except for those from
Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, are required to obtain
a visa from the Jordanian missions, consulates abroad or
border points upon their arrival to kingdom.
Jordanian visas for single and multiple entries are valid for
up to 6 months. The visa application form can be
downloaded here.
Malaysia
Visitors from Western countries do not need a visa to enter
Malaysia if the period of stay is less than 1 month and the
purpose of visit is business or social.
Visas are required by all except the following:
1. Nationals of EU countries for stays of up to 3 months
(except nationals of Ireland for stays of up to 2 months and
Greece and Portugal for stays of up to 1 month);
2. Nationals of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South
Africa for up to 3 months. Nationals of Albania, Algeria,
Argentina, Bahrain, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Croatia, Cuba,
Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Jordan, Korea
(Rep), Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Morocco,
Norway, Oman, Peru, Poland, Qatar, Romania, San Marino, Saudi
Arabia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan,
United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, USA and Yemen for stays of up
to 3 months.
The address of the Malaysian embassy in your country may be
looked up
here.
Singapore
Most Western tourists do not need a visa to enter Singapore.
For British and Irish passport holders the maximum length of
stay is 30 days while for other nationals the maximum length
of stay is 14 days.
All visitors to Singapore must meet the following entry
requirements:
Valid travel document (minimum validity = 6 months);
Onward / return ticket;
Entry facilities to next destination;
Sufficient funds to stay in Singapore and
Visa for Singapore
(see if applicable)
The address of the Singapore embassy in your country may be
looked up
here.
South Africa
South Africa has a provision for medical visas. A person
wishing to receive medical treatment in South Africa must
first apply for a visitor's visa at the nearest South African
Mission, if he or she is subject to South African visa
control. As most Western visitors are exempted from South
African visa control for visits of 90 days they can use this
period for medical treatment provided that their treatment
does not exceed three months.
To see the complete list of countries exempt for South African
visas, please visit
http://www.home-affairs.gov.za/visa_schedule.asp.
To find the address of the South African embassy in your
country, please visit
http://www.dfa.gov.za/foreign/sa_abroad/index.htm.
Thailand
Thailand has very convenient visa rules. Most Western tourists
are entitled to visa exemption upon entry in Thailand which
permits them to stay in the Kingdom of Thailand for 30 days.
Passport holders of another 20 countries may avail of the Visa
on Arrival (VoA) facility at the port of entry into Thailand,
which permits them to stay in the country for not more than 15
days. The cost for a VoA is $25. To visit the list of
participating countries, see
http://www.mfa.go.th/web/12.php#Visa.
To find the address of the Thai embassy in your country,
please visit
http://www.mfa.go.th/web/10.php.
