The Journal — articles by country
Dated on purpose.
Visa rules and insurance requirements move, so every article here shows when its facts were last checked. An undated claim about a moving rule is not evergreen — it is just unaccountable.
Who it is for
General.
Sources checked
A second opinion on the insurance cover you already hold
Five checks for an existing international health policy before a move, renewal or switch, and how to distinguish a finding from a question for the insurer.
Sources checked
Who reads your policies? One adviser across every border
What an international insurance adviser checks across a household’s policies, how the written review works and how insurer-paid courtage affects incentives.
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Deductible, franchise, excess: one concept, five names
Deductible, excess, franchise and retention name one mechanism: the first slice you pay. The national versions, and the cap that decides your worst year.
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International organisation health schemes: the five edges
An IO or mission scheme is usually good cover that fails at its edges: third-country treatment, family definitions, between-posting gaps, evacuation, exit.
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The declared-residence question every nomad gets wrong
Your insurer anchors the policy to one declared country of residence. That single line drives your premium, your network and whether a claim is admissible.
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The offer-stage insurance check: one week before you sign
A posting's insurance terms are negotiable for one week — the one before your signature. Four checks: the ceiling, the family, the treaty, localisation.
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How to read a policy schedule in fifteen minutes
A policy schedule is your personalised contract, not the brochure. The nine lines that decide a claim — geography, renewal, ceiling, cost-sharing.
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When not to buy international health insurance
Five situations where the honest answer is don't: a compulsory local scheme already has you, a treaty covers you, or the local rule rejects the policy.
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What "worldwide cover" actually means
Worldwide cover is a defined term with edges: the area-of-cover line, home-country limits, per-trip day caps and sub-limits. Where worldwide stops.
Australia.
Everything on AustraliaChecked
Reciprocal Medicare in Australia: cover follows the passport
Australia's reciprocal Medicare follows the passport, not the visa. Eleven countries qualify, and Italian and Maltese cover ends six months after arrival.
For employers · Checked
Australia's visa condition 8501, for employers
Australia's health cover duty for sponsored staff is condition 8501 on the granted visa, not employment law — and it names no insurance product at all.
For remote workers · Checked
Health insurance for digital nomads in Australia
Australia's reciprocal Medicare covers eleven passports — three limbs for most, public hospitals only for Ireland and New Zealand, ambulance for nobody.
Brazil.
Everything on BrazilChecked
Brazil's two health systems: SUS and the private layer
SUS covers everyone in Brazil by constitution, but routine care needs a Cartão SUS. Private plans run on ANS rules: 24-hour, 180-day and 300-day waits.
For employers · Checked
Brazil for employers: the collective plan protection gap
Brazilian collective health plans — what companies buy — sit outside the renewal guarantee that protects individual plans, and reprice on different rules.
For remote workers · Checked
Brazil digital nomad insurance: 180-day waits
A Brazilian plano de saúde covers emergencies within 24 hours and almost nothing else for 180 days — and the nomad visa never asks for a domestic plan.
Canada.
Everything on CanadaChecked
Canada's three-month health wait: what each province does
Canada has no national three-month healthcare wait. The Canada Health Act sets three months as a ceiling — Ontario waits nobody, BC and Quebec still do.
For employers · Checked
Relocating staff to Canada: there is no Canadian health plan
Canada has no single health plan. Ontario covers arrivals immediately, British Columbia takes the arrival month plus two, Quebec counts from registration.
For remote workers · Checked
Nomad health cover in Canada: the card belongs to a province
There is no Canadian health plan — provincial plans are residence-tested. Ontario covers eligible newcomers immediately; BC and Quebec still apply waits.
Costa Rica.
Everything on Costa RicaChecked
What joining the CAJA costs in Costa Rica
Costa Rica's CAJA is priced as a share of the income you declare — 2.89% to 10.69% on the January 2025 scale — and pre-existing conditions wait six months.
For employers · Checked
Costa Rica for employers: CAJA tracks residency, not payroll
Costa Rica's compulsory CAJA enrolment sits in the migration law, not the labour code — it follows residency, and a lapse can block a permit renewal.
For remote workers · Checked
Digital nomad insurance in Costa Rica: no CAJA
Ley 10008 puts remote workers in the non-resident estancia category — up to two years outside the CAJA, on private cover of at least US$50,000 per person.
Cyprus.
Everything on CyprusChecked
GESY registration in Cyprus: who can apply
The permit rule is an or, not an and: Plan A, or GESY registration plus repatriation cover. Co-payments cap at €150 a year, not the €300 guides repeat.
Moving from Dubai · Checked
Dubai to Cyprus: cheaper cover, and GESY may not take you
Cover runs 15% cheaper in Cyprus than in the UAE. But GESY is gated on employment or a qualifying status, so a household moving on capital stays outside.
For employers · Checked
Cyprus for employers: the gate into GESY is a payroll
Employment is one of only five gates into Cyprus's GESY, so a local contract and a secondment land two identical hires in different health systems.
For remote workers · Checked
The Cyprus nomad visa hands you a policy, not GESY
GESY opens on category, not residence, and the usual route is employment in Cyprus — which a nomad visa forbids. The private policy is the floor.
France.
Everything on FranceSources checked
Before your Carte Vitale arrives: rights, reimbursement and cover
French health-insurance rights can start before the Carte Vitale arrives. What to confirm with CPAM, how paper claims work, and when to review private cover.
Sources checked
The French mutuelle explained: cover and costs
What a French mutuelle can reimburse, what remains payable, how workplace cover fits in, and why its start date is not the Carte Vitale delivery date.
For employers · Sources checked
Employing people in France: public rights and the workplace mutuelle
Private-sector employers must offer complementary health cover and fund at least half. Check registration, effective rights, family benefits and international gaps.
For remote workers · Sources checked
Health insurance for remote workers in France
French public rights depend on your work, residence and coordinated entitlement. How a remote worker compares public cover, a mutuelle and international plans.
Germany.
Everything on GermanyChecked
Coming to Germany at 45: the age nobody warns you about
At 45, three clocks run at once in Germany: PKV premiums priced on your entry age, the return to GKV that §6(3a) closes at 55, and the €77,400 threshold.
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GKV or PKV: Germany gives you one chance to decide
Germany's private-insurance decision is practically one-way. §6(3a) SGB V keeps you outside statutory cover past 55 without five recent statutory years.
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The €77,400 question: who may even choose PKV
Germany's PKV door only opens above the Jahresarbeitsentgeltgrenze — €77,400 in 2026, verified against the federal figures. Below it, there is no choice.
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GKV with a family vs PKV alone: the arithmetic that flips
In Germany, GKV covers non-earning dependants at no extra contribution. PKV charges a separate age-rated premium per head — that flips the comparison.
For employers · Checked
Insuring a team in Germany: the GKV and PKV threshold
German employers buy no group health plan — they co-fund each employee's own policy. Above €77,400 gross in 2026, an employee may choose private cover.
For remote workers · Checked
Freelancing in Germany: the health-insurance choice you own
Germany's 2026 threshold of €77,400 is an employee rule. The self-employed may elect GKV or PKV at any income — and past 55 the way back is largely shut.
Hong Kong.
Everything on Hong KongMoving from Dubai · Checked
Dubai to Hong Kong: the largest step-up in cover cost
Hong Kong ranks 2nd of fifty countries for private medical cover, about 67 per cent above the UAE. What that gap means for a household leaving Dubai.
Indonesia.
Everything on IndonesiaChecked
The Bali evacuation bill nobody prices
An air-ambulance evacuation from Bali to Singapore runs USD 25,000–80,000. BPJS does not fund it. What an Indonesian policy's evacuation clause must say.
For employers · Checked
Indonesia for employers: the evacuation BPJS does not cover
BPJS Kesehatan enrolment satisfies Indonesian law for staff working six months or more. It does not fund the evacuation a serious archipelago case needs.
For remote workers · Checked
Digital nomad insurance in Indonesia and Bali
Working from Bali for a foreign employer leaves you outside BPJS Kesehatan by the regulation's own wording — and Bali's definitive care has a ceiling.
Japan.
Everything on JapanChecked
Japan health insurance: 14 days to enrol, 2 years backdated
Japan gives residents staying over three months 14 days to enrol in NHI. Miss the window and the ward bills premiums backwards, for up to two full years.
For employers · Checked
Moving staff to Japan: Shakai Hoken and the 14-day clock
Japanese employers enrol full-time staff in Shakai Hoken. Everyone outside that net — contractors, spouses, leavers — has 14 days to join municipal NHI.
For remote workers · Checked
Japan's nomad visa: excluded from National Health Insurance
Japan's Designated Activities nomad status excludes holders from National Health Insurance and requires private cover instead. Your policy is the only net.
Malaysia.
Everything on MalaysiaChecked
MM2H health insurance: what the guidelines actually require
MM2H requires health insurance only under 60 and names no minimum sum. The RM 80,000 figure repeated by agents appears nowhere in the official text.
For employers · Checked
Malaysia for employers: the 6% tax and the SKHPPA duty
Since 1 July 2025 a 6% tax sits on private healthcare for non-citizens in Malaysia. Employment Pass staff have no mandated cover floor — permit workers do.
For remote workers · Checked
Malaysia as a nomad base: what health cover actually buys
Malaysia ranks 33rd of 50 for international cover, at $7,333 a year. There is no public fallback for foreigners, and private care carries 6% tax.
Mexico.
Everything on MexicoSources checked
IMSS or private health insurance in Mexico: compare the options
How Mexico's voluntary IMSS family scheme differs from employer-linked cover and private insurance. Current fee source, medical restrictions and treatment choices.
For employers · Sources checked
Group medical insurance in Mexico and the IMSS
For employers in Mexico: check IMSS registration, private hospital access, group medical benefits and each product's joining and renewal conditions separately.
For remote workers · Sources checked
Nomad health insurance in Mexico: eighth-dearest of fifty
Compare the 2025 international-cover benchmark with current voluntary IMSS rules, residence declarations and private hospital needs in Mexico.
Netherlands.
Everything on NetherlandsChecked
The Dutch four months: a repair window, not a grace period
The Dutch insurance duty starts the day you become liable, not four months later. The four months only backdate the cover — and only if you use them.
For employers · Checked
Hiring into the Netherlands: the duty starts on day one
A Dutch hire is liable at once, not four months later. The window only backdates the cover — and the onboarding briefing is the employer's real job.
For remote workers · Checked
Dutch health insurance and the remote worker in the middle
Dutch Zvw duty attaches to work or residence, not nationality — and a remote worker billing foreign clients from an Amsterdam flat sits between the two.
Philippines.
Everything on PhilippinesChecked
PhilHealth for foreigners: what ₱17,000 a year actually buys
Foreigners can join PhilHealth for ₱15,000–17,000 a year. It pays a fixed case rate per condition, not a share of your bill, and carves out the Z Benefits.
For employers · Checked
Philippine group health insurance: the ceiling
Philippine group HMOs run on a Maximum Benefit Limit — Maxicare publishes ₱100,000 to ₱250,000 a year for consultations, diagnostics and hospital care.
For remote workers · Checked
Digital nomad insurance in the Philippines
For digital nomads in the Philippines, PhilHealth's foreign membership excludes overseas confinement and local plans reimburse care abroad at token levels.
Portugal.
Everything on PortugalChecked
Retiring to the Algarve: what the D7 actually asks at 62
Portugal's D7 stage asks only for health insurance or proof of SNS cover — AIMA sets no minimum sum. At 62 the cost is when you buy, not the rule.
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Portugal asks for insurance twice: the consulate and AIMA
Neither Portuguese stage names a sum. The consulate asks for travel insurance, AIMA for health insurance or SNS cover — the €30,000 is Schengen short-stay.
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Portugal vs Spain visa insurance: a sum versus a shape
Portugal's AIMA asks for health insurance or SNS cover, no minimum sum. Spain's law asks for less — the strict specification comes from your consulate.
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Portugal's arrival year: from consulate to número de utente
Portugal's arrival chain — consulate, AIMA appointment, permit, SNS number — can run close to a year, and your insurance must be right at each stage.
For employers · Checked
Moving staff to Portugal: two stages, two insurance asks
Portugal asks for insurance twice and names a sum at neither stage. The €30,000 twelve-month spec is Schengen short-stay — the wrong rulebook entirely.
For remote workers · Checked
Portugal's D8 visa: the policy that passes AIMA
AIMA's checklist asks only for health insurance or proof of SNS cover — no minimum sum, no duration. Which is why a D8 nomad's plan stops at the border.
Qatar.
Everything on QatarChecked
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Riyadh: four rules, one assumption
A correction: Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi reach the family, Dubai does not, and Qatar's real distinction is sequencing rather than family scope.
For employers · Checked
Qatar for employers: no cover, no visa, no hire
Qatar's Article 10 bars the entry visa, the residence permit and the act of employing an expatriate without proof of health cover for the whole period.
For remote workers · Checked
Qatar's mandate reaches your family, not the self-employed
Qatar's health-insurance duty covers an employee's spouse and up to three children — every clause names the employer. Independent workers stand outside it.
Saudi Arabia.
Everything on Saudi ArabiaChecked
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Riyadh: four rules, one assumption
A correction: Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi reach the family, Dubai does not, and Qatar's real distinction is sequencing rather than family scope.
For employers · Checked
Group medical insurance in Saudi Arabia
Saudi employers' health insurance duty covers employees and the family members they support — a correction to what we published, and the opposite of Dubai.
For remote workers · Checked
Remote work in Saudi Arabia: every route has a sponsor in it
Saudi health insurance duty attaches to a sponsor — employer, household, family head. We could not verify any remote-worker route into that architecture.
Singapore.
Everything on SingaporeChecked
Singapore's coverage cliff: what your work pass carries
MediShield Life covers citizens and PRs only. Employment Pass holders have no statutory cover, and S Pass holders get an inpatient floor of S$60,000.
Moving from Dubai · Checked
Relocating from Dubai to Singapore: your cover
Singapore keys its health subsidies to citizenship and permanent residence — so a household arriving from Dubai lands with no public floor underneath it.
For employers · Checked
Employer group health insurance in Singapore
Singapore mandates S$60,000 of cover for S Pass and Work Permit holders, nothing for Employment Pass professionals. MediShield Life reaches none of them.
For remote workers · Checked
Self-employed health insurance in Singapore
MediShield Life covers only Singapore citizens and permanent residents, and the statutory floor belongs to employers. Self-employed foreigners have neither.
South Africa.
Everything on South AfricaChecked
The late-joiner clock: the formula South Africa runs on you
Penalty years equal your age at application, minus 35, minus your South African years. Foreign cover earns none, and the bands are ceilings not rules.
For employers · Checked
Hiring in South Africa: the late-joiner clock nobody resets
South African schemes must accept your hire. The late-joiner formula still runs on the individual, and cover held abroad counts for nothing toward it.
For remote workers · Checked
South Africa's medical schemes are built for people who stay
A South African scheme cannot refuse you for your health. It prices time instead: a penalty set by your age, and three months that can exclude even PMBs.
Spain.
Everything on SpainChecked
Portugal vs Spain visa insurance: a sum versus a shape
Portugal's AIMA asks for health insurance or SNS cover, no minimum sum. Spain's law asks for less — the strict specification comes from your consulate.
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Spain's NLV at 65: insurability before paperwork
Spain's non-lucrative visa repeats its insurance test at every renewal — and Spanish insurers set entry-age ceilings, between 65 and 75. Get quotes first.
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Sin copagos: the two words that reject excellent policies
Sin copagos is not in Spanish law — the regulation it came from was repealed in May 2025. It is a consular requirement, and consulates genuinely differ.
For employers · Checked
Employing people in Spain: why companies add private cover
Registering staff in Spanish social security carries public health entitlement. The private layer companies add buys speed and language, not better care.
For remote workers · Checked
The Spanish nomad visa policy that only works in Spain
Spain's nomad visa needs an insurer authorised in Spain — statutory, and travel cover fails. That policy is a closed-network one, thin outside Spain.
Switzerland.
Everything on SwitzerlandChecked
The franchise decision, explained for your arrival year
Swiss basic insurance leaves one pricing lever: the franchise, on fixed rungs from 300 to 2,500 francs. The arithmetic, and why arrival year is hardest.
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Your first ninety days in Switzerland, dated
Switzerland gives you three months to take out KVG basic insurance, backdated to the day you register your residence — but only if you are on time. Dated.
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What deregistering from Switzerland actually ends
Swiss basic insurance attaches to residence, so an Abmeldung ends it. Coming back is treated as an arrival: the three-month enrolment deadline runs again.
Moving from Dubai · Checked
Dubai to Switzerland: cheaper cover, nothing that transfers
The UAE mandate is employer-linked and ends with the permit. Switzerland compels the individual to hold KVG cover three months from taking up residence.
For employers · Checked
Insuring a team in Switzerland: the eight-hour accident line
In Switzerland the employer owes accident cover, not health insurance — and only staff working eight-plus hours a week are covered off the clock by UVG.
Thailand.
Everything on ThailandSources checked
Thailand O-A and O-X: check the insurance rule for your route
O-A and O-X use different insurance minimums. Compare the current primary-source instructions, foreign-insurer certificate and LTR alternatives before buying cover.
For employers · Sources checked
Employing staff in Thailand: what social security misses
Confirm Thai employment-linked health rights, then compare private hospital access, dependants, leaver terms and visa evidence for each employee.
For remote workers · Sources checked
Health insurance in Thailand: the line your budget missed
Thailand ranks 9th of fifty countries for international health cover at $9,854 a year — dearer than Switzerland, because the premium prices the hospitals.
United Arab Emirates.
Everything on United Arab EmiratesChecked
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Riyadh: four rules, one assumption
A correction: Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi reach the family, Dubai does not, and Qatar's real distinction is sequencing rather than family scope.
Moving from Dubai · Checked
Dubai to Cyprus: cheaper cover, and GESY may not take you
Cover runs 15% cheaper in Cyprus than in the UAE. But GESY is gated on employment or a qualifying status, so a household moving on capital stays outside.
Moving from Dubai · Checked
Dubai to Hong Kong: the largest step-up in cover cost
Hong Kong ranks 2nd of fifty countries for private medical cover, about 67 per cent above the UAE. What that gap means for a household leaving Dubai.
Moving from Dubai · Checked
Relocating from Dubai to Singapore: your cover
Singapore keys its health subsidies to citizenship and permanent residence — so a household arriving from Dubai lands with no public floor underneath it.
Moving from Dubai · Checked
Dubai to Switzerland: cheaper cover, nothing that transfers
The UAE mandate is employer-linked and ends with the permit. Switzerland compels the individual to hold KVG cover three months from taking up residence.
For employers · Checked
UAE expat group medical insurance, by emirate
Dependants are an emirate question. Abu Dhabi's employers cover the family, Dubai's leave it to the sponsor. We used to answer for the country as a whole.
For remote workers · Checked
UAE health insurance with no employer: the sponsor is you
Since 1 January 2025 no UAE residence permit issues or renews without evidence of cover. With no employer, the duty falls to the sponsor — which is you.
United States of America.
Everything on United States of AmericaChecked
The American returning home: re-entering US insurance
Moving back to the US opens a 60-day Special Enrollment Period on the ACA marketplace. Miss that window and the market stays shut until open enrollment.
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Reading your schedule: the five-minute area-of-cover check
One line on your policy schedule decides whether you are insured in America. Most people have never read it. Here is how, and what each wording means.
For employers · Checked
Group medical insurance for US assignments
Most international health policies are written 'worldwide excluding USA', so a US transfer leaves the assignee covered everywhere except where they live.
For remote workers · Checked
Worldwide excluding USA: what the exclusion means for nomads
Most nomad policies are sold worldwide excluding USA. The United States ranks 1st of 50 for cover cost, and a visitor joins no national scheme on arrival.
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