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Which visas require health insurance

7 of the 21 visas tracked here require health cover; 14 do not. Of the 7, 4 publish a minimum coverage amount and 3 publish none. Where a requirement exists, the conditions attached to it can matter as much as the amount.

Visas that require cover

Thailand · checked 3 October 2026

  • It must come from a Thai insurer on the official TGIA long-stay list, or from a foreign insurer able to issue the Foreign Insurance Certificate in the format Thai Immigration accepts.
  • The consulate's document list includes the Foreign Insurance Certificate form, signed and stamped by the insurer, so a policy with a high limit but no certificate is incomplete.

LTR

$50,000

Thailand · checked 10 September 2026

  • Health insurance of at least USD 50,000 in coverage.
  • A deposit of USD 100,000 may be used in place of insurance.

Malaysia digital nomad visa

Required, no stated floor

Malaysia · checked 10 September 2026

  • The policy must explicitly cover Malaysia by name — wording such as 'worldwide' or 'Asia' is not accepted on its own.
  • Cover can be arranged after approval but must be in place before the pass is issued.

MM2H

Required, no stated floor

Malaysia · checked 3 October 2026

  • Health insurance is listed among the documents required to renew the MM2H pass; MOTAC publishes a List of Insurance Company on the official references page.
  • No minimum coverage amount is published on the official MOTAC guidelines or category pages.
  • A medical check-up at a clinic or hospital on MOTAC's appointed panel is compulsory for the principal and every dependant after approval.

Sarawak MM2H

Required, no stated floor

Malaysia · checked 11 September 2026

  • Medical insurance must be a Malaysian-valid policy — the checklist asks for a 'Certified copy of Local Medical Insurance Purchase'
  • The main-applicant checklist qualifies the insurance requirement as applying to applicants below 60 years old
  • Dependants' checklists (spouse, parents, children) list the insurance document with no age qualifier
  • MTCP publishes no minimum coverage amount, so any figure quoted by an agent is that agent's own standard
  • Separate from insurance: the RB II medical report must be done at a registered Sarawak facility and endorsed by a Sarawak government doctor; an overseas medical must be redone in Sarawak before the pass is issued

Japan · checked 3 October 2026

  • Private medical or overseas travel insurance covering death, injury and illness, valid for the whole planned stay in Japan
  • Treatment-cost cover for injury and illness of at least 10,000,000 yen; the ISA's own form asks you to tick either a figure or "Unlimited"
  • Must also include repatriation of remains or a death benefit, with no minimum amount specified for that element
  • Cover is mandatory precisely because holders are not "mid-to-long-term residents" and therefore cannot join Japan's public health insurance
  • Accompanying spouse and children must each satisfy the insurance requirement too

South Korea · checked 3 October 2026

  • Policy must cover hospital treatment in Korea AND evacuation/repatriation to the home country (본국후송) - a policy that says only 'medical evacuation' is a documented rejection trigger
  • Certificate of insurance subscription is a listed required document at the visa-application stage, not something you can add after arrival
  • Each family member on a dependent application has to be named on the policy with the full coverage amount in their own right

Visas that do not require cover

No health insurance is legally required for these. That is not the same as not needing any — none of these countries provides public healthcare to visa holders — but nobody will check, and you should not buy a policy believing a government demands it.

Why a policy can meet the amount and still be refused

Some requirements here are documentation requirements as much as coverage requirements. Thailand’s O-A needs an insurer that will issue its prescribed Foreign Insurance Certificate, or one on the TGIA long-stay list — a policy with a higher limit from an insurer that cannot produce that paperwork does not clear the desk. Malaysia’s DE Rantau requires the policy to name Malaysia explicitly, so wording like “worldwide” or “Asia” is refused, which an insurer may be able to fix by reissuing the certificate (we have not tested this).

Check the certificate before you check the price.