Healthcare in Turkey
Who is covered, from what date, and what insurance you need
Turkey runs a public health insurance scheme administered by the Social Security Institution, which foreign residents can generally join after a qualifying period of lawful residence, and requires private health insurance from those not covered. Alongside it sits a large and comparatively inexpensive private hospital sector that underpins a substantial medical tourism industry.
| Public scheme | General health insurance, administered by the Social Security Institution source |
| Qualifying period | Commonly one year of uninterrupted residence before voluntary registration |
| Employees | Covered through employer registration from the start of employment source |
| Otherwise | Private health insurance is a condition of most residence permits source |
| Private sector | Large private hospital network, widely used by medical tourists |
How foreigners get covered
Anyone employed in Turkey under a work permit is registered with the Social Security Institution by the employer and is covered from the start of employment, along with dependants.
Foreign residents who are not employed may generally apply to join the general health insurance scheme voluntarily once they have completed a qualifying period of uninterrupted residence, commonly a year. Contributions are a monthly premium set by reference to national wage figures, and the option is typically available within a limited window after that period rather than at any time.
Those who are not covered by the public scheme must hold private health insurance, and evidence of it is a standard condition of a residence permit application and of its renewal. A lapse in cover during the permit's validity is a common reason for a renewal to fail.
The public system in practice
- State hospitals and family health centres provide broad coverage at low cost to the insured, with modest contribution payments for consultations and medicines.
- Waiting times at busy state hospitals in the large cities can be long, and appointments are managed through a central booking system.
- Turkish is the working language of the public system, and interpreting services are not routinely provided.
- Prescription medicines are heavily subsidised for the insured, and pharmacies are numerous and generally well stocked.
Private hospitals and medical tourism
The private hospital sector is extensive, internationally accredited in many cases, and priced well below equivalent care in western Europe or North America. English-speaking staff are common in the large private groups in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Antalya.
This price and quality combination is the basis of a sizeable medical tourism sector, concentrated in dentistry, ophthalmology, hair restoration, cosmetic surgery and orthopaedics. The state promotes the sector actively, which also means standards and licensing of the clinics involved vary more than the marketing suggests.
For a foreign resident, a private insurance policy that gives access to the larger private groups is commonly cheaper than the equivalent policy would be in western Europe, and this is one reason many foreign residents use private care by default.
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