Mandatory travel insurance: which countries actually require it

When travel insurance is genuinely mandatory

There’s an important difference between “mandatory and actually checked” and “recommended but never verified in practice.” On VisaRadar we only flag a destination as a real requirement once we’ve confirmed it against an official source: that’s the “Health insurance” field you’ll see on any pair page where we’ve been able to confirm it. Most destinations in the world don’t legally require travel insurance to enter; what is close to universal is that carrying it is strongly advisable anyway, since public healthcare systems typically don’t cover tourists, and a medical emergency abroad can cost far more than the policy itself.

The Schengen area: minimum required coverage

To apply for a Schengen visa, Article 15 of Regulation (EC) 810/2009 (the EU Visa Code) requires travel medical insurance with a minimum coverage of €30,000, valid across the whole Schengen area for the full length of the intended stay, covering emergency medical expenses and medical or funeral repatriation. It’s a paperwork requirement checked when you submit your visa application at the consulate or an authorised visa centre (BLS, VFS, or the consulate directly, depending on the country), not something a border officer will typically ask for again once you’re crossing.

This is the part that trips people up: the €30,000 policy is mandatory to apply for a Schengen visa, not to enter the Schengen area in general. If that is exactly your case, because you are about to apply and need to know which policy meets Article 15 and what the consulate checks, we have a dedicated guide to insurance for a Schengen visa. If your passport is visa-exempt for short stays (tourism or business, up to 90 days within any 180-day period; see our guide to the Schengen 90/180 rule), there’s no harmonised legal obligation to carry that insurance to enter. The border can instead ask you to prove you have sufficient funds and accommodation for the stay, a separate requirement that’s checked more often in practice for visa-exempt travellers than insurance is.

Other destinations with a confirmed requirement

Outside Schengen, these are the destinations where VisaRadar has confirmed against an official source that health insurance is mandatory. It matters who it applies to, because it isn’t always everyone who enters.

Required of every traveller who enters:

• Cuba: since 1 May 2010 you must enter with travel insurance that covers medical costs, and you can be asked for the policy on arrival. Anyone arriving without one has to buy it at the airport from the state insurer Asistur (Cuban Ministry of Tourism, cuba.travel).
• Ecuador: public or private health insurance for the whole stay, under Article 53 of the Organic Law on Human Mobility and Executive Decree 111, enforceable since 1 May 2018.
• Georgia: since 1 January 2026, health and accident insurance with minimum cover of 30,000 lari for the whole stay, in Georgian or English, from a Georgian or foreign insurer (Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
• Ukraine: health insurance valid in the country with minimum cover of €30,000, from an insurer registered in Ukraine or with an agreement with one (Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Spain’s Foreign Ministry advises against all travel to Ukraine, and ordinary policies usually exclude war damage.
• Lebanon: Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists travel insurance, with repatriation, among the documents asked for on arrival. Spain’s Foreign Ministry also advises against travel to Lebanon.

Required as a condition of an exemption or a specific procedure:

• Oman: visa-exempt nationalities can enter for 14 days if they carry, among other things, travel health insurance. It is a condition of the exemption and can be checked at the border.
• Saudi Arabia: the tourist eVisa includes health insurance in its fee, so anyone applying for it is already paying for it (Saudi Tourism Authority).
• Russia: health insurance valid across Russian territory is one of the documents for the e-Visa (Consular Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
• Algeria: the tourist visa asks for travel insurance that covers Algeria and is valid for at least three months (Consulate General of Algeria in Barcelona).

For any other destination, check the “Health insurance” field on its pair page. It only appears once we have confirmed it against an official source, one way or the other.

What counts as “valid” travel insurance for immigration purposes

It depends on the country and the procedure, but the elements most commonly required are emergency medical expenses (including hospitalisation), medical or funeral repatriation, and in some cases trip cancellation coverage. A generic travel insurance policy doesn’t automatically meet a given country’s or procedure’s minimum requirements, because some policies, for instance, exclude repatriation entirely or only cover medical expenses below the required minimum. Check the actual policy wording rather than assuming “having insurance” is enough on its own.

What happens if you don’t meet the requirement

For a Schengen visa, not having a policy that meets the €30,000 minimum is grounds for the application to be refused: the consulate can reject it outright for incomplete documentation, without even getting to the rest of your file. Where insurance is included in the authorisation fee, as with Saudi Arabia’s eVisa, there is no way to get the authorisation without it. In Cuba, arriving without a policy doesn’t keep you out, but you have to buy one at the airport from Asistur.

How to check before you buy

Before buying insurance specifically to meet an entry requirement, check at least:

• The minimum coverage required, in the relevant currency (€30,000 for Schengen; check the exact figure for other destinations).
• The geographic scope (that it specifically covers the destination country or region, for the full length of the stay).
• Whether it includes medical or funeral repatriation coverage.
• If the country requires a certificate in a specific language, whether the policy can be issued in that language, because some Schengen consulates ask for it in the destination country’s language or in English/French.
• If the destination sets conditions on the insurer (Ukraine asks for one registered in the country or with an agreement with a local one), that the policy meets them, not just the minimum cover.

Where to buy it

On VisaRadar pair pages that already have confirmed providers, you’ll find recommended travel insurance options, with the same affiliate disclosure we apply across the site.

Guide verified 11/10/2026. Sources: Regulation (EC) 810/2009 (EU Visa Code), Art. 15 (€30,000 minimum coverage for Schengen visas); cuba.travel, Cuban Ministry of Tourism (insurance with medical cover mandatory since 1 May 2010, and purchase from Asistur on arrival); and the official sources cited on each destination’s page.