International health insurance in Turkey

Yes. All residence permit applicants under 65 must hold a YSS-compliant private health insurance policy from a Turkish-licensed insurer for the full permit duration. From 1 April 2025, minimum cover is TRY 15,000 outpatient and TRY 150,000 inpatient at non-contracted hospitals. Employed expats are exempt because SGK covers them from day one. Voluntary SGK enrollment is only available after 1 year of continuous legal residence.

Yes. Feather's international plans satisfy YSS requirements for all Turkish residence permits — Short-Term, Family, Student, Long-Term and Digital Nomad — and meet the April 2025 minimum thresholds (TRY 15,000 outpatient, TRY 150,000 inpatient at non-contracted hospitals). You receive your insurance certificate immediately after sign-up so you can submit it with your DGMM application.

No. Turkey is not part of the European Health Insurance Card scheme — your EHIC/GHIC is completely worthless there, even for emergencies at private hospitals. EU citizens need the same YSS-compliant private cover as everyone else. State hospital ER is free for everyone by law, but anything beyond that (including all private hospital care) requires insurance or out-of-pocket payment.

Pay your doctor or hospital, then open the Feather app, upload a photo of the receipt, and we reimburse you — no Turkish-language documents needed. For inpatient care at partner hospitals like Acıbadem, Memorial, Florence Nightingale or Medipol, we can often arrange direct billing so you don't pay upfront.

Yes — easily in Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya and İzmir. The 30+ JCI-accredited private hospitals (Acıbadem, Memorial, Florence Nightingale, Anadolu Medical Center, Medipol, Liv) all have dedicated international patient departments operating in English, Arabic, Russian, German and French. Outside major cities and in public hospitals, English is much more limited — choose private with an international plan for predictable language access.

Yes. Golden Visa holders can't access EFKA (Greece's public healthcare system) and must hold private insurance with at least €30,000 in coverage, plus medical repatriation. This applies to your initial application and every renewal. Feather provides the required documentation instantly.