Message To U.S. Citizens

January 24, 2012

New Mandatory Health Insurance For Foreigners in Turkey  

Effective January 1, 2012, the Turkish government implemented a mandatory health insurance law called the Social Insurance and Universal Health Insurance Law (UHI). It applies to foreigners who have resided in Turkey for more than one year as of January 1, 2012. All U.S. Citizen and foreign residents in Turkey have until January 31, 2012 to register at their nearest Social Security Provincial Directorate Office (Sosyal Güvenlik İl Müdürlüğü).  Those who fail to register by January 31, 2012 will be fined. 

Exactly how this new law applies to U.S. Citizens and the foreign community is difficult to interpret. The English wording of the law can be found here.   

Some of the key provisions of the law are as follows: 

1) First, registration appears mandatory:

"[foreigners]... shall be deemed to be universal health insurance holder as of the date they complete one year residence period in Turkey and they shall be registered with a universal health insurance entrance notification to be submitted within month from this date" (Article 61, item c). It also mentions that fines will apply if the entrance notification is not submitted within the one month time frame.  The amount of the fine is not specified. 

2) Even if you already have health insurance that covers you in Turkey it appears that you will still be required to enroll.  If you are not Turkish, and you have a Turkish residence permit, and you are "not insurance holders under legislation of a foreign country", you are - by legal definition - a holder of Universal Health Insurance (Article 60, item d) and you are obliged to pay premiums (Article 87, item b). 

There are several different interpretations of "not insurance holders under legislation of a foreign country" - specifically with regards to whether private health insurance, or travel insurance qualifies - and therefore exempts you from the UHI law. The phrase “under legislation of a foreign country” implies a national health insurance plan.  In the United States Medicare qualifies as a national health insurance plan but Medicare does not provide coverage outside of the United States. To learn more about Medicare coverage areas please click here. As a result, even if you are enrolled in Medicare in the United States you would still need to enroll in the Turkish UHI by January 31. 

3) This law appears to apply to any foreigner residing in Turkey for at least one year, regardless of whether or not they are employed.  There doesn't appear to be any clarification in the English wording. However, the absence of such wording in the definition in the English version (Article 61, item c) seems to imply that the UHI law applies regardless of work status. 

The U.S. Embassy in Turkey strongly recommends that U.S. citizens contact their local Social Security Provincial Directorate Office (Sosyal Guvenlik Il Mudurlugu) as soon as possible to get further information and avoid the fine.  

The information presented above is based on our best interpretation of information gathered up to January 24, 2012. Unfortunately, we are unable to guarantee the accuracy of this information. The information is provided as a guide and you should seek more information at your local Social Security Provincial Directorate Office (Sosyal Guvenlik Il Mudurlugu). 

For more information please visit the “Living in Turkey” section of the U.S. Embassy’s American Citizen Services website.  The “Living in Turkey” section of the website is currently under construction but will be available by the end of the day on Wednesday, January 25. 

Contact information for the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Turkey: 

The U.S. Embassy in Ankara is located at 110 Ataturk Boulevard, tel: (90)(312) 455-5555, fax (90)(312) 468-6131.  The Internet address is http://ankara.usembassy.gov/.  

The U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul is located at Uçsehitler Sokagi No. 2, 34460, Istinye, Sariyer, tel: (90) (212) 335-9000, fax (90) (212) 335-9102.  Istanbul-specific information can also be accessed via the Consulate's web site at http://istanbul.usconsulate.gov/.  

The U.S. Consulate in Adana is located at Girne Bulvari No. 212, Guzelevler Mahallesi, Yuregir, Adana, Turkey. tel: (90)(322) 346-6262, fax (90)(322) 346-7916, web site: http://adana.usconsulate.gov. 

The Consular Agency in Izmir can be reached at tel:(90) (232) 464-8755, fax (90) (232) 464-8916.