There is no single best health insurance for expats in Vietnam - the right pick depends on your tier. Budget residents get local cover from Bao Viet or PVI for roughly $200-600 a year; nomads pay about $49 a month for SafetyWing; and anyone wanting worldwide limits, evacuation and pre-existing cover looks at Pacific Cross, Cigna Global, Allianz Care or William Russell at $1,500-5,500+ a year. If you just need a policy sorted fast alongside your visa, there is a shortcut for that too — our visa services page covers the e-visa and run side while you shop the insurance tiers below.
I have lived in Da Nang for four years and run visa runs and e-visas for people who stay long-term, so I have watched the insurance question hit expats from both sides: the ones who never insured and got a $10,000 hospital bill, and the ones who overpaid for a Cigna plan when a $49 nomad policy would have covered their year. No insurer paid to appear here. This is the honest split by tier.
Do you even need private health insurance in Vietnam?
Yes, if you want treatment at an international-standard hospital. Vietnam’s public health insurance (BHYT) only reimburses care at public hospitals at subsidised rates - it does not cover FV Hospital, Vinmec, Family Medical Practice, English-speaking doctors or medical evacuation. A serious inpatient stay at a private international facility in Vietnam can exceed $10,000, and these hospitals usually require upfront payment before they discharge you.
Day-to-day care is cheap: a specialist consultation at Vinmec or FV Hospital typically costs under $30, and private inpatient rooms run roughly VND 6-20 million (~$235-800) a night. It is the emergency - the motorbike crash, the appendix, the evacuation - that ruins people who skip cover.
Quick comparison: all eight insurers by tier
| Insurer | Tier | Best for | Rough annual price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bao Viet InterCare | Local | State-backed budget cover | ~$200-600 |
| PVI / PTI | Local | Cheapest Vietnam-only cover | ~$200-600 |
| Pacific Cross | International (regional) | Value + direct billing in Asia | ~1/5 of full international |
| Cigna Global | International | Pre-existing, families, US-quality | ~$5,500 (basic from ~$1,800) |
| Allianz Care | International | Pre-existing after moratorium | ~$3,200 (quote-gated) |
| William Russell | International | Transparent-priced global cover | ~$3,020 |
| SafetyWing | Nomad | Cheap monthly travel-medical | ~$49/mo (~$592/yr) |
| Genki | Nomad | Flexible nomad + long-term tiers | Basic near SafetyWing, Premium higher |
Prices are 2026 approximations - verify a live quote for your age and region before buying.
1. Bao Viet InterCare - the state-backed local option
Bao Viet is Vietnam’s largest state-owned insurer, and its InterCare product is the go-to local plan for budget-conscious expats. You choose a geographic tier - Vietnam, ASEAN, Asia-Pacific or Worldwide - and premiums for the Vietnam tier sit in the roughly $200-600 a year range. It has English-speaking agents in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang and physical offices you can walk into.
Pros: state-owned with a large local network; cheap versus any international plan. Cons: lower coverage limits and thinner English claims support; base tiers carry limited or no evacuation.
2. PVI / PTI - the cheapest Vietnam-only cover
PVI and PTI round out Vietnam’s top-three domestic health insurers alongside Bao Viet. They are built for people who want a Vietnam-centric policy and nothing more - solid for local public and mid-tier private hospitals, thin on international benefits. If your life is fully in Vietnam and you will fly home for anything major, this is the floor price.
Pros: low cost; genuine local claims presence. Cons: Vietnam-centric with thin international benefits; paperwork is often Vietnamese-first.
3. Pacific Cross - best value with real direct billing
Pacific Cross is where most healthy expats under about 55 should look first. It is a regional insurer with 65+ years in Asia; the Vietnam product is administered by Pacific Cross Vietnam and underwritten by Hung Vuong Insurance, a licensed Vietnamese company. The killer feature is inpatient direct billing across a partner network that includes top Vietnamese hospitals and Bangkok Hospital - you go cashless instead of paying and claiming back. Its Care Cross tiers are priced by annual cap and land at roughly a fifth of a full international plan.
Pros: extensive Asia direct-billing network; strong value versus full international. Cons: regional rather than truly worldwide on lower tiers; limits below top-end Cigna or Allianz.
4. Cigna Global - the premium worldwide plan
Cigna Global is the plan for expats with pre-existing conditions, families needing maternity, or anyone who wants US-quality worldwide cover. Plans average around $5,500 a year, with basic tiers from about $1,800 and deductible options from $0 to $10,000 - cranking the deductible up is how you cut the premium. You get high limits, a global network, evacuation and an instant online quote.
Pros: top-tier limits and global network; flexible deductibles with transparent online pricing. Cons: expensive at comprehensive tiers; overkill for a budget Vietnam-only stay.
5. Allianz Care - pre-existing cover after a moratorium
Allianz Care offers broad international plans and, importantly, covers pre-existing conditions after a two-year moratorium - useful if Cigna’s underwriting excluded yours. Mid-tier cover runs around $3,200 a year at age 35, though Vietnam pricing is quote-gated: you only get a number through a sales conversation. Watch the naming - the local Allianz Care Vietnam product is not the same as the global plan.
Pros: covers pre-existing conditions after the moratorium; strong global brand and network. Cons: no transparent online price for Vietnam; easy to confuse local and global Allianz.
6. William Russell - transparent international pricing
William Russell is the international plan for people who hate the quote-gate. Individual cover excluding the US averages about $3,020 a year before discounts, and you get a real price online without a sales call. It is genuine worldwide cover with evacuation and a solid support reputation.
Pros: transparent upfront pricing; solid international coverage and support. Cons: not the cheapest for a Vietnam-only life; fewer local offices than domestic insurers.
7. SafetyWing - cheap monthly cover for nomads
SafetyWing Nomad Insurance is the default for digital nomads passing through Vietnam. Its Essential plan is about $45.56 per four-week cycle (~$49 a month) for ages 10-39, with a $0 deductible on the base plan and coverage across 180+ countries. Higher Standard and Premium tiers add GP visits and fuller outpatient cover, and there is up to $1,000 a year of dental. The catch: it is travel-medical, not comprehensive expat health, and it reimburses rather than direct-bills.
Pros: cheap, monthly, no fixed term and easy signup; $0 base deductible with global reach. Cons: travel-medical rather than full expat health; you pay first and claim back.
8. Genki - flexible German-run nomad and expat tiers
Genki splits into Genki Traveler for nomads and mid-term stays and Genki Native for long-term expats, each with Basic and Premium levels. Genki Basic is priced near SafetyWing, while Genki Premium is generally more comprehensive than SafetyWing - a step up if you want fuller cover without jumping to a full international insurer.
Pros: flexible tiers with a strong Premium option; both nomad and long-term expat plans. Cons: the Basic tier is limited; fewer local direct-billing partners than Pacific Cross.
How to choose health insurance in Vietnam?
Start with how long you are staying and where you want to be treated. A digital nomad here for a few months takes SafetyWing or Genki Traveler and moves on. Someone settling in Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh City for years wants Pacific Cross for the direct-billing network, or Bao Viet if budget is everything. Anyone with a pre-existing condition, a family, or a need for worldwide cover pays up for Cigna, Allianz or William Russell.
Then check three things before you sign: direct billing versus reimbursement (Pacific Cross and the international insurers go cashless at FV Hospital, Vinmec and Family Medical Practice; nomad plans make you pay first), evacuation cover (international insurers fund a transfer to Singapore or Bangkok, which BHYT and cheap local plans do not), and whether your visa status forces a plan on you at all.
Is health insurance mandatory for a Vietnam visa in 2026?
Not for the visa itself. As of 2026 no Vietnam visa type - tourist, e-visa, business, work, investor or talent - legally requires proof of health or travel insurance, and the e-visa application asks for no policy number. Immigration officers can still ask arrivals to show cover, occasionally for stays near 90 days, and an on-the-spot policy runs roughly $50-100 for the minimum. If you want the fee side of staying legal, I broke down what a Vietnam visa actually costs separately.
Where it does become compulsory is employment. Under the 2024 Social Insurance Law and Decree 158/2025/ND-CP, from 1 July 2025 foreign employees on a labour contract of 12 months or longer with a Vietnam-based employer must join compulsory social and health insurance - health cover alone is 4.5% of capped salary (3% employer, 1.5% employee). That is state BHYT, not a private plan, so most insured workers still buy supplemental private cover on top.
This is where I come in - not for insurance, but for the visa and residence side that decides which rules you fall under. I run e-visas and visa runs out of Da Nang, pay the government fee with a card the portal actually accepts, and get people onto the right long-stay footing so the work-permit and compulsory-insurance question is answered before it becomes a fine. If your status is the messy part, message me on Telegram and I will sort the visa while you shop the policy.
Where to get help
Insurance is one piece of staying in Vietnam legally; the visa underneath it is the other. If you want a hand with the visa side - e-visa, extension, visa run or the long-stay paperwork that triggers compulsory health cover - I do that hands-on from Da Nang. Read the details or book on danangvisarun.com, message me on Telegram @learnx1000 for visa, e-visa and visa-run help, or reach me on WhatsApp if you do not use Telegram - just write, no keyword needed. I will tell you honestly which visa route fits, and the insurance decision stays your own.
Frequently asked questions
Is health insurance mandatory for a Vietnam visa, work permit or TRC in 2026? Not for the visa or e-visa - as of 2026 no Vietnam visa type legally requires proof of insurance. It becomes compulsory only through employment: foreign staff on a labour contract of 12 months or longer must join state social and health insurance from 1 July 2025 under Decree 158/2025/ND-CP.
Do tourists or e-visa holders need travel or health insurance to enter Vietnam? No policy is legally required to enter on a tourist or e-visa. Officers can occasionally ask to see cover for longer stays, so carrying a basic travel-medical policy is smart, but it is not an entry condition and the e-visa form never asks for one.
How much does health insurance for expats in Vietnam cost per month? Roughly $17-50 a month for local cover ($200-600/yr), about $49 a month for SafetyWing nomad cover, and $125-460+ a month for full international plans ($1,500-5,500+/yr). Your age, tier and whether you want worldwide cover drive the number.
Does Vietnam’s public health insurance cover foreigners at private hospitals? No. BHYT reimburses treatment only at public hospitals at subsidised rates. It does not cover FV Hospital, Vinmec, Family Medical Practice, English-speaking care or medical evacuation, which is why most expats add a private plan.
Do international plans include medical evacuation to Singapore or Bangkok? Yes - Pacific Cross and the full international insurers (Cigna, Allianz, William Russell) can arrange and fund evacuation to Singapore or Bangkok when local specialists cannot treat you. Local BHYT and most cheap local plans do not, which is a key reason to move up a tier if you are far from a major city.
