Expat insurance and health insurance in Myanmar

France Diplomatie describes Myanmar's health infrastructure as particularly outdated; the public sector has deteriorated since 2021. Private clinics are recommended in an emergency, with payment generally required upon admission. For any hospitalisation or consultation, the same source recommends favouring Yangon, Mandalay or Naypyidaw, as facilities in other cities are judged unreliable. The Yangon General Hospital, in Yangon, is the country's leading public reference hospital, founded in 1899 and with around 2,000 beds. On the private sector side, the same city is home to the Victoria Hospital, a multi-specialty facility with around a hundred beds, the Pun Hlaing Siloam Hospital (Hlaing Tharyar township), and the International SOS Clinic, cited by France Diplomatie among useful contacts in the event of a medical emergency.

Health risks reported by France Diplomatie include mosquito-borne diseases (dengue, with frequent transmission from May to October, Japanese encephalitis, chikungunya, zika), malaria in remote rural areas and in Rakhine State year-round, rabies (more than 100 human cases reported each year), leptospirosis and bilharzia through contact with contaminated water, and scrub typhus. A cholera outbreak affecting several hundred cases was active in Yangon in September 2026, concentrated in eight townships. Recommended vaccinations, depending on profile and length of stay, include yellow fever, hepatitis A and B, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, rabies and Japanese encephalitis, in addition to the standard French vaccinations (diphtheria, tetanus, polio, whooping cough, measles). In the event of serious illness, France Diplomatie recommends a medical evacuation to Thailand or Singapore.

• Visa mandatory before any travel: no entry is possible without a prior visa. A tourist or business e-visa has been issued online (evisa.moip.gov.mm) since 17 April 2022.
• Passport valid for at least 6 months after the planned arrival date.
• Entry by air only, via the international airports of Yangon and Mandalay. Land borders remain largely closed to foreigners, except for a few limited crossing points (Ranong/Kawthaung, Myawaddy/Mae Sot, Tachilek/Mae Sai) for day visits only.
• Business visa: requires an invitation from a Burmese public or private entity, as the French embassy is not authorised to issue it.
• No named legal obligation to have health insurance for entry, but France Diplomatie indicates that it is essential to have an assistance contract or insurance covering all medical costs (including surgery and hospitalisation) and medical repatriation, as health expenses can be very high abroad.
• Vaccinations to consider depending on profile and length of stay, according to France Diplomatie: yellow fever, hepatitis A and B, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, rabies and Japanese encephalitis.
• CFE recommended, as no Franco-Burmese agreement coordinates the sickness branch.

Security, addressed here only from the angle of access to care and assistance: France Diplomatie formally advises against any travel to several areas of Burmese territory — Kachin State and most of Shan State, Kayah State (including Pekon, Hopong and Hsipaw townships), Kayin State (Karen), particularly the border zone with Thailand, Rakhine State (Arakan), Chin State, Sagaing region, Magway region and its capital, the northern part of Tenasserim province up to Myeik, as well as other border areas in the north and west. The rest of the territory is advised against except for essential reasons, with a recommendation to favour air travel for domestic trips and to observe heightened vigilance. The country also experiences recurring fuel supply tensions, causing transport disruptions.

No bilateral social security agreement exists between France and Myanmar: the country is absent from the list of bilateral social security agreements published by CLEISS, both among those in force and among those signed but not yet applied. In Asia, only South Korea, India, Israel, Japan and the Philippines have an agreement in force with France, and China a signed agreement not yet in force.

• No coordination of rights between the two schemes, regardless of the branch (sickness-maternity, old age, occupational injury, family benefits).
• No totalisation of insurance periods, no export of rights.
• No form equivalent to the SE 401/350/351 used with other countries.
• A French resident in Myanmar has no access to any public health cover scheme by right identified in the sources consulted: only the Caisse des Français de l’Étranger (CFE) or private international health insurance provides effective cover, including medical evacuation.

1. Before any travel: check France Diplomatie's travel advice, updated regularly, as several areas of Burmese territory are formally advised against.
2. Before departure: apply for a tourist or business e-visa online (evisa.moip.gov.mm), have a passport valid for at least 6 months, and verify health cover including hospitalisation and evacuation / medical repatriation, judged essential by France Diplomatie.
3. Before departure: consult a travel doctor for recommended vaccinations (yellow fever, hepatitis A/B, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, rabies, Japanese encephalitis depending on profile and length of stay).
4. On arrival: entry only through the international airports of Yangon or Mandalay, as land borders remain largely closed to foreigners.
5. Registration with the roll of French nationals living abroad recommended from the moment of settling.
6. Voluntary affiliation with the CFE recommended, as no Franco-Burmese agreement coordinates the sickness branch.