Brunei's Healthcare System: Organisation, Access for a Foreigner and Emergencies

The Ministry of Health operates the public hospitals, the health centres and the specialised services. It describes four hospitals: the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) hospital, the largest in the country, the main tertiary reference centre and teaching hospital; the Suri Seri Begawan hospital (Belait), providing secondary care, which has emergency, internal medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, psychiatry and orthopaedics; the Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah hospital (Tutong), with 139 beds, which also serves as an isolation centre for infectious diseases; and the Pengiran Isteri Hajjah Mariam hospital (Temburong), providing secondary care with visiting specialists from RIPAS, cases requiring tertiary care being transferred to RIPAS by boat or by road.

First-contact care goes through the ministry’s health centres, whose list and opening hours appear on its site. The ministry states as its objective a comprehensive, effective, affordable, equitable health system accessible to all in the country.

The Ministry of Health updated its health service charging policy on 1 July 2025. Permanent residents holding the purple identity card (of foreign nationality) and the foreign spouses of citizens or of holders of this card must now fund their care. Not concerned are patients already under treatment in a public hospital or in a contracted specialist centre before that date (their costs remain covered until the end of treatment or discharge), patients covered by the mental health law and those affected by an infectious disease covered by the infectious diseases law. Patients in financial difficulty can be referred to a medical social worker, with possible recourse to the ministry’s charity fund, the Islamic Religious Council or the Sultan’s foundation, or to staggered payment.

The ministry specifies that the treatment costs of these two categories came to tens of millions of BND a year, of which a significant share in a contracted specialist centre, and that it recommends health insurance to the persons concerned. The press release describes no obligation to insure, does not specify the situation of green card holders, mentions no registration fee and contains no scale. The fees per procedure appear in the ministry’s scale of charges, which the hospital or employer provides. A French national holding a work pass or a dependant pass confirms their payment arrangement with the employer and the ministry before any non-urgent care.

The ministry publishes the list of emergency numbers: ambulance (EMAS) on 991, fire brigade on 995, police on 993, search and rescue on 998, Darussalam line on 123, Harapan line (psychological support) on 145 and health advice on 148. France Diplomatie reminds that the French embassy in Bandar Seri Begawan can be reached on +673 222 09 60 or 61 during office hours, but that its means of assistance are limited.

France Diplomatie names no hospital. It judges hygiene conditions acceptable and states that serious cases requiring a specialised hospital may need a medical evacuation, organised by the local medical team and by the insurer. The RIPAS emergency department is open 24 hours a day according to the ministry; for the other hospitals, emergency reception should be confirmed before travelling. The Temburong hospital relies on transfers by boat or by road to RIPAS for specialised care.

France Diplomatie advises taking only the strictly necessary medicines, in their original packaging with the labels, accompanied by a prescription giving the names as international non-proprietary names, checking that they are permitted in Brunei and never buying medicines from street vendors because of counterfeits.

For a foreign employee, the Ministry of Health manages the health screening of foreign workers: a full medical examination before arrival, with blood tests for communicable diseases and a chest X-ray, then issue of a medical fitness certificate, required to obtain the work pass and applicable to renewals. The Labour Department also states that foreign workers must have work accident insurance and health insurance, proof of which is attached at the signing of the contract; the document gives no minimum ceiling figure. Any minimum cover amounts required of foreigners should be checked with the Labour Department and the Ministry of Health before signing a contract.

France Diplomatie recommends checking the French vaccination schedule (diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis, whooping cough, measles), then examining with the doctor or an international vaccination centre typhoid, hepatitis B for frequent or prolonged stays, tuberculosis for children under 15 in the event of a frequent or prolonged stay, rabies (young children, rural areas), Japanese encephalitis, and, in the event of an epidemic or a prolonged stay in an endemic area, chikungunya and dengue. Yellow fever is required of travellers coming from endemic areas.

• Dengue: no curative treatment; symptomatic care, without anti-inflammatory drugs; protection against mosquito bites.
• Chikungunya and Zika: prevention through protection against mosquitoes; pregnant women or those planning a pregnancy consult before leaving.
• Typhoid, rabies, tuberculosis, poliomyelitis: prevention through hygiene and vaccination when indicated.
• Water and food: wash your hands often, eat well-cooked food, peel or wash fruit and vegetables, drink only safe water.

For stays in the forest or jungle in Borneo, France Diplomatie recommends going only with an official guide.

As a foreigner’s access to care depends on their status, a written exchange with the employer or the insurer avoids unpleasant surprises. Four checks matter particularly:

• Payment status: does the holder of a work pass or dependant pass pay for their public care, and at what rate, according to the Ministry of Health scale?
• Limit and network: does the contract cover hospitalisation in public hospitals and in approved facilities, with direct settlement?
• Evacuation: does the contract provide for the medical evacuation that France Diplomatie sometimes judges necessary for serious cases, and who triggers it?
• Medical history: are pre-existing conditions, maternity and dental care covered, after what waiting periods?

The medical fitness certificate from the Ministry of Health, required for a work pass, does not replace insurance: it attests to health on arrival and opens no right to reimbursement.

France has no social security agreement with Brunei (CLEISS list; CLEISS is the French Centre for European and International Social Security Liaison): the carte Vitale is not used on the spot. France Diplomatie presents an assistance or insurance contract covering all medical costs, surgery, hospitalisation and medical repatriation as essential: without it, access to care can be refused, even in a life-threatening emergency, and the embassy does not pay these costs. The choice is made on the annual limit, evacuation, the hospital network and the handling of medical history. See the page expat health insurance, the guide healthcare reimbursement in Brunei and the page living in Brunei.