Healthcare Reimbursement in Egypt: Who Reimburses What Depending on Your Situation

France and Egypt are not linked by a bilateral social security agreement: Egypt does not appear in the CLEISS list of agreements, which names Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Israel in North Africa and the Near East. The French embassy points it out: the French State does not cover healthcare costs abroad. The European Health Insurance Card applies only in Europe, and there is no mechanism for totalising periods or for cross-coverage. Five players may be involved: the Egyptian scheme, the French scheme kept in place (secondment), the CFE, international health insurance and, for a short stay, travel insurance.

The notions of reimbursement basis and out-of-pocket cost help you compare. The conversions on this page rely on the Central Bank of Egypt rates of 04/10/2026: 58.77 to 58.93 EGP per €1. How the networks work is presented in the guide to the Egyptian healthcare system.

The employee on a local contract depends on the Egyptian schemes. In the governorates where universal health insurance is in force, the UHIA indicates that the insurance covers the family doctor, specialists, hospitalisation, surgery, imaging, tests, medicines, dental care, oncology and emergencies, financed by 1% of the insurable salary for the employee (plus 3% for a spouse without income and 1% per child) and 4% for the employer. Private insurance companies cover the complementary and hotel services not included in the public package: a private top-up therefore pays for comfort services that the public scheme does not finance. See the glossary entry on the local contract.

The seconded employee sent by a French employer stays in the French scheme for 3 years, renewable once, while remaining liable for any contributions that may exist in the country of work (CLEISS). Care is covered within the limit of the benefits the fund would have paid in France: the insured person pays on the spot, then sends their fund the paid invoices with form S 3125 “care received abroad”. Dependants who accompany them follow the same procedure, without family benefits; those who stay in France continue to deal with the fund. Employers often add an international group contract to cover the gap with local prices. See seconded or expat and the glossary entry on the seconded employee.

The self-employed person or digital nomad has no employer to enrol them in a local scheme. They choose between the CFE (the main plan from age 30, with no health questionnaire, from €87 a month) and international insurance, which reimburses actual costs within its ceilings but requires a medical questionnaire. Access to Egyptian universal insurance depends on the conditions the UHIA sets for resident foreigners. See digital nomad insurance.

The spouse and children follow the status of the main holder: dependants of the seconded employee (reimbursement under French rules), family of the universal insurance member (3% for a spouse without income, 1% per child) or a CFE or international family contract, with maternity and paediatrics depending on the contract. See expat family insurance and the guide to children’s cover abroad.

A retiree of the French scheme who settles in Egypt is covered neither by form S1, which applies only in Europe, nor by an agreement: Assurance Maladie specifies that, because of their departure from France, their healthcare costs are no longer covered, and names only twelve states or territories (Andorra, Quebec, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Morocco, Tunisia) where an agreement provides for cover. What remains is the CFE retirees’ plan, from €147 a month, reserved for people drawing a pension from the French basic scheme, with no medical questionnaire and no possible exclusion, or international insurance.

Temporary stays in France: a retiree of the general scheme registers with the National Centre for Retirees of France Abroad (Cnarefe). Since 1 July 2019, living outside an agreement country gives access to reimbursement in France only if the person has contributed at least 15 years to one or more French schemes. See the guide to retirees’ health insurance abroad and the page on retiring in Egypt.

The student, in the absence of an agreement, falls under the rule described by Assurance Maladie: before age 20 or for studies of less than six months, urgent medical costs are reimbursed by the parents’ fund within the limit of the French flat-rate tariffs (a school certificate and a return to France at least once per academic year are required); beyond that, the student joins the host country’s scheme and can top up with the CFE (youth plan, from €57 a month under age 30). See student insurance abroad.

• CFE member: the CFE reimburses according to the principles of the Sécurité sociale (the French social security system) in France, with direct billing in public and private hospitals; abroad, it applies a rate or flat amount specific to the country of care to actual expenses. Cover is immediate if enrolment takes place before departure or within three months of moving abroad; beyond that, the waiting period is three months before age 45 and six months from age 45. Maternity requires conception after enrolment. See CFE reimbursements.
• First-euro insurance: reimburses actual costs within its ceilings, after any excess, waiting periods and exclusions, with direct billing possible in the hospital network. Contracts are compared on the annual ceiling, the coverage zone, evacuation and the treatment of medical history.
• Tourist: France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry) considers a policy covering medical costs, surgery, hospitalisation and repatriation essential. Outside Europe, Assurance Maladie reimburses, at most, urgent and unforeseen care, on the basis of French flat-rate tariffs and with form S 3125. See long-stay travel insurance.

Resuming rights requires working in France or living there on a stable and regular basis. The CFE states that on your return there is no waiting period and that you rejoin your Sécurité sociale scheme; Assurance Maladie specifies that a CFE member without employment keeps their rights free of charge for the first three months after the final return, before joining the universal health coverage. The arrangements should be confirmed with the CFE and the local fund. See the guide to reducing the waiting period and the page on returning to France.

• Consultation: covered with the family doctor in the governorates with universal insurance; reimbursed on the country scale by the CFE, at French tariffs for the seconded employee, at actual costs in a first-euro contract.
• Hospital stay: covered by universal insurance within its network (5% contribution to the cost of an operation, capped at EGP 300); French scheme for the seconded employee; direct billing for an international contract.
• Medicines: 10% contribution in universal insurance (capped at EGP 1,000, about €17) and free medicines for cancer and chronic diseases; reimbursed according to CFE scales; France Diplomatie notes that medicine shortages are not rare.
• Dental: included in universal insurance, at the CFE according to its scales and in most international contracts within an annual ceiling.
• Optical: glasses and lenses are mostly covered by international contracts, with ceilings per period to read in the benefits table.
• Maternity: the CFE requires conception after enrolment; international contracts generally apply a waiting period; maternity follow-up should be confirmed with the chosen body before the pregnancy begins.

The reimbursement guide and the expat health insurance page give benchmarks; Expavy helps you weigh these options against your situation.