Expat insurance and health insurance in Iran

Iran’s healthcare system is overseen by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, which runs, among other things, the public hospital network and medical training. Social cover for private-sector employees rests on a mandatory scheme, the Social Security Organisation (SSO, Sazman Tamin Ejtemaei), created in 1950, funded by a contribution shared between employee, employer and the state, covering health insurance as well as pensions and occupational accidents. Joining the SSO requires declared salaried employment or formal resident status: a visitor on a simple short-stay visa has no access to it and remains covered, where applicable, solely by travel insurance taken out before departure.

The SSO benefit package covers primary care, routine emergencies and a large share of hospitalisation in public or contracted facilities; the public network suffers from regional disparities and drug shortages linked to import difficulties, with cases of counterfeiting reported by the French embassy, notably for contraceptives. In response, an international private sector has developed, particularly in Tehran, driven by active medical tourism recognised for cosmetic surgery (rhinoplasty in particular) and cardiology; the larger private facilities have partly English-speaking teams dedicated to international patients, at the patient’s expense or that of their international health insurance.

• Visa mandatory for any stay, whatever its length: tourist or business visas do not exceed one month. Application is recommended several weeks in advance with the Iranian embassy in Paris, as issuance can be slow; a visa on arrival (30 days, €75, ordinary passport only) remains possible. Iranian consular services take fingerprints from all French nationals.
• Health/travel insurance required from the visa application stage: proof covering medical costs must be presented in the file, a requirement in force since 2011; failing a policy taken out before departure, a minimal local policy can be bought at the airport for around €17, but with no repatriation cover.
• SSO affiliation: reserved for people in declared salaried employment or holding formal resident status; a local employee is affiliated by their employer, with no personal steps to take.
• No France-Iran coordination: without a bilateral social security agreement, no card equivalent to the EHIC and no form allows a French insured person to assert their rights on site; outside the SSO and private insurance, care is billed at full rate, not publicly disclosed in a uniform way.
• Seconded employee : in the absence of an agreement, staying on the French scheme is a matter of French law alone (unilateral secondment), for a period of 3 years renewable once, without exemption from any contributions due in Iran.
• Entry form: the document issued at the border must be kept until leaving the territory.

Overstaying the authorised length of stay prevents departure until a fine has been settled with the border police; on health matters, the risk remains above all financial in the absence of suitable insurance, with no help from the French embassy for medical costs.

France and Iran are bound by no bilateral social security agreement: Iran does not appear on the official list of agreements in force published by CLEISS (updated December 2023). There is therefore neither an applicable European health insurance card, nor an A1 or S1 form enforceable against the Iranian authorities, nor any direct reimbursement mechanism between the two systems.

• Temporary stay: no European or bilateral coordination applies; only health/travel insurance taken out before departure (required for the visa since 2011) covers costs on site. It is worth checking with the insurer that Iranian territory is actually covered, as several Western policies explicitly exclude it (see below).
• Secondment from France: in the absence of an agreement, French law provides for unilateral secondment of 3 years, renewable once. The employee stays affiliated to the French scheme, with contributions paid in France, but is not thereby exempted from any contributions due in Iran. Care received on site is reimbursed retrospectively by the French fund, within the limit of French rates, on presentation of receipts and form S3125.
• Long-term move: SSO affiliation is conditional on declared salaried employment or formal resident status; no transfer of rights from France is provided for, pensions included.
• Several Western travel insurers explicitly exclude Iranian territory from their cover because of international sanctions (UN, European Union, United States, France): this is the case for Europ Assistance, which lists Iran among its excluded countries. A specialised French insurer (Chapka Assurances) suspended sales of its dedicated Iran product in 2025. Visa, Mastercard and other international card networks issued outside Iran cannot be used there because of sanctions, which requires payment in cash or via a local prepaid card for medical costs as well as other expenses.

1. Before departure: notify French agencies of your departure (CPAM, CAF, France Travail, pension funds).
2. Before applying for the visa: take out health/travel insurance covering medical costs and repatriation, and check with the insurer that Iranian territory is actually covered.
3. Seconded employee: arrange unilateral secondment with the employer through their French fund before departure (maximum duration 3 years, renewable once).
4. Put together the visa file (valid passport, fingerprints, insurance certificate) with the Iranian embassy in Paris, several weeks before departure, or plan for a visa on arrival (30 days, €75, ordinary passport).
5. Carry cash in euros for expenses on site, including care, as Visa and Mastercard cards issued outside Iran cannot be used there.
6. On arrival: keep the entry form issued at the border until leaving the territory.
7. Local employee: check SSO affiliation with the employer.
8. Keep receipts for care and form S3125 for any retrospective reimbursement request with the French fund (secondment case).
9. Register with the roll of French nationals living abroad (embassy of France in Tehran).