Expat insurance and health insurance in Libya

France Diplomatie states that Libyan health facilities do not meet French standards. Surgical procedures are strongly advised against there, transfusion safety not being perfectly guaranteed according to the same source, and medical aid may be unavailable in areas far from urban centres. France Diplomatie also specifies that air ambulance services may not be authorised to operate on Libyan territory. In a medical emergency, the number to call for an ambulance is 1415. No list of reference public hospitals is publicly disclosed by France Diplomatie or CLEISS for Libya: this information remains not publicly disclosed.

The care offer partly relies on humanitarian organisations, whose presence has seen significant interruptions. According to Médecins Sans Frontières, the organisation was operating before 2025 in Tripoli (detention centre, mobile clinic), Zuwara (basic healthcare, sexual and reproductive health, tuberculosis care, migrant assistance) and Benghazi (maternal and child care), and had run an emergency intervention in Derna after the 2023 floods. Its activities were suspended in March 2025 after its premises were closed by Libyan authorities, expulsion from the country was notified in October 2025, and authorisation to resume activities was obtained in January 2026. The tuberculosis unit that Médecins Sans Frontières had set up in 2020 within Misrata’s chest hospital, the only public reference centre for tuberculosis identified in the sources consulted, was handed over to the Libyan Ministry of Health at the end of 2024 / start of 2025. Given the fragility of the system and access restrictions, a medical evacuation should be anticipated for any serious condition.

• Mandatory visa: entry to Libya is only authorised with a visa obtained beforehand, to be requested from the Libyan embassy in Paris (6-8, rue Chasseloup-Laubat, 75015 Paris).
• Passport bearing an Israeli visa or stamp: no foreigner is admitted to Libyan territory in that case, according to France Diplomatie.
• Entry health measures: all Covid-19 related health restriction measures have been lifted (as of 15/09/2026).
• No specifically named legal health insurance requirement for entry has been identified in the sources consulted, but France Diplomatie states that comprehensive health insurance, including repatriation cover, is essential before departure.
• Vaccinations to consider depending on profile and length of stay, according to France Diplomatie: updated standard French vaccines (diphtheria, tetanus, polio, pertussis, measles), hepatitis A and typhoid fever depending on length of stay, meningitis ACWY (particularly in the dry season), rabies (particularly for young children in rural areas) and tuberculosis (children under 15 on an extended stay).
• CFE recommended, since no France-Libya agreement coordinates the sickness branch.

Security context, addressed here only from the angle of access to care and assistance: France Diplomatie formally advises against all travel to Tripoli and across the entire Libyan territory, with travel to Misrata and Benghazi advised against except for essential reasons. The French embassy in Tripoli reopened on 29 March 2022, but administrative procedures for French nationals on site remain handled by the French consulate general in Tunis (+216 71 105 000, courrier@consulfrance-tunis.org). The sources consulted mention no evacuation arrangement organised by the French authorities from Libyan territory.

No bilateral social security agreement exists between France and Libya: the country is absent from the list of bilateral social security agreements published by CLEISS, whether among those in force or those signed but not yet applied.

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

1. Before any travel: check France Diplomatie's travel advice, updated regularly, with Tripoli and the entire territory formally advised against (Misrata and Benghazi except for essential reasons).
2. Before departure: visa application from the Libyan embassy in Paris, and checking health cover including hospitalisation and medical evacuation / repatriation, since air ambulance services may not be authorised to operate on site.
3. Before departure: a travel doctor consultation for recommended vaccinations (standard French vaccines up to date, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, meningitis ACWY, rabies, tuberculosis depending on profile and length of stay).
4. On site: in a medical emergency, call 1415 for an ambulance.
5. For any administrative consular procedure: contact the French consulate general in Tunis (+216 71 105 000, courrier@consulfrance-tunis.org), competent for French nationals in Libya.
6. Voluntary affiliation with the CFE recommended, since no France-Libya agreement coordinates the sickness branch.