Expat insurance and health insurance in Uganda

Uganda currently has no generalised national health insurance scheme along the lines of Kenya's NHIF/SHIF or Rwanda's Mutuelle de Santé. A National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) bill, championed since 2019 by a Ugandan MP, was passed by Parliament in March 2021, with a contribution envisaged at around 15,000 UGX (about 4 USD) per month for members; the law has still not entered into force according to the most recent sources (2025), with healthcare funding in practice relying on the state budget, international donors and above all direct out-of-pocket payment by patients, which remains the norm for the vast majority of the population.

The public sector reference point is the Mulago National Referral Hospital, in Kampala, the country's largest hospital with an official capacity of 1,790 beds (900 at Lower Mulago, 700 at Upper Mulago), though several sources report occupancy regularly above 100%, with sometimes more than 3,000 patients treated at once and patients placed on the floor for lack of available beds. The private sector, concentrated in Kampala, is markedly better equipped and serves as the reference for the expat community: the International Hospital Kampala (IHK), renamed C-Care IHK after its partial acquisition by the CIEL group in 2015, around 100 beds, performed the country's first open-heart surgery there and offers a wide range of specialties (neurosurgery, cardiology, oncology, robotic surgery). The Nakasero Hospital, opened in 2009 and owned by a collective of doctors, also has an emergency department and an intensive care unit. Without suitable cover, the costs of these private facilities remain entirely at the patient's expense, both facilities operating on direct payment or a private insurance guarantee.

• Mandatory e-visa for every French national, to be applied for before departure on the official portal visas.immigration.go.ug: 50 USD for a single entry. The on-arrival visa has been suspended since 1 July 2021; every application must therefore be made online before boarding. Tourist visa extensions are handled locally, with the immigration authorities.
• East Africa Tourist Visa: a single visa covering Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, valid for 90 days with multiple entries, for 100 USD.
• Yellow fever: presenting a yellow fever vaccination certificate is mandatory for entry into Ugandan territory, regardless of origin — unlike neighbouring countries such as Rwanda, where this requirement only applies in the case of transit through an at-risk area.
• France Diplomatie describes taking out an assistance contract covering medical expenses, surgery, hospitalisation and medical repatriation as essential, since these costs can under no circumstances be covered by the French embassy on site.
• Malaria: the country is classified as zone 3, with a constant risk as soon as you leave Kampala; suitable antimalarial prophylaxis is strongly recommended.
• Other vaccinations to assess depending on profile and season: hepatitis A and B, typhoid fever, meningitis ACWY (particularly in the dry season), tuberculosis (children under 15), rabies, chikungunya, dengue.
• Extended stay or professional activity: a work or residence permit must be obtained from the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, on the same portal as the e-visa, depending on the length and purpose of the stay.

No specific fine has been identified for lacking health cover, but Kampala's private facilities in practice require a payment guarantee before any admission outside a life-threatening emergency.

No bilateral social security agreement between France and Uganda has been identified. CLEISS lists only 16 African countries and territories that have signed this type of agreement with France (Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Mayotte, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia) — Uganda is not among them. In the absence of any agreement, there is no coordination for healthcare, maternity, old age or family benefits between the two systems.

• No French rights-maintenance form applies in Uganda.
• Registering with CFE or taking out international private insurance are the only routes to cover recognised by a French system, regardless of profile.
• Uganda currently has no national health insurance scheme in force (the National Health Insurance Scheme bill, passed in 2021, has still not entered into application): no local option can therefore substitute for cover recognised in France.

• Before departure, regardless of purpose: apply for the e-visa on visas.immigration.go.ug and take out insurance or an assistance contract covering hospitalisation and repatriation, given the absence of any France-Uganda coordination.
• Before departure: get vaccinated against yellow fever at an approved centre, as this certificate is required on entry into the country regardless of origin, and consult a vaccination centre to assess the need for the other recommended vaccines (hepatitis A/B, typhoid fever, meningitis ACWY, rabies) and antimalarial prophylaxis (zone 3).
• For an extended stay or professional activity: start work or residence permit procedures with the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control well in advance.
• Voluntary enrolment with CFE recommended in the absence of any healthcare coordination and of a national health insurance scheme in force.
• Within 6 months of arrival: register with the roll of French nationals living abroad, at the French Embassy in Kampala.