Expat insurance and health insurance in Sudan

France Diplomatie states that healthcare infrastructure has been considerably hit by the conflict active since April 2023, and that the country is experiencing a severe medicine shortage. Vaccines are not available locally, which is why they should be done before departure. No reference healthcare facility or local emergency number is publicly given by France Diplomatie for Sudan: this information remains not publicly available. The same source states that it is essential to have an assistance contract or insurance covering all medical costs, including surgery and hospitalisation, as well as medical repatriation, as these costs can under no circumstances be covered by the French embassy on site.

Healthcare provision relies partly on humanitarian organisations. According to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the organisation operates in 11 of Sudan’s 18 states, notably in Darfur (North, South, Central), in Khartoum, in Kordofan and in Blue Nile State, with its main activities being the treatment of war wounds (surgery and trauma care), treatment of malnutrition, maternal health support, vaccination and the response to cholera outbreaks. It supports in particular the teaching hospitals of Nyala, Bashair (south of Khartoum) and Zalingei. Healthcare facilities and their staff are being attacked and looted according to Doctors Without Borders, which also reports deliberate blocking of humanitarian supply deliveries, difficulties obtaining visas and travel permits, and the suspension of its activities in Zamzam in February 2025 due to a siege. Given the severity of the situation, a medical evacuation should be anticipated for any serious condition, with no certainty that it could be organised from Sudanese territory.

• Visa mandatory for all visitors, including holders of official passports, to be requested from the Sudanese embassy in the country of residence; processing time can take up to 5 weeks and multiple-entry visas are rarely issued, according to France Diplomatie.
• Passport valid for at least 6 months from the date of entry into Sudanese territory.
• Mandatory registration with the passports general directorate within three days of arrival, to be renewed in every city visited; failure to comply with this formality exposes visitors to a fine.
• Travel permit required for any travel outside Khartoum.
• Passport bearing an Israeli visa or stamp: according to France Diplomatie, entry was not admitted in this case, a situation that may have changed since the 2021 Abraham Accords, without confirmation in the sources consulted to date.
• France Diplomatie states that it is essential to have an assistance contract or insurance covering medical costs (including surgery and hospitalisation) and medical repatriation, as these costs can under no circumstances be covered by the French embassy.
• Vaccinations to consider depending on the traveller’s profile and length of stay, according to France Diplomatie: yellow fever (particularly in the south of the country), hepatitis A and B, typhoid fever, ACWY meningitis, tuberculosis (children under 15 on an extended stay), rabies, as well as vigilance for chikungunya, dengue and mpox depending on ongoing outbreaks — as vaccines are not available locally, they must be done before departure.
• CFE recommended, as no France-Sudan agreement coordinates health coverage.

Security context, addressed here solely from the angle of access to healthcare and assistance: France Diplomatie formally advises against all travel to the whole of Sudanese territory. The French embassy’s offices in Khartoum are closed; the embassy continues its activities from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and can no longer provide consular assistance on the ground in Sudan. French nationals still present are urged by France Diplomatie to leave the country for Egypt or Ethiopia. In an emergency, France Diplomatie refers people to the French embassy in Ethiopia; the sources consulted mention no medical evacuation arrangement organised by the French authorities from Sudanese territory.

No bilateral social security agreement exists between France and Sudan: the country does not appear on 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 systems, for any branch (health-maternity, old age, workplace accidents, family benefits).
• No totalisation of insurance periods, no export of rights.
• No form equivalent to SE 401/350/351 used with other countries.
• A French resident in Sudan has no identified statutory public health coverage scheme in the sources consulted: only Caisse des Français de l’Étranger (CFE) or private international health insurance provides effective coverage, including medical evacuation.

1. Before any travel: check France Diplomatie’s travel advice, updated regularly, as the whole of Sudanese territory is formally advised against.
2. Before departure: apply for a visa at the Sudanese embassy in the country of residence (processing time up to 5 weeks, passport valid for at least 6 months), and check health cover including hospitalisation and medical evacuation / repatriation, as these costs can under no circumstances be covered by the French embassy according to France Diplomatie.
3. Before departure: consult a travel doctor for recommended vaccinations (yellow fever, hepatitis A and B, typhoid fever, ACWY meningitis, tuberculosis, rabies depending on profile), as vaccines are not available locally.
4. On site, where applicable: mandatory registration with the passports general directorate within three days of arrival, and obtaining a travel permit for any travel outside Khartoum.
5. For any consular procedure or in an emergency: as the French embassy’s offices in Khartoum are closed, the embassy continues its activities from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); French nationals still in Sudan are urged by France Diplomatie to leave the country for Egypt or Ethiopia.
6. Voluntary affiliation to the CFE recommended, as no France-Sudan agreement coordinates health coverage.