Expat insurance and health insurance in Syria

France Diplomatie describes a health system completely dismantled since 2011: hospitals function poorly, notably due to frequent power cuts, and are unable to provide adequate patient care. The deterioration of sanitary conditions has come with a resurgence of diseases, including polio, according to the same source. No specific healthcare facility is recommended by France Diplomatie for French nationals: the only French structure explicitly mentioned, the French embassy in Damascus, is closed, with its consular duties transferred to the French consulate general in Beirut (Lebanon) and, additionally, to the French embassy in Jordan.

Available public sources do not provide a detailed facility overview or a list of reference public hospitals for Syria: this information remains not publicly disclosed by France Diplomatie or CLEISS. Care provision relies largely on humanitarian organisations. According to Médecins Sans Frontières, the organisation operates in 2025 in around ten hospitals and about twenty clinics and primary health centres spread across 12 of Syria's 14 governorates, supports hospitals in Deir Ez-Zor, Raqqa and Deraa for emergency care, malnutrition treatment and maternal care, and directly runs a specialised hospital in Idlib. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) states it has installed solar power systems in hospitals, physical rehabilitation centres and health centres in Damascus, Aleppo, Sweida, Homs and Deir Ez-Zor, and has delivered emergency medical supplies to the military hospital in Hasakah, the Raqqa health directorate and the national hospital in Sweida. Given the overall fragility of the system, medical evacuation should be anticipated for any serious condition.

• Mandatory visa: entry into Syria is only permitted with a valid passport and a visa issued by a Syrian diplomatic or consular mission.
• Passport bearing an Israeli visa or stamp: no foreign national is admitted to Syrian territory in this case, according to France Diplomatie.
• Registration with the authorities: beyond 15 days of stay, registration with the immigration services is required, whatever the visa's period of validity.
• Entry via Lebanon: a French national entering Syria overland from Lebanon can only obtain a visa if they can prove Lebanese residency or entry into Lebanon via Beirut airport.
• No legally named health insurance requirement for entry has been identified, but France Diplomatie states it is essential to check one’s insurance cover before travelling, as hospitalisation costs can be very high and the embassy cannot cover them under any circumstances.
• Vaccinations to consider depending on profile and length of stay, according to France Diplomatie: polio, hepatitis A and B, typhoid fever, meningitis ACWY, rabies and mpox depending on exposure risk.
• CFE recommended, as no France-Syria agreement coordinates the health branch.

Security context, addressed here only from the angle of access to care and assistance: France Diplomatie formally advises against all travel to the entirety of Syrian territory. The French embassy in Damascus is closed and France states it cannot provide any consular protection in Syria; for any urgent consular matter, French nationals on the ground are invited to contact the French consulate general in Beirut (Lebanon) or, additionally, the French embassy in Jordan. The sources consulted mention no evacuation scheme organised by the French authorities from Syrian territory.

No bilateral social security agreement exists between France and Syria: the country is absent from CLEISS's list of bilateral social security agreements, whether in force or signed but not yet applied.

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

1. Before any travel: check France Diplomatie's regularly updated travel advice, as the entire Syrian territory is formally advised against.
2. Before departure: apply for a visa with a Syrian diplomatic or consular mission, and check for health cover including hospitalisation and medical evacuation / repatriation, as the French embassy cannot cover any medical costs.
3. Before departure: consult a travel doctor for recommended vaccinations (polio, hepatitis A/B, typhoid fever, meningitis ACWY, rabies, mpox depending on profile and exposure).
4. On the ground, beyond 15 days of stay: register with the Syrian immigration services.
5. For any consular matter, as the French embassy in Damascus is closed: contact the French consulate general in Beirut (Lebanon) or, additionally, the French embassy in Jordan.
6. Voluntary CFE membership recommended, as no France-Syria agreement coordinates the health branch.