Expat insurance and health insurance in Chad

Chad’s health system remains very limited, even in the capital: restricted facilities, shortages of medical staff, medicines and equipment according to the most recent available data. In N’Djamena, the Hôpital de la Renaissance, in the N’Djari district, is a public facility with 240 beds, opened in 2013 and fully funded by the Chadian state, originally designed as an alternative to medical evacuations abroad. France Diplomatie designates it as the best equipped in the country, particularly for medical imaging, while noting that it does not meet European standards of care quality and diagnosis. The private facility International SOS is able to treat medical emergencies, but is only accessible to its own policyholders. The French embassy’s medico-social centre in N’Djamena, which operates on an annual subscription basis, can nonetheless see French nationals passing through for consultations. Outside the capital, health infrastructure is described as particularly weak by France Diplomatie, which recommends a prior medical consultation before any travel to the regions.

• Mandatory visa for any stay, obtained exclusively from a Chadian diplomatic or consular mission before departure: no Chadian visa can be issued at the border.
• Mandatory yellow fever vaccination (cases were reported in 2021), to be carried out at an approved centre, preferably at least 10 days before departure.
• Vaccination against meningococcal meningitis ACWY strongly advised: outbreaks hit Chad every year from late February to late May, causing deaths.
• Malaria present across the whole territory: protection against mosquito bites and preventive treatment (chemoprophylaxis) to determine with a travel doctor before departure.
• No health insurance is formally required for entry, but France Diplomatie recommends checking your cover before leaving, as the embassy covers no medical costs: cover including hospitalisation and repatriation / medical evacuation is strongly advised given the weakness of local medical facilities.
• CFE recommended, as no France-Chad agreement coordinates the health branch.

Security context, addressed here only from the angle of access to care: France Diplomatie formally advises against Tibesti, Ennedi, eastern Borkou, the Lake Chad region and all border areas. Beyond the security risk, it notes a health risk specific to any travel in an orange zone, due to weak regional medical infrastructure, and recommends a prior medical consultation before any travel outside N’Djamena.

No bilateral social security agreement exists between France and Chad: the country is absent both from CLEISS's list of agreements in force and from that of agreements 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 Chad has no access to any statutory public health coverage scheme: only the Caisse des Français de l’Étranger (CFE) or private international health insurance provide effective coverage.

1. Before departure: apply for a visa exclusively from a Chadian diplomatic or consular mission (none issued at the border), get yellow fever vaccinated at an approved centre at least 10 days before departure, and check for cover including hospitalisation and repatriation / medical evacuation.
2. Before departure: consult a travel doctor for antimalarial chemoprophylaxis and meningitis ACWY vaccination (frequent outbreaks from late February to late May).
3. Before any travel outside N’Djamena: check France Diplomatie's regularly updated travel advice, particularly for border areas, Tibesti, Ennedi, eastern Borkou and the Lake Chad region.
4. On arrival: registration recommended with the roll of French nationals living abroad at the French embassy in N’Djamena.
5. Voluntary CFE membership recommended, as no France-Chad agreement coordinates the health branch.