Healthcare in South Korea: no CAK, the NHIS after six months, and what you pay yourself
South Korea is not a treaty country for healthcare: after you emigrate there is no CAK scheme. In Korea you are compulsorily insured with the NHIS, the Korean health insurance. If you work, from your first working day, with a 7.19% contribution in 2026. If you do not work, after six months of residence. For those first months you arrange a policy yourself. The emergency number for an ambulance is 119.
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South Korea is not a treaty country for healthcare. The CAK, which arranges health insurance for pensioners in treaty countries, does not list Korea. After you emigrate your Dutch basic insurance stops, and there is no CAK scheme. In Korea you become compulsorily insured with the NHIS (National Health Insurance Service), the Korean health insurance. If you work in Korea, you are insured from the start. If you do not work, only after six months of residence.
What covers what?
| Scheme | For whom | What you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch basic insurance | stops after emigration | |
| CAK scheme | only in treaty countries; Korea is not one of them | |
| NHIS as an employee | anyone working for an employer that is insured, from the start | 7.19% of the monthly wage, half paid by the employer |
| NHIS as a locally insured person | foreign nationals without work, after six months of residence | a contribution based on income and assets, with a minimum |
| Own policy | everyone in the first six months, and anyone with the nomad visa | premium |
Why do you arrange it yourself first?
The CAK writes: if your new country of residence is not on the list, take out health insurance yourself in your country of residence. For Korea that means: if you do not work, you are not insured with the NHIS for the first six months. For that period you need your own policy, starting on the day your Dutch insurance stops. How to cancel that insurance without being uninsured for a single day is in cancelling your health insurance without a gap.
The Netherlands and Korea do have a social security agreement. On the Korean side it only covers the pension, not healthcare. It ensures that your AOW goes with you in full, but it does not pay a doctor.
If you are retired and live in Korea on an F-4 visa, count on your own policy for at least the first six months. Check that it starts on the day you deregister, and whether it covers your partner. With an F-6 visa the six-month waiting period does not apply: you are insured as soon as you have your residence card. Until that day you do need a policy of your own.
How does the NHIS work?
Since 16 July 2019 every foreign national who is in Korea for more than six months has been compulsorily insured. Foreign nationals get the same cover as Koreans.
- As an employee. If you have a residence card and work for an employer affiliated with the NHIS, you are insured straight away. In 2026 the contribution is 7.19% of your monthly wage. You and your employer each pay half.
- Without work. After six months you become locally insured. The contribution depends on your income and assets. If it comes out below the average contribution, you pay the average contribution. For 2026, according to a Korean university citing the NHIS, that is about 158,630 won a month (about € 107). We did not find that amount at the NHIS itself.
- Family members. The six-month waiting period applies to them too, except for the partner and children under 19 of an insured employee.
- Students. With a study visa you get a 50% discount on the contribution.
If you have equivalent cover through your foreign employer or your own foreign policy, you can ask as an employee to be excluded. Whether that is also possible if you do not work, the NHIS does not say. Ask the NHIS (033-811-2000).
What do you pay yourself?
Even with the NHIS you pay part of the bill yourself. How much depends on where you are treated:
| Where | Co-payment |
|---|---|
| Admission to hospital | 20% (5% for cancer, 10% for a rare disease) |
| Outpatient clinic of a large university hospital | 60% |
| Outpatient clinic of a general hospital | 45 to 50% |
| Outpatient clinic of a smaller hospital | 40% |
| GP practice or clinic | 30% |
| Pharmacy | 30% |
What you pay yourself in a year has a ceiling. What you pay above it, the NHIS refunds. The ceiling depends on your contribution: in 2026 it is between 900,000 won (about € 600) and 8,430,000 won (about € 5,700). If you are in hospital for more than 120 days, it is higher, up to 10,960,000 won.
What insurance does the nomad visa require?
For the F-1-D nomad visa you need your own health insurance with cover of at least 100 million won (about € 67,500), for hospital treatment and transport back home. See the residence routes.
What do you do in an emergency?
Call 119 for an ambulance or the fire service, and 112 for the police. The Korean government has the "Emergency Ready" app with alerts, for example during a typhoon. Large hospitals in Seoul, such as Seoul National University Hospital, Samsung Medical Center and Asan Medical Center, have their own department for foreign patients.
Be careful with medicines. Products containing CBD or hemp are banned in Korea, even on prescription. For methylphenidate, an ADHD medicine, you ask the Korean regulator MFDS for permission in advance. See taking medicines across the border.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.3: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to South Korea or go straight to step 5.3 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- CAK — the treaty countries for healthcare; South Korea is not on the list — hetcak.nl
- NHIS — health insurance for foreign nationals, with the six months and the discounts — nhis.or.kr
- NHIS — the contribution for employees in 2026 — nhis.or.kr
- NHIS — the co-payments and the annual ceiling — nhis.or.kr
- National Health Insurance Act (KLRI translation), article 109 — foreign nationals, family members and the exclusion — elaw.klri.re.kr
- Social security agreement Netherlands–Korea, article 2 — on the Korean side only the pension — wetten.overheid.nl
- NederlandWereldwijd — travel advice for South Korea, with the emergency numbers and the rules for medicines — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
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