Foreign visitors to Kenya must have Sh6.5 million health insurance cover under new rules

Kenya has gazetted new Social Health Insurance Regulations, 2024, making travel health insurance mandatory for all inbound visitors and setting a minimum insurance cover of $50,000 (about Sh6.5 million).

Inbound travellers are people who enter a country from another country for a temporary stay. They include tourists, business travellers, international students, people visiting friends or relatives, conference delegates and other foreign visitors.

In a Gazette Notice dated July 29, 2026, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced the minimum policy benefits under the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023, saying the move is aimed at ensuring international travellers have adequate health coverage while in the country.

Under the new regulations, every mandatory inbound travel health insurance policy must provide a cumulative benefit limit of at least $50,000. The policy must cover medical expenses, emergency medical transportation, prescribed medicines, mental health treatment and the repatriation of mortal remains.

According to the gazetted benefit schedule, travellers will be entitled to up to $20,000 (Sh2.5 million) for medical expenses, $25,000 (Sh3.2 million) for emergency medical transportation, $300 (Sh38,818) for prescribed medicines, $1,000 for mental health treatment and $5,000 to cover the repatriation of mortal remains in the event of death.

The regulations further require that the mandatory travel health insurance be provided only by insurers approved and licensed under Kenya’s Insurance Act.

The new requirements were issued under Section 26(6) of the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023, read together with Regulation 70(2)(b) of the Social Health Insurance Regulations, 2024.

The move marks a significant change in Kenya’s travel health insurance framework. It is intended to ensure that international visitors are financially protected in the event of illness, injury or other medical emergencies during their stay. It also seeks to shield the country’s healthcare system from the financial burden of treating uninsured foreign visitors.

Kenya joins a growing number of countries that require foreign visitors to have travel health insurance before entering their borders.