Health Insurance and Premiums for Foreigners

At a glance

• Employee membership: a foreigner who is a worker, public official or school staff member at a covered workplace and has alien registration (or a domestic residence report or resident registration) becomes an employee member.
• Local membership: if you are not an employee member, you acquire membership on the day 6 months of residence have passed; permanent residence (F-5), non-professional employment (E-9), marriage migrant (F-6) and notified study or general training statuses acquire it on the day of entry.
• The 2026 average premium for foreign local members is 158,630 won (health insurance plus long-term care insurance) (2026 basis).
• Foreign local members under the special rules pay premiums in advance by the 25th of the previous month.
• Family registration: if you are an employee member, you can register family members as dependents; if you are a local member, you can apply to include your spouse (excluding a common-law spouse) and children under 19 as members of the same household. The steps are set out below in "Registering your family for health insurance".

Who needs to do this

• Employee members: foreigners who are workers, public officials or school staff at a covered workplace and have alien registration (or a domestic residence report or resident registration).
• Local members: foreigners who are not employee members, have lived in Korea for the period set by Ministry of Health and Welfare ordinance or have a reason to be expected to keep living here, and have alien registration and a status set by that ordinance.
• This period is 6 months or more. Permanent residence (F-5), non-professional employment (E-9), marriage migrant (F-6) and the study or general training statuses notified by the Minister of Health and Welfare count as reasons to be expected to keep living here.
• Date of acquiring membership: for the 6-month residence route, the day that period has passed; for the statuses above, the day of entry into Korea.
• Dependents: the spouse and children under 19 (including the spouse’s children) of an employee member can apply without a residence period requirement. Other family members must meet the residence period and other requirements.
• If the stay in Korea violates the law, you cannot become a member or dependent.
• If you can receive medical coverage equivalent to care benefits under foreign law, foreign insurance or a contract with your employer, you can apply for exclusion.
• Not eligible: staying without an extension of stay permit, or having received a deportation order.

Where to apply

• Local membership documents can be submitted to a nearby National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) branch. Residents of Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi can use a foreigner service center (NHIS guidance).
• The NHIS customer center is 1577-1000. Foreign-language consultation is 1577-1000 (extension 6) or 033-811-2000, in English, Chinese, Uzbek and Vietnamese. Hours are 9:00-18:00 (NHIS English guidance).
• For employee members, the employer (company) reports the acquisition to the NHIS within 14 days from the day the person becomes an employee member.
• Employee membership: the employer submits the acquisition report to the NHIS. Employee enrollment is handled by the branch with jurisdiction over the workplace address (NHIS guidance).

What to bring

• Local membership acquisition report: 1 copy of the residence card or a certificate of alien registration (for foreign nationals of Korean descent, a copy of the domestic residence report card or its certificate), plus documents for premium assessment notified by the Minister of Health and Welfare, such as an income statement.
• If the NHIS can confirm your alien registration and similar facts with data received from the state or other bodies, that confirmation replaces submitting the documents.
• The documents needed to register family members together are explained case by case below in "Registering your family for health insurance".
• Exclusion application: a document proving that you can receive medical coverage under foreign law, foreign insurance, an employment contract or similar, and a document stating that you will not join health insurance.
• Residence card (for F-4 holders with a domestic residence report, the residence report card); overseas Koreans bring a resident registration card or a copy of the resident register (NHIS guidance).
• Documents showing income and assets (certificate of income amount, lease contract, etc.) and, for students, a certificate of admission or enrollment.
• Document validity: documents issued by Korean agencies within 3 months of issue; documents from your home country within 9 months of issue or of the foreign ministry or apostille confirmation (NHIS guidance).

Cost

• In 2026, the health insurance premium rate for employee members is 7.19% and the long-term care insurance rate is 0.9448% (2026 basis).
• Premiums for foreign local members are calculated by the same standard as for Korean local members. If the calculated premium is lower than the previous year’s average premium, that average is charged (NHIS premium standards for foreign local members).
• The 2026 average premium for foreign local members is 158,630 won (health insurance plus long-term care insurance), up 3.80% from the previous year (2026 basis).
• Recognized refugees and their families, single-person households under 19 and similar cases are not charged the average premium even if below it; their premium is calculated on income and assets (NHIS guidance).
• Reductions: study (D-2), general training (D-4), and overseas Korean or ethnic Korean students get a 50% reduction; other (G-1-6, G-1-12) and religious (D-6) statuses get a 30% reduction (NHIS premium standards).
• Marriage migrant (F-6), permanent residence (F-5) and similar status holders are excluded from the special rules on charging and collecting foreigners’ premiums, so the same standard as for Korean nationals applies.
• Foreign local members under the special rules pay the premium by the 25th of the previous month (advance payment).
• No provision setting a fee for the enrollment report was found in the National Health Insurance laws or the notice.
• If the household head holds study (D-2) or general training (D-4) status and income and assets do not exceed the limits, premiums from the March 2023 premium onward are reduced by 50%.

Procedure

• Step 1: complete alien registration (or a domestic residence report). This is a precondition for joining health insurance.
• Step 2: if you are employed by a company, the employer reports the employee membership acquisition within 14 days.
• Step 3: if you are not an employee member, you acquire local membership on the day 6 months of residence have passed (or the day of entry for the relevant statuses).
• Step 4: if needed, submit the local membership acquisition report and documents to a branch or foreigner service center. For family registration, follow "Registering your family for health insurance" below.
• Step 5: pay the premium every month by the 25th of the previous month.
• Step 6: if you lose local membership because of departure or another reason, submit the loss report to the NHIS within 14 days.
• if you are subject to local membership, submit the acquisition report and documents to a branch or foreigner service center. If you apply yourself with your residence card, it is processed immediately (NHIS guidance).
• local members other than permanent residents and marriage migrants receive the health insurance card immediately after prepaying 1 month of premiums, and the card shows the validity period of membership (NHIS guidance).

Registering your family for health insurance

How you register family members depends on your type of membership, in one of three ways. First choose your case.

A. If you are an employee member: family members as dependents

• Step 1: check whether the family member meets the dependent requirements (family scope, support, income, assets, residence period).
• Step 2: prepare a copy of the residence card (or a certificate of alien registration) and documents proving the family relationship. Foreign documents need foreign ministry confirmation or an apostille, plus a Korean translation.
• Step 3: the employee member (company) submits the Report on Acquisition/Loss of Dependent Status to the NHIS within 90 days from the alien registration date (or the employee membership date).
• Step 4: if you apply after 90 days, the person becomes a dependent from the application date. Documents within 9 months from the date of issue or confirmation are recommended (NHIS guidance).

B. If you are a local member: spouse and children in the same household

• Step 1: prepare documents confirming the family relationship (including marriage). Foreign documents need foreign ministry confirmation or an apostille, plus a Korean translation.
• Step 2: after submitting documents proving the family relationship, request the household composition from the NHIS (NHIS English guidance). Check where and how to submit with the competent branch or a foreigner service center (외국인민원센터).
• Step 3: the premium is calculated for the household as composed.

C. Other family members (parents, siblings, etc.) each as a local member

• Family members who do not meet the dependent requirements of an employee member and cannot be household members of a local member become local members individually.
• The requirements are alien registration, residence in Korea for 6 months or more (except statuses acquired from the date of entry, such as permanent residence, marriage migrant and E-9), and a qualifying status of stay.
• Apply by submitting the "Health Insurance Local Membership Acquisition Report" (건강보험 지역가입자 자격취득신고서) with a copy of the residence card or a certificate, an income statement and similar.
• The premium is calculated per person as a household of 1, and the average premium applies. If the head of household holds permanent residence (F-5) or marriage migrant (F-6) status, the average premium standard does not apply.

Common sticking points

• If a foreign local member under the special rules has premium arrears of 1 month or more, insurance benefits are not available from the date of arrears until full payment.
• However, foreign local members with a designated status of stay can receive insurance benefits if their total number of arrears is fewer than 3.
• When you apply to extend your stay, the Ministry of Justice checks arrears of national tax, local tax and health insurance premiums. With full payment, the usual extension (2-5 years) is possible, but with unpaid amounts, the extension is restricted, for example only 6 months or less is granted as a rule (Ministry of Justice guidance).
• A foreign local member whose period of stay has not ended loses membership on the day after departure once 1 month has passed after leaving Korea.
• Membership is also lost on the day after the period of stay ends, so check your membership status after extending your stay.
• If your address is not accurate, bills and notices may not reach you. When you change address, report it including the detailed address (NHIS guidance).
• Counting 6 months: counted from the first entry date; time abroad totaling 30 days or less within those 6 months counts as residence in Korea. If you leave once and stay abroad for more than 1 month, counting restarts from the re-entry date.
• If details on the health insurance card change, you must apply for the change within 30 days.

This guide is general information and does not decide individual eligibility. Laws and fees can change, so check the original text through the official links and with the competent authority.