Vietnam doesn't require travel insurance to enter: it isn't one of the entry conditions in Vietnam's immigration law. Buy it anyway. The British government, the U.S. State Department and Canada's travel advice all tell travelers to, and medical treatment and evacuation top every list.
So the real question is fit. Good travel insurance for Vietnam pays for a hospital stay in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City and an evacuation flight, possibly to another country. It covers the motorbike you rent, but only on a license Vietnam recognizes. It includes your existing conditions, and it still works when the May to November storm season scrambles flights. If you're weighing the $30 add-on we sell, its limits are set out plainly below.
Entry Rules: Vietnam Doesn't Ask for a Policy
Vietnam's immigration law lists what a foreigner needs to enter: a passport, a visa or a visa exemption, and not being someone the law bars. Visitors using a unilateral visa exemption also need at least 6 months left on their passport. That's Article 20 of the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners, in the consolidated text on the government's legal-document portal, and insurance isn't in it. The rule is the same for every nationality, so the answer doesn't change whether you hold an Indian, American, British or Australian passport.
The forms agree. The government's eVisa application form does ask "Did you buy insurance?" in its trip-expenses section, but most applicants can leave it blank. It only becomes compulsory for nationalities the portal marks as restricted. Vietnam's optional Pre-arrival Information form wants passport details, flight details and where you're staying, and nothing about cover. Vietnam doesn't require a routine health declaration from arriving travelers either, as the Ministry of Health confirmed on July 1, 2026.
Why Buy It Anyway: Good Care Sits in Two Cities
Canada's advice on Vietnamese health care is blunt. Good care is limited, and medical facilities and supplies are limited outside Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Private clinics and hospitals are usually better equipped, and they can be expensive. A serious illness or injury can mean medical evacuation, which Canada calls very expensive and which can mean a flight to a neighboring country rather than home.
Nobody else picks up that bill. Britain's health advice says the British Embassy doesn't pay medical bills and can't provide medical assistance. Roads are the obvious risk: Britain's safety advice says motorbike accidents in Vietnam are common and have killed and injured British nationals. Our guide to how safe Vietnam is for travelers covers the rest of that picture.
⚠️ Medicare and Medicaid stop at the U.S. border. The State Department says neither pays for medical care outside the United States, so if one of them is your only health cover, you have none in Vietnam. Anyone with a home health plan should ask the insurer whether it covers emergency and routine care abroad.
The Vietnam Checklist: What a Policy Must Cover
The UK, U.S. and Canadian lists overlap, and the overlap is your checklist:
- Medical treatment and hospital stays. Britain asks for full medical cover; Canada names hospital stays.
- Evacuation, including to another country. Canada warns it can mean a neighboring country; Britain adds an air ambulance home.
- Repatriation. The UK lists repatriation of your remains, and of your family if illness or injury sends you home.
- Every existing condition, yours and your family's, which both the British and U.S. checklists name.
- Your planned activities, by name. For adventure trips such as trekking, Canada asks for helicopter rescue as well as evacuation.
- The whole trip: every country you'll visit and every day you'll be away.
- A 24-hour helpline you can call from Vietnam, which the U.S. checklist also names.
Before you pick the cheapest travel insurance to Vietnam on price, check that it's medical cover at all. The State Department notes that trip cancellation insurance usually doesn't pay for medical costs abroad, and that some policies pay hospitals directly. Ask which kind you're buying, and whether you'd pay a private hospital in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City first and claim it back later.
Motorbikes: The License Question to Settle Before You Rent
Vietnam is a party to the 1968 Vienna road-traffic convention but not the 1949 Geneva one, so it recognizes only international driving permits issued under the 1968 convention, as Viet Nam News explains. That shuts out permits from the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Israel, none of which can issue one that's valid in Vietnam. Tourists and business visitors can't get a Vietnamese license, and a car-only license doesn't let you ride a motorbike. Licenses from ASEAN members such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines work under a regional agreement, for the vehicles they show.
Cover follows Vietnamese law. Viet Nam News says being legal on the road is what keeps travel and medical insurance valid, and that riding while intoxicated voids it. British advice says British riders need the 1968 permit plus their UK license, that driving without third-party insurance is illegal, and that riders and passengers must wear helmets. After a crash in Vietnam, Britain warns, you could face criminal charges, pay compensation to anyone injured and face a travel ban while police investigate. If you'll ride, ask about personal liability and legal expenses too.
⚠️ An American, Canadian or Australian permit won't make you legal on a Vietnamese motorbike. Before you rent, find the policy's motorbike clause and check whether it requires a valid license. If you can't meet it, plan on getting around Vietnam without a motorbike instead.
Existing Conditions and Medication: The 7-Day Rule
Declare every existing condition when you buy; British advice says cover matters most if you have a health condition or are pregnant. Then check your medicine. Vietnam restricts drugs it classes as addictive or psychotropic, including some treatments for anxiety, depression and insomnia, and it's illegal to carry more than 7 days of them. Bring the prescription and a signed letter from your doctor, in English, giving the dose and how much you need in Vietnam.
Britain's entry advice says to pack prescription medicine in your hand luggage with a copy of the prescription, and to declare it at Vietnamese customs if it's worth over $100. Don't count on topping up locally: Britain warns that some medicines are hard to find in Vietnam and many are fake. If you're unsure whether a medicine falls in these categories, or you need more than 7 days' worth, Britain's advice is to contact the Vietnamese Embassy before you travel.
Storm Season: May to November Breaks Plans
Britain puts Vietnam's tropical storm season at May to November and warns that storms can cause serious travel disruption. Canada's advice says typhoons usually occur from June to December. Between them, that's eight months of the year when a policy's cancellation and delay cover can matter more than its medical limit. Our guide to when to visit Vietnam by region covers the seasons in more detail.
For a trip between May and December, ask three things before you pay. Does the policy cover cancellation and delay? Does a typhoon already forecast when you buy still count as unforeseen? Will it pay for extra nights if flights are grounded? Then buy when you book, not the week you fly.
On the Ground: Call 115, Then Your Insurer
In Vietnam, dial 115 and ask for an ambulance. Response can be slow in traffic, and Canada suggests considering a taxi or private car to the hospital instead. Private clinics and hospitals usually have qualified staff who speak English or French. Once a doctor refers you to a hospital or clinic, call your insurer straight away, which is exactly what British advice tells travelers to do.
Before you fly to Vietnam, save the insurer's 24-hour number and your policy number, on your phone and on paper. Ask the helpline which hospital to use and whether it pays that hospital directly, and keep every receipt for the claim.
Our $30 Add-On: What PVI's Schedule Covers
Vietnam Visa by BDA sells one insurance product: our travel insurance add-on at $30 per applicant, underwritten by PVI Insurance. You add it in the Trip Details step of our eVisa application. We're a private company, not affiliated with the Vietnamese government, and the policy itself is PVI's. Here's the schedule, per insured person:
| Benefit | Limit | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Death by accident | Up to $10,000 | The schedule's largest benefit |
| Permanent disablement by accident | A percentage of that $10,000 | Set by PVI's disability rate table |
| Death by other causes | $5,000 | Any cause other than an accident |
| Medical expenses and emergency evacuation | $5,000 | One limit covers both |
| Baggage, cancellation and delay | Not listed | Look elsewhere if you need them |
| Maximum cover | $10,000 | The ceiling for the whole schedule |
On our schedule, one $5,000 line covers both treatment and emergency evacuation, and Canada calls medical evacuation very expensive. PVI's schedule lists no baggage, cancellation or delay benefit, and our pricing page calls it a summary, with full terms and exclusions in PVI's policy certificate.
⚠️ Treat our $30 add-on as a baseline for a short, low-risk trip. If you'll rent a motorbike, trek, use all 90 days of a three-month eVisa, manage an existing condition or travel between May and December, compare it with a comprehensive policy that has a higher medical limit and evacuation cover.
Before You Buy: Six Checks in Order
Work through any policy, ours included, in this order:
- Get the full policy wording, not the summary, and read the exclusions first.
- Find the motorbike clause and compare its license condition with the permit you actually hold.
- Declare every existing condition, and list any medicine that falls under Vietnam's 7-day limit.
- Confirm the evacuation benefit pays for a transfer to another country, not only a flight home.
- If you travel between May and December, check the cancellation and delay cover for storms.
- Save the 24-hour helpline number and ask whether the insurer pays hospitals directly.
Insurance and the eVisa share a calendar. A Vietnam eVisa can be valid for up to 90 days, and your policy should cover every day of it you'll spend in Vietnam.