Public Hospitals in Thailand for Foreigners: Fees, Social Security, Who Qualifies

If you work in Thailand with a work permit, your employer registers you for Social Security, and your assigned hospital then charges you nothing. Illness benefit needs 3 months of contributions within 15. As a tourist at a ministry hospital, you pay up to 2.0 times the Thai rate.

Which public route you get depends on your status: employees with a work permit join Social Security, and a tourist at a ministry hospital pays up to 2.0 times the Thai rate.

Find your status

Employees of foreign governments or international organisations are outside the Social Security Act.

If you work in Thailand: Social Security

An employee whose age is not below fifteen years and not over sixty is an insured person under Section 33. Your employer registers you within 30 days of starting work. For a foreign employee the SSO asks for a copy of the work permit plus a copy of your passport, alien certificate or pink ID card.

Contributions are calculated on a wage of at least THB 1,650 and at most THB 17,500 a month, from 1 January 2026. The Labour Minister has stated that foreign workers insured under Section 33 have the same medical treatment rights as Thai people.

Illness benefit needs contributions paid for at least 3 months within the 15 months before treatment. A new hire who has paid for less than 3 months has not met the condition. Keep travel insurance for local treatment until you have.

At the hospital where the SSO assigns your right, you pay no charge. If a doctor orders time off work, you receive 50 percent of your wage, up to 90 days each time and 180 days a year.

In an emergency at a private hospital, an outpatient is reimbursed the actual cost up to THB 1,000. For critical emergency illness you pay nothing upfront, and the SSO pays the private hospital within 72 hours counting public holidays.

If you leave the job

If you leave a job where you were insured, you may ask to continue under Section 39 once you have paid contributions for not less than twelve months. Tell the SSO within six months of the end of insured status. A person who is not an employee under the main scheme may apply under Section 40, and Royal Decree sets who qualifies, so ask the SSO.

If you are a tourist or non-employee: ministry hospitals

The Ministry of Public Health rate book of 2019 sorts foreign patients into three groups.

To estimate a bill, multiply the Thai-rate price of each item by your group’s multiplier. This is the 2019 edition, so ask the cashier for the current rate before treatment.

For inpatient admission at Chulalongkorn Hospital, bring identification that includes a passport. UK government advice is that all hospitals require a guarantee of payment before treating patients, and that public hospitals and clinics do not always meet UK standards, particularly outside Bangkok.

Emergencies: 1669 and UCEP

Call 1669 for a medical emergency. See Thailand emergency numbers for what to say on the call.

If you are a critical emergency patient, UCEP is a state-policy right to be treated at the nearest hospital without charge until out of the crisis, for no more than 72 hours. After calling 1669 for a critical emergency there is no need to pay upfront. If the case does not meet the critical-emergency criteria, further treatment is at your own cost.

Public or private

A private hospital such as Bumrungrad uses one pricing system for all nationalities, and asks for a full deposit for all procedures. Its single room costs THB 14,700 a night. Prices for rooms and check-ups are on hospital costs in Thailand, and hospital choices in the capital are in English-speaking hospitals in Bangkok.

Read expat health insurance in Thailand and travel insurance for Thailand next. Employer duties are in Thailand work permit, and the retiree route is in the retirement guide.

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Not confirmed: Whether UCEP free emergency care covers a foreigner without Social Security: the NHSO description of the right does not say, so ask the emergency operator or the treating hospital. The 2019 rate book is the latest ministry multiplier table found.

General health information checked against the sources listed above, not medical advice. Rules, vaccine schedules and prices change; see a doctor or the hospital before you act. See how guides are checked.

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