Treatment at hospitals in India: a guide for patients in Somalia

The Indian medical visa

Applying for a medical visa

Passport holders from this country are not on India’s e-Visa list, so a medical visa is applied for on paper at the Indian mission.

Indian mission

• There is no Indian mission inside Somalia. Since it closed, medical and student visas for Somali nationals have been handled by two missions outside the country: the High Commission of India in Nairobi, and the Embassy of India in Addis Ababa.
• That has a consequence worth knowing before anything else: you cannot apply from inside Somalia. You have to be lawfully present in Kenya or Ethiopia to lodge the application, so arranging that comes first.
• Visa services for Somali nationals resumed in Nairobi in January 2024, alongside those already available in Addis Ababa, and Nairobi operates a separate appointment channel for urgent medical cases.
• Which mission you choose is not a formality. The two publish different requirements, and the difference is substantial.

Travelling with a family member

Up to two people may travel with you, each on a medical attendant visa linked to your medical visa. That is a separate question from one that is particular to Somalia: both missions allow a first-degree relative to lodge the application on behalf of a patient who is critically ill. One is about who travels, the other about who may hand in the file.

Documents

• There is no e-Medical route for Somali passport holders, and the paper requirements differ between the two missions.
• The largest difference belongs to Addis Ababa alone: it requires a Note Verbale from the Somali Embassy in Addis Ababa — a third document, from a third government, obtained before the Indian mission will consider the file at all. Nairobi asks for nothing of the kind.
• Addis Ababa's revised guidance adds two further steps: a quarter of the treatment cost paid to the Indian hospital in advance of the visa decision, and an interview.
• Both missions allow a first-degree relative to lodge the application on behalf of a patient who is critically ill.
• If you can reach Nairobi, it is the shorter and less demanding route.
• Addis Ababa's submission window, and whether its advance hospital-payment procedure also binds applicants going through Nairobi, are details we confirm with the mission for you before you apply.

Visa rules differ by country and change often. Once a partner hospital accepts your case we arrange the hospital’s invitation letter and check the current rules with you before you apply.

Getting to India

Airports

Hargeisa International Airport (HGA) and Mogadishu International Airport (MGQ).

Routes to India

• No airline flies non-stop from Somalia to India; the two Somali carriers publish their networks and neither reaches an Indian city.
• The routing confirmed at both ends on a single carrier is Hargeisa to Dubai and Dubai onward to India, flown by flydubai itself.
• Mogadishu is not served by flydubai, so a journey starting there means at least two carriers and two separate tickets. Allow for that when you book, and leave room between the flights.

Before you travel, check your own government’s current travel advice and your airline’s flight status.

Money

Currency

The Somali shilling, ISO 4217 code SOS.

Before you travel

Health information

Both missions require two vaccination certificates from Somali applicants: yellow fever, and oral polio. The oral polio vaccine must be given at least four weeks before travel to India. That is the longest lead time anywhere in this application, and it is the one most likely to delay a journey that is otherwise ready — so start with it rather than leaving it until the paperwork is done. Both certificates must come from a government-approved medical facility, and the originals are presented.

Treatments we coordinate

Our partner hospitals offer treatment in many specialties, including:

• Heart surgery
• Cancer treatment
• Orthopedics and joint replacement
• Spine and neurosurgery
• Kidney care and transplant
• Liver transplant
• Bone marrow transplant
• IVF and fertility treatment
• Neurology
• Eye surgery
• Cosmetic and plastic surgery
• Bariatric (weight-loss) surgery
• Dental care

Don't see your treatment? Send us your reports and we will ask the right specialists at our partner hospitals.

How it works

1. Send your medical reports.

   Share your reports and scans with us on WhatsApp, by email or through our form. Your doctor can also send them to us.

2. Receive a specialist opinion and cost estimate.

   Specialists at our partner hospitals review your reports. We send you their opinion, the treatment they recommend and a clear cost estimate.

3. We arrange your travel.

   We arrange the hospital's invitation letter for your medical visa and help you with flights, accommodation and airport pickup.

4. Treatment, return home and follow-up.

   We support you during treatment and recovery in India, and we stay in touch after you return home.

Our partner hospitals

We work with partner hospitals across India. Their specialists review the medical information on this website and discuss cases with referring doctors.

• Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru / Pune / Gurugram / DelhiJCI-accredited
• Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune
• Jehangir Hospital, Pune
• Ramaiah Hospital, BengaluruJCI-accredited
• Kauvery Hospital, BengaluruJCI-accredited
• Aster Medicity, BengaluruJCI-accredited
• Fortis Hospitals, Bengaluru / Gurugram / NoidaJCI-accredited
• Apollo Hospitals, Bhopal / Bengaluru / Delhi / ChennaiJCI-accredited

Talk to us about treatment in India

Send us your medical reports whenever you are ready, or ask us a question first. Coordination is free for patients.

For referring doctors

If you refer patients for treatment in India, we work alongside you. You submit the case through our online case form, and a specialist from our partner hospitals can discuss it with you by video call on request. We keep you informed during your patient's treatment and after they return home, so you can continue their care.