Seychelles
Seychelles Workcation Retreat Permit: health insurance requirements
Yes: health insurance is required
Seychelles offers the Workcation Retreat permit (the Visitors Workcation Permit), launched in 2021, letting remote workers stay up to 12 months if their income comes from outside Seychelles. It does require health insurance, and crucially that insurance must cover COVID-19 and hospital care inside Seychelles. There is no officially published minimum income or minimum coverage amount, so applicants prove self-sufficiency with bank statements.
The requirements at a glance
| Repatriation required | Not required |
|---|---|
| Minimum policy duration | Full duration of stay |
| Local-licensed insurer required | No: compliant international IPMI is accepted |
| Accepted proof | Insurance certificate or policy document showing COVID-19 and hospital care cover in Seychelles, submitted with the online Visitors Workcation Permit application |
Applicant must be an employee, business owner or freelancer earning income from outside Seychelles; cannot take local employment; must show bank statements proving sufficient funds (around US$1,500 per month is commonly cited, but no official minimum is published); clean criminal record; application fee roughly 45 EUR via the official portal.
Our take
The permit rule is unusually specific: your policy has to cover COVID-19 and hospital care in Seychelles itself, not just generic travel cover, so check the wording names in-country hospitalisation. Because no minimum sum is published, do not size the policy to the local clinic bill.
Size it instead to the evacuation cost. Seychelles tops out at intermediate care, and a serious case leaves by air ambulance to South Africa, Réunion or Mauritius, commonly US$20,000 to US$80,000 or more, so a high evacuation limit is the figure that actually protects you here.
What happens if you get it wrong
Policies that exclude COVID-19 or that only cover treatment in your home country fail the permit test, since the rule explicitly requires hospital care in Seychelles. Read the in-country hospitalisation clause before you apply.
A policy with a low or missing medical-evacuation limit is the real trap. On a remote archipelago the bill that bankrupts an uninsured traveller is the air ambulance off the islands, not the GP visit, so a thin evacuation cap leaves the biggest risk uncovered.
Interactive
Verified pricesWhat would it cost in Seychelles without insurance?
You pay, out of pocket
$3,000–$12,000
A serious private admission or common surgery.
Bars to scale. A flight home is in another league.
That is the bill you carry alone. Insurance exists for exactly this.
See what cover costsTypical private-care estimates for illustration, not a quote. Actual bills vary by hospital, city and severity.
FAQ
Yes. Applicants must hold health insurance that covers COVID-19 and hospital care in Seychelles, plus international cover for emergencies during the stay.
No minimum coverage figure is officially published. Because the country relies on costly off-island medical evacuation, the practical advice is to set a high evacuation limit rather than aim at any local minimum.
Up to 12 months. It is aimed at employees, business owners and freelancers whose income comes from outside Seychelles.
There is no officially published minimum income. You prove self-sufficiency with bank statements; around US$1,500 a month is commonly cited as a working benchmark, but treat that as guidance, not an official figure.
No. There is no requirement to use a local insurer. International cover is accepted, as long as it covers COVID-19 and hospital care in Seychelles.
Reviewed by Lukas Schönberg, Founder & researcher, Nomad Insurance Broker OÜ
Nomad Insurance Broker OÜ (Estonia) is an information and matching platform, not currently registered as a regulated insurance intermediary in any jurisdiction. See /how-it-works for the full disclosure.
Source: openvisa.orgLast verified
Get a policy that satisfies this visa
Three minutes of honest questions, then we'll match you to insurance that meets Seychelles'srequirements and actually works where you're going.
Find my plan