How Can Foreigners Pay For Korea’s National Health Insurance?

It was announced that starting March 1, 2021, foreigners in Korea are required to enroll in the Korean National Health Insurance (gugmingeongangboheom). South Korea’s National Health Insurance is relatively cheap compared to other countries. So foreigners that hold alien registration certificates have to pay a sum of money every month for the National Health Insurance. Ziptoss is a Korean real estate company that provides housing options so that foreigners can have a suitable residential space in Korea. Ziptoss helps you find a house and move easily. We provide guides and information on Korean culture, traditions, and lifestyle so that foreigners can easily adapt to their daily life. In this article, we’ve used international students as an example and made a quick guide on how foreigners can pay for the National Health Insurance in South Korea.

Join the base date

International students holding different visas of the same type need different times to participate in health insurance.

D-2 international student visas, F-4 international students, and D-4-3 junior high school students will obtain an alien registration certificate and enter Korea for the first time. The base date shall be the re-entry date when re-entering the country with an alien registration card.

For D-4 international students in the language training class, they do not need to purchase insurance from the day of enrollment.

Welfare

Medical Treatment Reimbursement

During the medical examination, the refundable part will be automatically deducted. Generally, outpatient service only has to pay 30% to 60% and hospitalization only has to pay 20%. However, cosmetic surgery, cosmetic dental surgery, nuclear magnetic resonance, magnetic resonance imaging, sleep endoscopy, weight loss drug supplements, etc., are not covered by the scope of non-essential items.

Free Medical Examination Once Every Two Years

Foreigners with National Health Insurance can have free medical examinations every two years, just like Korean citizens. If you need a physical examination, you can call their hotline(033-811-2000) to make an appointment. The customer service will confirm your name, login ID, etc., and send a text message to confirm and notify you that the appointment is successful. Then go to the hospital for an examination and show the text message sent to you on the day of the appointment. Then the medical report will be mailed straight to your home address within 2-3 weeks.

Payment Methods

Bank Transfer: National Insurance bank transfer will send invoices will be issued every month, just like your utility bills(gas, electricity, etc.) in South Korea, just follow the bank account on the invoice and transfer the given amount to online banking or ATM.

Automated Transfer: You can have an automatic bank transfer for paying your National Health Insurance. Simply call the national insurance service hotline(033-811-2000) for automatic payment, but remember to have enough account balance to avoid errors in the system.

KakaoPay App: There will also be a KakaoPay QR code on the invoice. Just scan the QR code with the KakaoPay app to pay your balance. If you don’t have Kakao Pay, you can use the QR code and invoice to pay at the convenience store to have proof of payment.

National Health Insurance mobile app(geongangboheom): You can simply download the National Health Insurance app(geongang boheom) on your mobile phone to manage and pay your bill directly.