Somalia was India’s third-largest medical-tourism source country in 2024.
Not an estimate. India’s own government ranks its medical-tourist source countries every year, and in 2024 Somalia sat third, behind only Bangladesh and Iraq, ahead of much larger and wealthier nations. This page explains what that number does and does not tell a family deciding whether to travel.
11,717
medical-purpose foreign tourist arrivals to India came from Somalia in 2024, India’s third-highest source country that year, behind only Bangladesh and Iraq
A ranking that high, from a country of Somalia’s size, is not a marketing claim anybody invented. It is a government count of people who already made this exact decision. What it does not tell you is which hospital, which surgeon or which price is right for one specific diagnosis, which is a separate question from whether the route itself is real.
We arrange an independent specialist opinion that answers that question, for a fee paid by you, and we take nothing from any hospital.
Medically reviewed
Reviewed by Dr Gunjan Patel, MBBS, registered with the Gujarat Medical Council (G-65059). Reviewed for accuracy only. This page is general information, not advice about your own case, and Dr Gunjan Patel does not diagnose, prescribe or treat.
How large this corridor is
The volume held into 2025.
The same government count, repeated a year later, shows 2024 was not a one-off.
11,506
medical-tourist arrivals came from Somalia in 2025, fourth in the Government of India list of top source countries after Bangladesh, Iraq and Uzbekistan
Press Information Bureau, Government of India, "Medical and Wellness Tourism in India" Checked 2026-10-03.
Read on 3 October 2026. A count of arrivals, not of patients treated. Somalia was third in 2024 on Ministry of Tourism data reported by DD News; the 2025 list places Uzbekistan ahead of it. A smaller figure sometimes quoted for Somalia counts visas issued by one Indian mission, not national arrivals, and the two are not comparable.
Two years at a comparable level, from government counts, is worth more than either number alone. A single high year could be a reporting quirk. The rank did move: the 2025 list puts Somalia fourth, behind Bangladesh, Iraq and Uzbekistan, while the number of people travelling from Somalia held.
What this scale does, and does not, establish
- Establishes that thousands of Somali patients travel to India every year
- Establishes that 2024 was not a one-off, since 2025 held at a similar level
- Does not establish which specific treatments make up that number
- Does not establish that any one hospital or agency is the right choice
The detail most guides skip
There is no Indian embassy inside Somalia to apply through.
Since 1991, India has had no resident embassy inside Somalia itself. Somali nationals apply for an India medical visa through the Embassy of India in Ethiopia, which publishes its own guidance for Somali medical-visa applicants
Embassy of India in Ethiopia, official website, "Guidelines for availing of Medical Visa by Somali Nationals" Checked 2026-09-13.
The Embassy says visa services for Somali nationals moved to it from 1 November 2022. Its guidelines of 7 October 2024 say the High Commission of India in Kenya and the Embassy in Ethiopia were both asked to provide medical visas to Somali nationals, so check with the mission before you travel to apply.
That single fact changes the practical shape of a Somali patient’s journey before treatment is even discussed. Whoever is coordinating your case needs to know which mission handles your application and what that mission specifically asks for, rather than repeating generic visa advice written for a country with a resident embassy of its own.
Somalia is not on India’s e-Visa list either. The Government of India e-Visa portal’s list of countries eligible for an e-Visa, read on 3 October 2026, does not include Somalia, so a Somali national cannot use the e-Medical Visa and applies at an Indian mission instead.
Government of India e-Visa portal, countries and regions eligible to avail eVisa Checked 2026-10-03.
The list changes, and the portal shows no date of its own. Eligibility depends on the passport you hold. Not immigration advice.
So the application goes to an Indian mission, and since November 2022 that has meant the Embassy in Ethiopia, in person. The Embassy of India in Ethiopia says Somali visa applicants should be physically present at the Embassy, with an Ethiopian immigration arrival stamp in their passport, that close blood relatives may apply for a patient in critical medical cases, and that no appointment is needed. Its 2024 guidelines say the High Commission of India in Kenya was also asked to issue medical visas to Somali nationals, so confirm with the mission before you travel to apply.
Embassy of India in Ethiopia, "Visa services for Somali nationals" Checked 2026-10-03.
Read on 3 October 2026. The notice is undated in its text; it says the change took effect from 1 November 2022 and that applications are taken on working days, morning hours only. Not immigration advice.
The Embassy publishes its own document list for Somali medical visas. The Embassy of India in Ethiopia asks Somali medical visa applicants for a Note Verbale from the Somali Embassy verifying the passport, a local diagnosis and referral letter, an Indian hospital letter giving the treatment, its duration and its cost, a bank statement, and original polio and yellow fever certificates.
Embassy of India in Ethiopia, "Visa services for Somali nationals" and "Guidelines for availing of Medical Visa by Somali Nationals" Checked 2026-10-03.
Read on 3 October 2026. The two documents differ slightly: the guidelines also ask for a Certificate of Non-Criminal Record, a sponsor’s letter and passport copy if a sponsor pays, a photocopy of the US dollar notes paid as the fee, and a parents’ authorisation letter for a child travelling without them. The hospital must email its letter to the Embassy from its official address. Not immigration advice.
| Step | What the Embassy asks for |
|---|---|
| Where | The Embassy of India in Ethiopia, in person, with an Ethiopian arrival stamp. Confirm first, as the mission in Kenya was also asked to issue them |
| From the Somali Embassy | A Note Verbale verifying your passport |
| Medical papers | A local diagnosis and referral letter, and the Indian hospital’s letter |
| Advance to the hospital | About a quarter of the estimated cost, with proof of payment |
| Money and records | A bank statement, a sponsor’s letter and passport copy if someone else pays, and a non-criminal record certificate |
| Vaccinations | Original yellow fever and polio certificates |
| Fee and attendants | A fee in US dollars that is not refunded, and one attendant as a rule |
Since October 2024 there is also money to pay before the visa is decided. Embassy of India guidelines for Somali medical visas, dated 7 October 2024, ask the Indian hospital to request a token payment of about 25 percent of the estimated cost, expect applicants to provide proof of that advance, and ask hospitals to have a refund policy if the visa is declined.
Embassy of India in Ethiopia, "Revised Guidelines on Issue of Medical Visa to Somali Nationals", 7 October 2024 Checked 2026-10-03.
Read on 3 October 2026. The guidelines say they are meant to restrict misuse of medical visas, that the Embassy decides only after the payment is verified, and that it will interview the patient and/or attendant and may ask for more documents. The hospital letter should give the disease, the treatment plan and an estimated cost including consultation and diagnostics. Not immigration or financial advice.
That advance goes to the hospital named in your visa papers, often chosen before anyone independent has looked at the diagnosis. Before you pay it, ask the hospital for its refund policy in writing. If you are not sure the treatment or the hospital is right, the free 30 minute consultation is where we tell you honestly whether an independent opinion would help you, or whether it would not. Please do not send records or scans before we have spoken.
The fee and the number of people who may travel with you are the Embassy’s to set. The Embassy of India in Ethiopia’s guidelines, read on 3 October 2026, say the medical visa fee for a Somali national is 83 US dollars and cannot be refunded, that processing may take around 2 days, and that one medical attendant may travel with the patient, with a second only in exceptional circumstances. That limit differs from the e-Medical route described on our India medical visa page, so follow what the Embassy in Ethiopia tells you.
Embassy of India in Ethiopia, "Guidelines for availing of Medical Visa by Somali Nationals" Checked 2026-10-03.
Read on 3 October 2026. The Embassy says processing takes longer if more documents or clarifications are needed, and its 2024 guidelines say applicants may plan their visit once the visa is issued. This attendant limit is the Embassy’s own and differs from the e-Medical route other nationalities use. Not immigration advice.
The yellow fever certificate matters on arrival in India as well as at the Embassy. The Embassy of India in Ethiopia says travellers aged 9 months or older arriving in India from any of 42 yellow fever endemic countries must hold a valid yellow fever vaccination certificate, which becomes valid 10 days after vaccination, and that travellers without one are quarantined for up to 6 days.
Embassy of India in Ethiopia, "Yellow Fever" awareness notice Checked 2026-10-03.
Read on 3 October 2026. The notice applies the rule, under the International Health Regulations 2005, to travellers aged 9 months or older, and points to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare guidelines for the list of countries. It does not itself list the 42 countries. Not medical advice.
Every source claiming to know the treatment breakdown behind Somalia’s numbers is agency marketing, not government or institutional data, which is why this page does not repeat one. We arrange an independent specialist opinion built around your actual diagnosis instead, rather than fitting your case into a category nobody has really measured.
Who pays for the advice you get
A corridor this large has drawn a lot of businesses that profit from a yes.
Wherever real numbers of patients travel a route, companies form to arrange the trip, and a corridor this size has drawn more of them than most. Some are paid by the hospital that receives the patient, not by the patient, which is worth knowing before you take advice from anyone.
Referral fees
can be paid to a medical travel facilitator by the hospital abroad, and a review of the research on facilitators, published in 2012, says patients may not know how much, or in what manner, a facilitator is paid
A review of earlier research, read as the authors’ manuscript. It says some facilitators are paid by their clients and others by facilities or physicians abroad, gives no proportion and no rate, and says there is little evidence on whether such payments influence recommendations. We found no readable source that gives a commission percentage, so we do not print one. The book is dated 2012 and the university repository record 2013. A consultant’s account of price padding shown elsewhere on the site is hers, attributed to her, and not a rate we have verified. Commission is one model in this market, not the only one, and we never say every company works this way.
That does not make every such company dishonest. It does mean the recommendation you receive has a financial direction built into it, and with a corridor this large, there are simply more of them competing for the same patient than in a smaller market.
The Embassy gives its own warning about paying anyone for the visa itself. The Embassy of India in Ethiopia tells Somali applicants not to deal with middlemen or agents or pay commission to anyone, saying it provides visa services directly and charges only the visa fee and service charge.
Embassy of India in Ethiopia, "Guidelines for availing of Medical Visa by Somali Nationals" and "Visa services for Somali nationals" Checked 2026-10-03.
Read on 3 October 2026. A warning about the visa process, not a statement about medical advice or hospital choice.
We are paid by you, once, and we take nothing from any hospital afterwards. This is exactly how that works, and this is how it compares to the commission model above.
Questions
What Somali patients and families ask us.
If the numbers are this large, why hasn't this page existed until now?
No good reason beyond ours: the site started with six markets and is adding countries one at a time, in order of real evidence rather than assumption. A large, proven corridor with no dedicated page was an oversight worth fixing, not a judgement about whether Somali patients matter less.
Which mission do I apply to for a medical visa?
The Embassy of India in Ethiopia, in person, with an Ethiopian arrival stamp in your passport. India has no resident mission in Somalia, and Somalia is not on India’s e-Visa list. The Embassy’s guidelines say the High Commission of India in Kenya was also asked to issue medical visas to Somali nationals, so confirm with the mission before you travel to apply. The Embassy’s own document list for Somali applicants is set out above, and it is the starting point rather than generic country advice.
Can you tell me which treatments Somali patients usually travel for?
Not with a straight face, honestly. We have not found independently verified data breaking Somalia’s numbers down by treatment, only agency marketing claims we do not trust enough to repeat as fact. Tell us your actual case and we will answer specifically, rather than generalise from a number nobody has measured with any rigour.
How much does treatment in India cost for a Somali patient?
It depends on the diagnosis, so any single figure given before a specialist has seen your reports is a guess. Ask the hospital for an itemised estimate in writing, and budget beyond it for visas for you and whoever travels with you, flights, and a stay near the hospital until you are cleared to fly home. Under the Embassy’s rules the hospital’s estimate also sets the advance you pay before the visa is decided. What we charge, and every other cost.
Are you a referral partner for hospitals in India?
No. Some facilitators are paid a commission by the hospital they send you to. We are paid a fee by you, and no hospital pays us anything, so no hospital’s money shapes our answer, and the answer can be not to travel. How we are paid.
Why would I pay you when an agent arranges everything for free?
Because a company earning nothing unless you travel and undergo treatment has already decided the answer before it meets you. We charge a fee specifically so our answer can be no, and sometimes it is.
Who looks after me once I am back?
A doctor coordinated before you travel, not found afterwards. Given how far a return trip is if something needs following up, this is worth arranging early, and it is why our involvement runs for ninety days after you return rather than ending at the airport. How the ninety days work.
Get a straight answer before you apply.
Thirty minutes, free. We will tell you plainly what your case needs, before either of us spends more time on it.