Technical article

Can a Newcomer Join the Public Health System? Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore

They have read that Taiwan, Korea and Japan have national health insurance, and that Singapore has a savings-based system.

By Neil Solomon · 4 min read

Picture a couple named Helen and Paul, both 64, from Ontario. They are thinking about a first year in Asia. They have read that Taiwan, Korea and Japan have national health insurance, and that Singapore has a savings-based system. Their question is simple. If we move, do we get in, or do we need our own policy?

I read the official pages for each country. Two of them answer part of the question clearly. Two leave gaps, and I say so.

What each official page says

Taiwan. The National Health Insurance Administration says foreign nationals with a valid ARC "must be registered in the National Health Insurance program upon living in Taiwan for 6 months." Work-permit holders are enrolled by the employer from the first day of work. A foreign national with no job and no qualifying relative enrols at the local administrative office after the six months. One trip abroad of up to 30 days is allowed, but those days are taken off the six-month count. The page does not state premium amounts. It links to other pages for them, which are not among the sources. The page shows 2022-05-20 in its data and 2023-02-01 in its footer.

South Korea. The National Health Insurance Service says foreigners and overseas Koreans who live and work at an insured company "compulsorily" join. They can ask to be left out if they hold equal cover under foreign law, a foreign policy or an employer contract. For the self-employed, foreigners who have stayed more than six months "is subject to mandatory subscription" (the page's wording, in effect from 16 July 2019). Payment is a formula, not a fixed amount: a contribution score times a value per score, the same as for local residents. If the result is below the average fee, the average fee applies. The page lists reductions of 30% for D-6, G-1-6 and G-1-12 holders, and 50% for island or remote-area residents. It names no rule for someone with no job and a retirement-type visa. That is not on an official page in the sources.

Japan. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare page is in Japanese. My translation: persons with a residential address in Japan who do not fall under the listed groups are insured under National Health Insurance. The groups are people on employee health insurance and their dependents, people on public assistance, people in the late-stage health system for the very old, and "short-stay foreign residents, etc." The list ends with "etc.," so it may not be complete. The page shows no date and no three-month rule. Whether a given retiree qualifies depends on their residence status and address. The city office could confirm.

Singapore. The Ministry of Health describes MediShield Life as covering "All Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents" (page updated 20 February 2025). A Ministry reply dated 8 April 2025 says that holders of Long-Term Visit Passes and Dependant's Passes "can buy Integrated Shield Plans," and that employer benefits may also cover them. It adds that the Ministry is still studying whether to make insurance mandatory for them. A Ministry release from 11 December 2006 says hospital subsidy for most other foreigners ended in October 2007, with emergency departments an exception. That release is old, so I cannot say it still applies.

What is left open

• Taiwan premium amounts for a retiree with no employer.
• Korea's rule for a foreign retiree who is neither employed nor self-employed.
• Japan's premium and any waiting period.
• What a foreigner without MediShield Life is billed in Singapore today.