Visiting a different country has always come with entry requirements—a visa, a return ticket, or a passport with six months of validity remaining. But since the COVID-19 pandemic, countries have enacted more stringent requirements: proof you purchased international healthcare coverage.
More tourist-frequented nations than ever are requiring proof of health insurance for entry, with the island nation of Aruba even requiring visitors buy a compulsory government policy, whether or not you already have your own separate coverage. This new requirement is largely because international healthcare coverage is wholly separate from your standard health insurance (and trip-cancellation insurance), and coverage abroad is rarely included in U.S.-based health policies. Officials are seeking to protect their healthcare systems from potential costs that mount and go unpaid when visitors who become COVID-19 patients don’t have coverage.
