Does the policy need EUR 30,000 of cover?

No Albanian act says so. The consolidated VKM 858/2021 was read in full: no cover amount appears for any permit. EUR 30,000 is the Schengen visa standard, carried onto Albanian permits by relocation sites without a legal basis.

Which insurers does migration accept?

No official list exists. Albanian insurers sell dedicated resident policies (Intersig markets one expressly for visa and permit requirements), and applicants also file foreign expat policies; what the rules check is validity for the period and cover of illness and accidents.

How much does the policy cost?

No Albanian insurer publishes resident-policy tariffs online - Intersig quotes on request, and the other majors could not be checked. Treat any price you read as unverified and collect two or three written quotes. The voluntary public scheme, by contrast, has a published price: 3,400 lek a month.

Can I just use the Albanian public healthcare scheme?

After you are a resident, yes: anyone not otherwise covered may join voluntarily at 3.4% of twice the minimum wage (3,400 lek a month in 2026), with benefits starting six months after registration. For the first application you still need a policy covering the stay.

Health insurance for the Albanian residence permit: what is actually required? (2026)

A health policy is required - and that is where the legal requirement ends. VKM 858/2021, the decision that lists the documents for every visa and permit, asks for a policy "valid for the period of stay" (at least 1 year for digital nomads) and never names a cover amount: the EUR 30,000 you read on relocation sites is the Schengen visa standard carried over without any Albanian legal basis. No insurer publishes resident-policy prices online, and after six months of residence the public scheme opens for 3,400 lek a month.

Data compiled by Fedir AlpatovUpdated Nov 7, 2026

What each permit actually asks for

The document lists live in VKM 858/2021, and the wording is consistently about validity, not about sums: a policy against illness and accidents, valid for the period of stay. The table is the whole requirement, permit by permit.

Health insurance in the Albanian permit rules (VKM 858/2021, Law 79/2021)

Route	What the rules ask
Unique permit (work, self-employed, owner routes)	A health policy against illness and accidents, valid for the period of stay in Albania
Digital nomad permit	A policy valid for at least 1 year
Pensioner permit	Proof of health insurance in Albania (e-Albania checklist)
Family reunification	Proof of health insurance in Albania (e-Albania checklist)
Permanent residence	Proof of health cover (the Albanian scheme)
EU citizens, registration route (Art. 33/1)	A health insurance policy, alongside sufficient means

Sources · 3

DATA-HEALTH-0006VKM 858/2021 (the document lists for visas and residence permits), read in full: the unique permit requires "a health insurance policy against illness and accidents, valid for the period of stay in Albania"; the digital-nomad permit a policy "valid for at least 1 (one) year"; permanent residence proof of health insurance; the EU registration route of Art. 33/1 likewise requires a policy. The sum 30,000 does not appear anywhere in the decision: no Albanian act sets a minimum cover amount for a residence permit. The EUR 30,000 figure circulating on relocation sites is the Schengen visa travel-insurance standard, carried over without an Albanian legal basis.A health policy is required for Albanian visas and permits, but NO law or decision sets a minimum cover amount
Confidence: HIGHPeriod: 2021-2026verified 2026-11-07Council of Ministers Decision (VKM) No. 858 of 29.12.2021 on residence permits, consolidated version 10 of 1.4.2026 (amended up to VKM 160/2026 and VKM 240/2026)
The consolidated VKM 858/2021 was read in its entirety on 2026-11-06 searching for any cover amount; none exists. The Schengen provenance of the 30,000 figure is an absence-of-source finding across the relocation sites that cite it (none references an Albanian act).
DATA-HEALTH-0004Family-reunification and pensioner applications list "proof of health insurance in Albania" among the documents; the digital nomad permit requires a policy valid for at least 1 year (Law 79/2021 Art. 68); permanent residence requires cover under the Albanian scheme (Art. 87); the 2026 rules list no insurance for the property-owner permit. No official list of accepted insurers or minimum cover was found.Health insurance asked for with a residence permit
Confidence: MEDIUMPeriod: 2026verified 2026-10-24e-Albania, document checklist for the residence permit application (service 15308)
DATA-LEGAL-0039Law 43/2025 (26.06.2025) added Art. 33/1 to the law on foreigners 79/2021: citizens of EU countries have the right to stay in Albania longer than three months without a residence permit or unique permit, provided they have sufficient means of subsistence and health insurance. They must register online no later than three months after arrival and receive a registration certificate (certifikatë regjistrimi). After 5 years of continuous residence they acquire the right of permanent stay. The monetary threshold of "sufficient means" for this route is not defined in the law text.EU citizens stay in Albania beyond 3 months without a residence permit: online registration is enough (Art. 33/1)
Confidence: HIGHPeriod: 2025-2026verified 2026-11-06Law No. 79/2021 "Për të huajt" (On foreigners), consolidated text as amended by Law 43/2025
Read in the consolidated text of Law 79/2021 (i përditësuar 2025, asp.gov.al).

The EUR 30,000 myth, retired

Half the relocation sites state that the Albanian permit needs a policy with at least EUR 30,000 of cover. We read the consolidated VKM 858/2021 in full looking for that sum: it is not there, for any permit type - no Albanian act sets a minimum cover amount.

Where the figure comes from is no mystery: EUR 30,000 is the minimum travel-insurance cover for a Schengen visa, repeated by every Schengen consulate, and the relocation blogs carried it over to Albania without a source. What the Albanian rules actually care about is the validity window - the period of stay, or a full year for nomads - and that the policy covers illness and accidents. A policy that satisfies Schengen will usually satisfy Albania too, but it is the blogs' standard, not Albania's.

What people actually buy, and what it costs

Three working options, in the order people use them:

For the application: a travel or expat medical policy covering illness and accidents for the whole permit period. Albanian insurers sell dedicated products for exactly this - Intersig's "Sigurimi per Rezidentet" describes itself as mandatory per the visa or permit requirements - but no insurer publishes the prices online: quotes are individual, so ask two or three insurers in writing. We do not quote policy prices here for that reason.
After six months of residence: the public scheme opens to voluntary members at 3.4% of twice the minimum wage - 3,400 lek (about EUR 37) a month in 2026 - with benefits starting six months after you register and pay.
Many residents run both: the public scheme as the base, a private policy for the clinics they prefer.

The wider healthcare picture - the public system, hospitals, what works where - is on our healthcare page, and the permit paperwork itself on the residence-permit page.

Questions and answers

Yes. Every route asks for it: the unique permit wants a policy against illness and accidents valid for the period of stay, the digital nomad permit a policy of at least 1 year, and the EU registration route a policy alongside sufficient means.

Sources

Council of Ministers Decision (VKM) No. 858 of 29.12.2021 on residence permits, consolidated version 10 of 1.4.2026 (amended up to VKM 160/2026 and VKM 240/2026). Qendra e Botimeve Zyrtare (Official Publications Centre), 2026-04-01 (accessed 2026-10-24)
Intersig (VIG): "Sigurimi për Rezidentët" (insurance for residents), product page. Intersig - Vienna Insurance Group (accessed 2026-11-06)
Law No. 79/2021 "Për të huajt" (On foreigners), consolidated text as amended by Law 43/2025. Albanian State Police (ASP), 2025-11-01 (accessed 2026-10-19)
e-Albania, document checklist for the residence permit application (service 15308). e-Albania / Drejtoria e Përgjithshme e Policisë së Shtetit (accessed 2026-10-24)

What is missing

Gaps we know about: questions we have no reliable data for yet.

No Albanian insurer publishes online tariffs for resident policies (Intersig quotes on request; SIGAL and Albsig blocked automated checks on 06.11.2026); prices can only be collected as individual quotes.
No official list exists of which insurers or foreign policies the migration authorities accept.