Cabinet approves eased visa procedure for medication purposes

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Monday approved the amended regulations of foreign patients to improve medical tourism, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The Cabinet decided to add patients coming from Nigeria to the newly unrestricted nationalities policy for foreigners seeking medical treatment in the Kingdom, which requires only a 2-day application and grants them entry visas in the same day in case of emergency.

Upon the decision, Nigerians will join the nationalities that used to be restricted and were granted eased procedures to enter the Kingdom for medical treatment.

The nationalities are Sudanese, Libyans, Yemenis, Iraqis, Syrians, Chadians and Ethiopians.

The regulations also removed restrictions on patients from restricted nationalities who have permanent residency in the Gulf countries, the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, EU countries, Switzerland, the UK and South Korea. 

They will be able to obtain visa upon arrival if they have a six-month residency and a two-way ticket with a specified departure date, according to Petra.

According to the new regulations, hospitals will have to provide a bank guarantee worth JD10,000 to ensure the departure of patients before the expiry of visa to report finishing treatment to the Interior Ministry.

The rules allowed that each patient can be accompanied by a maximum of four chaperons from his family, in addition to two children.

Under the new rules, the minister of interior can authorise the Kingdom's ambassadors in countries of restricted nationalities to issue visas to patients and their chaperons within 48 hours, after checking medical reports and issuing permits to the Jordanian hospitals that will treat them.

Patients who previously visited Jordan for treatment can also obtain visa upon arrival if they provide medical reports approving their need to complete treatment.

The regulations also stipulate exempting Sudanese, Libyan, Yemeni, Iraqi, Syrian, Chadian, Ethiopian and Nigerian women of all ages and men who are above 50 or less than 15 years old from pre-arrival visa application.