Health Policies
These are tools provided by insurers and travel assistance companies to cover possible medical assistance expenses due to emergencies or illnesses.
There are several types of insurance classified according to the trip and the beneficiary’s needs, but all plans seek to take care of the traveler’s health and peace of mind.
Mandatory or Recommendation
For some countries, health insurance is a mandatory requirement for entry into the territory.
However, for others it is a recommendation to purchase one.
The purpose of this article is to determine whether or not this requirement is mandatory for Colombians for visas to Spain, Portugal and Canada.
First of all, it is important to note that both Spain and Portugal are part of the 27 member states of the Schengen area.
This is the set of territories without internal border controls, which means that they do not carry out border controls between states belonging to this area, they carry out harmonized controls between a Schengen State and a non-Schengen State and, finally, they limit controls to the external border and both EU citizens and citizens of other countries can travel freely within the Schengen area.
Thus, Colombia has a visa exemption agreement with these European countries, but it only applies for short stay visas, that is, when the trip will be equal to or less than 90 days either uninterruptedly or accumulated within a period of 180 days.
In this case, the required documentation is:
- Valid and valid passport
- Return air tickets
- Justification of the reason for the stay
- Livelihood verification
- Not being reported in the system of inadmissibility alerts issued by the Schengen Information System.
- Not be considered a threat to public order, internal security, public health or the international relations of any of the member states.
The activities that can be carried out under this agreement are:
Tourism, visits to friends or relatives, attendance to cultural and sports events or exchanges, business meetings, journalistic or media coverage, medical treatments and short-term studies.
Under no circumstances is it permitted to carry out remunerated activities, apply for work or residence.
In this case it is advisable to have medical insurance with a coverage of 30,000 euros in case of accident or emergency.
However, for long term stays, you must take into account the reason for your stay and apply for a visa through the country where you will be staying.
Under any of these circumstances, medical insurance is mandatory under the conditions indicated above.
Some companies that have these insurances are: AXA assistance, Allianz, Assit card.
Secondly, in the case of Canada it is necessary to apply for a visa regardless of the reason for travel.
This procedure can be done online and the cost varies depending on the reason for the trip and must be paid in Canadian dollars.
Medical insurance covering hospitalization and repatriation during the entire stay is mandatory for entry into this country.
Among the recommended companies to purchase health insurance policies for Canada are: Mondo, Iati, Intermundial, Intermundial, Iati, Iati and ISA.
In summary, there are countries that require medical insurance as a requirement for entry into the territory and others that do not.
However, it is always advisable to have this because in case of any unforeseen event the costs of accessing health care abroad are very high.
Cybergraphy
https://www.hablamosdeeuropa.es/es/Paginas/El-espacio-Schengen.aspx
https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/especiales/visado-union-europea/
https://www.eeas.europa.eu/colombia/viajar-y-estudiar%5Fes?s=160
https://www.axa-schengen.com/es/seguro-viaje-europa/colombia
https://www.alternativacanada.com/post/embajada-de-canada-en-colombia