Before you start

Private medical cover through your employer or purchased directly
Statutory health insurance registration through payroll
A named clinic before you need one

Step-by-step

1
Confirm what statutory scheme you are registered under
Tanzania's health insurance framework was reformed by legislation in 2023 and implementation has moved in stages. Ask your employer which scheme actually applies to your payroll rather than assuming.
Via employerWho: Your employer
2
Arrange private medical cover
Standard in professional packages. Check the annual limit, the inpatient/outpatient split, and which hospitals are in network.
Via employerWho: You
3
Register with a clinic in your first fortnight
Aga Khan Hospital, Regency Medical Centre, TMJ and Premier Care are the common choices. Registering while well is far easier than while ill.
In personWho: You
4
Set up your malaria plan
Nets, repellent and knowing where the nearest rapid test is. At sea level on the Tanzanian coast, transmission is year-round and treating a fever as malaria until tested is standard local practice.
In personWho: You
5
Check evacuation and out-of-country cover
Referral for highly specialised treatment generally goes to Nairobi or further. Confirm your policy covers evacuation and treatment abroad, not just Tanzanian bills.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport and residence permit
Private insurance card
Statutory scheme registration
Vaccination certificates including yellow fever
Evacuation policy details

Things most newcomers don’t know

Dar's altitude gives you no protection from malaria — unlike Nairobi, Kigali or Addis.

This is a sea-level coastal city and transmission is year-round. People relocating from the East African highlands bring habits calibrated for a city where malaria is a travel risk rather than a home one. Sleep under a net, use repellent in the evening, and test any fever within a day. Rapid tests are everywhere and cost very little.

Source: Tanzanian health advisories, coastal transmission

Tanzania's health insurance framework changed in 2023 and is still bedding in.

Universal health insurance legislation was passed and implementation has proceeded in stages, so who is covered, at what contribution rate, and through which fund has been a moving target. Anything written before that reform is unreliable. Ask your employer's HR for the current position in writing rather than trusting a guide, including this one.

Source: Tanzanian health financing reform

Evacuation cover is what you are actually buying.

Dar's private hospitals handle routine and much serious care well, but complex cases are referred out of the country. A policy that pays Tanzanian bills but excludes air evacuation and out-of-country treatment covers the cheap half of the risk. Read that clause specifically, and check it covers Zanzibar and upcountry travel too.

Source: standard expatriate practice in Tanzania

Medical facilities thin out sharply outside Dar, and that includes Zanzibar.

Zanzibar is a two-hour ferry ride and a popular weekend, but its medical facilities are not equivalent to Dar's, and serious cases are transferred to the mainland or to Nairobi. If your weekends or your work take you off the mainland, evacuation membership stops being an abstraction.

Source: community-reported, consistently

Common mistakes to avoid

Bringing highland-city malaria habits to a sea-level coastal city.
Relying on pre-2023 guidance about which national health scheme applies.
Buying a policy that pays local bills but excludes evacuation and treatment abroad.
Assuming Zanzibar's facilities are equivalent to Dar's for anything serious.
Not registering with a clinic until you are already unwell.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

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