Travel & Life · Published 2026-11-03

How Much Does NHIS Cost for Foreigners in Korea? 2026 Premium Rates Explained

Short answer: In 2026 the National Health Insurance (NHIS) rate for employees is 7.19% of monthly wage, split 50/50 between you and your employer, so you pay about 3.595%. Long-term care insurance is added on top. If you are a regional (non-employee) subscriber, your premium is based on a points system, and for foreign residents NHIS applies a minimum linked to the national average. For 2026, NHIS gives KRW 158,630 as the average premium for foreign regional subscribers.

NHIS pages and third-party sites often disagree on rates. The numbers below come from NHIS’s own 2026 notices, and the date of each is stated. If you are not sure whether you must join at all, that is a separate question.

2026 rates at a glance

Rates as shown on NHIS pages on November 3, 2026. Another NHIS-linked announcement states the long-term care rate is calculated as the health premium times (0.9448 divided by 7.19), which works out to about 13.14% of the health premium.

Employee subscribers: you and your employer split it

If you work at an insured workplace, NHIS’s formula is monthly wage times the contribution rate. NHIS’s English guidance for foreigners states that the employee and the employer each pay 50%, the premium is withheld from your salary, and it applies from the start of your employment.

So with the 2026 rate of 7.19%, your own share of the health premium is about 3.595% of your monthly wage. The long-term care amount is calculated from the health premium and shared the same way.

Regional subscribers: a points system

If you are not an employee or a dependent, your monthly premium is the contribution score times KRW 211.5. NHIS says the score is the sum of points for income, property and cars owned by the household. For foreigners, NHIS’s English page says it is calculated the same way as for local residents, and permanent residents (F-5, F-6) follow the same method.

NHIS’s page for regional subscribers does not publish how many points a given income or property earns. For that, ask your local NHIS branch or use NHIS’s own tools.

The minimum premium for foreign residents

NHIS’s Korean guidance for foreigners explains that if your calculated premium is lower than the previous November’s average premium of all subscribers, the average is charged instead. The example on that page is outdated (it quotes the November 2020 figure of KRW 131,790), so the useful number is NHIS’s 2026 notice: KRW 158,630 for foreign regional subscribers, made up of KRW 140,210 in health insurance and KRW 18,420 in long-term care.

Two points to keep in mind:

• NHIS says some people are not subject to the average, such as refugee-status holders (F-2-4), their accompanying family (F-1-16) and one-person households under 19. They are calculated like Korean citizens.
• The pages do not state how the 2026 average is applied to each household. If you think the amount is wrong, ask NHIS how your bill was calculated.

Long-term care insurance

Long-term care insurance is a separate insurance for elderly care that is collected together with your NHIS bill. NHIS’s Korean page says it is calculated as the health premium times the long-term care rate. For 2026 that rate is 0.9448% of income, or about 13.14% of the health premium, as shown above. In the foreign-resident average above, the long-term care part is KRW 18,420 of KRW 158,630.

Reductions that may apply

NHIS’s pages list reductions for some groups, and the Korean page says a reduction applies only if annual income is KRW 3.6 million or less and property value is KRW 135 million or less:

• 30%: D-6 (religious workers), G-1-6 and G-1-12 (humanitarian stay).
• 50%: residents of islands and remote areas. Residents of farming and fishing villages receive 22%.
• International students (D-2, D-4) and some overseas Korean students: a temporary reduction that NHIS’s Korean page lists as 50% from March 2023. Households made up only of minors are excluded.

These are NHIS’s listed categories and conditions, and the pages are not all updated to 2026. Confirm any reduction with NHIS before relying on it.

Illustrative example (estimate only, not a quote)

This example uses only the 2026 official rates above. The wage is invented to show the arithmetic.

Employee earning KRW 3,000,000 per month

Regional subscriber with an assumed 500 points

In the second example, a foreign resident could still be billed the KRW 158,630 average, because the calculated amount is lower than the average. The points figure above is invented and does not describe any real income. Real bills follow NHIS’s own rounding, ceilings and scoring, so treat these numbers as an estimate and not a quote.

Paying the bill

NHIS pages are not consistent about due dates: the English contribution page says payment is due on the 10th of the following month, while the Korean foreigner page says the next month’s premium is paid in advance by the 25th. Check the due date printed on your own bill. NHIS’s Korean page also says unpaid premiums can limit your benefits and affect immigration matters such as extending your stay.

Quick checklist

• Am I an employee (50/50 split) or a regional subscriber (points)?
• What is my monthly wage, or which household score will NHIS use?
• Does a reduction category apply to me (and do I meet the income and property limits)?
• Do I know the due date on my bill?
• Have I asked NHIS how my regional bill was calculated, if it looks high?

Common mistakes

• Using last year’s rate. The 2026 rate is 7.19%, not 7.09%.
• Forgetting the long-term care add-on and expecting only the health premium.
• Assuming foreign regional subscribers always pay the same amount; the minimum is tied to the average.
• Copying figures from a blog without checking NHIS’s current notice.

This guide is general information, not tax, insurance or financial advice. Confirm your rate and amount with NHIS (call center 1577-1000, English consultant 033-811-2000) before budgeting.

Sources

• NHIS (English): Contribution rate
• NHIS (English): Guidance for foreigners
• NHIS: 2026 premium rate notice (rates and average premium for foreign regional subscribers)
• NHIS: 2026 average premium for foreign regional subscribers (notice)
• NHIS (Korean policy center): Foreigner and overseas Korean health insurance, enrolment management

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