Medical Tourism Contract Checklist: 15 Areas to Check

A clinic abroad will usually send you a quote, a booking form or a set of "terms" before you pay. Whatever it is called, that document decides who you can hold responsible, what your money buys and what happens if the treatment goes wrong. This checklist covers the 15 areas a medical tourism contract should deal with. It is written for the patient, not the clinic.

Use it before you pay a deposit. Changing a contract is easier before any money has moved. Read the contract once with the boxes below open, and tick only what the document actually says. A promise made on a video call or in a chat message does not count. The same 15 areas, with about 16 questions each, are in our free medical contract review checklist.

First check: is it a treatment contract at all?

The first contract sent to our medical contract review was not a treatment contract. It was a two-page agreement with a medical-travel agency. It named no clinic, no treatment and no price. Almost every clause limited the agency's own responsibility, including for injury or death. The clinic that would do the work was not a party to it.

One document shows a pattern to look for. It does not show how common the pattern is, and we will not guess. If the paper you were sent is only an agency agreement, ask for the clinic's own terms before you pay anything.

Who you are signing with

A brand name is not a legal person. That matters the moment something goes wrong, because you can only enforce a contract, or complain, against a registered company. In the EU, the Cross-Border Healthcare Directive requires clinics to give patients information on their authorisation or registration status.¹

Turkey writes this down too. Since its 2025 health-tourism regulation, both clinics and agencies need a separate International Health Tourism Authorisation Certificate. The Ministry of Health issues it to clinics. A state company issues it to agencies.² The same regulation makes the clinic and the agency responsible for the service each provides while you are in Turkey, including complications and malpractice.²

The Royal College of Surgeons of England advises talking to the surgeon who will actually operate before you give consent. Only that surgeon should advise you.³

What the price includes

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that some clinics abroad charge "substantial fees for follow-up care" on top of the base price.⁴ The EU's unfair-terms directive lists a clause that lets the seller raise the price without giving you a right to cancel as one that may be unfair.⁵

In Turkey, the regulation requires an itemised invoice with unit prices. On request, the clinic must also give you a free list of the medicines and materials it charged you for.² Ask for that list in advance as part of the quote.

Your money: deposits, payments and cancellation

"Refundable deposit" means little until the contract says when, how and in what amount the money comes back.

The EU's unfair-terms directive covers two traps here. One is a clause letting the clinic keep your money when you cancel, with no matching payment when the clinic cancels. The other lets the clinic keep money for treatment it never provided when it ends the contract itself.⁵ Both are on its list of terms that may be unfair.

How you pay also matters. If you are in the UK, our guide to getting money back after Turkey teeth go wrong compares card protection with the clinic's own guarantee.

Consent and language

The NHS says you should have two consultations with the surgeon who will treat you. In the UK that gives a cooling-off period of normally two weeks.⁶ The NHS and the Royal College of Surgeons both stress that the surgeon must speak a language you understand well enough to ask questions.⁶³

When something goes wrong

A clause excluding liability for injury or death is the clearest red flag in this list. Do not sign it. Under the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015, a trader cannot exclude or restrict liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence.⁷ The EU's unfair-terms directive puts the same kind of clause first on its list of terms that may be unfair.⁵

Insurance needs the same care. The NHS notes that travel insurance "does not normally cover" you if things go wrong in surgery.⁶ Turkey requires clinics to insure complications from operating-theatre procedures for foreign patients.² That cover has firm limits, explained in what Turkey's complication insurance actually pays.

The Royal College of Surgeons advises getting a named doctor's contact details for complications, rather than a helpline.³

Where a dispute is decided

A contract can name a foreign court, but that does not always bind you. Under the EU rules on jurisdiction, an EU resident can sometimes sue at home. This applies where the clinic directed its business to their country, even if the clinic is outside the EU.⁸ A clause in the contract cannot remove that right before a dispute arises.⁸

In the UK, the Consumer Rights Act still applies to a contract closely connected with the UK, even if the contract picks another country's law.⁹ Winning at home is one step. Collecting the money from a foreign clinic is another, and time limits run from the treatment, as malpractice filing deadlines abroad shows.

In the US, the Consumer Review Fairness Act voids form-contract terms that bar or penalise honest reviews.¹⁰ The General Dental Council suggests asking any clinic abroad for a copy of its complaints system.¹¹ For who handles a complaint once you are home, see who takes a complaint about your foreign clinic.

After you go home

Read the warranty as a contract, not a slogan. One Turkish dental clinic's published warranty, for example, pays for a return trip only once its own team confirms by email that a revision is needed. It covers flights up to 200 pounds, euros or dollars.

The guarantee is void if you miss a yearly check-up or have the work treated by another dentist without approval.¹² Those are the terms to look for in yours.

The CDC advises asking for copies of overseas medical records in English.⁴

When the clinic is in the EU, you are entitled to a written or electronic record of your treatment, and to at least a copy of it.¹ The EU's data protection regulation gives you a right of access to your data. The clinic must answer within one month, extendable in complex cases.¹³ Without implant details, a later repair at home is harder, as where your breast implant's record stays explains.

The fine print

Your medical history and photos are the most sensitive personal data a clinic holds. In the EU, the clinic must tell you who receives it and how long it is kept.¹³

What this checklist can't catch

A contract can tick every box and still be broken in practice. Paper is not care. This list checks what the paper says, not whether the clinic is safe or the surgeon is skilled. Check the clinic's licence on the official register, and the surgeon's qualifications, separately.

The legal rules above depend on where you live and where you are treated. The EU directives cover clinics and consumers in the EU. The UK act covers contracts with a close UK connection. Turkey's regulation covers Turkey. Elsewhere, the questions are still the right ones to ask, but the law behind them may be weaker.

If a box stays empty

An empty box is a question for the clinic, not a reason to panic. Ask it. Send the clinic the list of missing items in writing, before you pay, and ask for the answers in the contract itself. A clinic that will not put its promises in writing is telling you something.

To go through every question for your own contract, use the free medical contract review checklist. Or send your contract for an automated review, which checks it against the rules for where you live and where you are going.

Footnotes

1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32011L0024 — European Union, Directive 2011/24/EU on the application of patients' rights in cross-border healthcare, Article 4(2)(b) and 4(2)(f) (published Apr 4, 2011). Accessed Oct 10, 2026. ↩ ↩²

2. https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2025/04/20250426-2.htm — Resmî Gazete (Official Gazette of the Republic of Türkiye), "Uluslararası Sağlık Turizmi ve Turistin Sağlığı Hakkında Yönetmelik", Articles 5, 6 and 12 (published Apr 26, 2025). Accessed Oct 10, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/patient-care/cosmetic-surgery/having-surgery-abroad/ — Royal College of Surgeons of England, "Thinking of having cosmetic surgery abroad?". Accessed Oct 10, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. https://www.cdc.gov/yellow-book/hcp/health-care-abroad/medical-tourism.html — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC Yellow Book, "Medical Tourism" (published Apr 23, 2025). Accessed Oct 10, 2026. ↩ ↩²

5. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:31993L0013 — European Union, Council Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair terms in consumer contracts, Annex points 1(a), 1(d), 1(f) and 1(l) (published Apr 5, 1993). Accessed Oct 10, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³

6. https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/cosmetic-procedures/advice/cosmetic-surgery-abroad/ — National Health Service (UK), "Cosmetic surgery abroad" (page last reviewed Dec 14, 2022). Accessed Oct 10, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³

7. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/65 — UK Parliament, Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 65. Accessed Oct 10, 2026. ↩

8. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32012R1215 — European Union, Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, Articles 17(1)(c), 18(1) and 19 (published Dec 20, 2012). Accessed Oct 10, 2026. ↩ ↩²

9. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/74 — UK Parliament, Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 74. Accessed Oct 10, 2026. ↩

10. https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-review-fairness-act-what-businesses-need-know — Federal Trade Commission (US), "Consumer Review Fairness Act: What Businesses Need to Know" (published Feb 2017). Accessed Oct 10, 2026. ↩

11. https://www.gdc-uk.org/standards-guidance/information-for-patients-public/going-abroad-for-dental-treatment — General Dental Council (UK), "Going abroad for dental treatment". Accessed Oct 10, 2026. ↩

12. https://www.smiledentalturkey.com/our-no-worries-treatment-warranties/ — Smile Dental Turkey (clinic), "No Worries & Treatment Warranties". Accessed Oct 10, 2026. ↩

13. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679 — European Union, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation), Articles 12(3), 13 and 15 (published May 4, 2016). Accessed Oct 10, 2026. ↩ ↩²

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