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SomalMed visa guide · Updated 10 November 2026

Indian medical visa from Somalia, step by step.

Somali passports can’t use India’s e-Visa. You apply in person at the Indian Embassy in Nairobi or Addis Ababa, pay $80 plus a small payment charge, and usually have your visa in 3 working days. No agent needed.

At a glance
Where
Indian Embassy, Nairobi or Addis Ababa
Visa fee
$80 per person
Ready in
About 3 working days
Agent needed
No
For a visa of up to 6 months; up to a year is $120. Plus a small bank, M-Pesa or card charge. Last checked 10 November 2026. Ask the embassy

Mogadishu visa camp: Friday 13 November, 12:00–18:00, for people aged 65 and over, children and the critically ill. The visa is then paid for and collected in Nairobi.

Register by 12 November

01Cost

What you’ll pay. Nothing more.

Everyone travelling needs their own visa, paid only to the embassy.

Is the patient travelling alone?
How long might treatment and recovery take?

Each family member needs their own attendant visa and proof of relationship. Ask the embassy if more than one will come.

Visa fees, paid to the embassy

$160

2 visas × $80, the embassy’s published visa fee

About KSh 20,640, plus a small payment charge

Paid to SomalMed$0

Pay only through the payment methods on the embassy’s own website, and keep your receipt. Never pay the fee to anyone else. The embassy’s visa fee page

Not sure? Ask the embassy directly: contact details on its website

Last checked 10 November 2026 · Source: embassy visa fee page

02Documents

What to bring, ready in one go.

Tick each one as you go. The two medical letters go to the embassy by email, so you don’t carry them.

Two letters you don’t carry

  • Your local doctorReferral letter
  • The Indian hospitalInvitation letter
Each one emails it straight to

The Indian Embassy’s visa section

You bring everything else on the list below.

Doctors: email your referral letter to the embassy’s visa section, at the address in its advisory, with the patient’s name and passport number. Embassy advisory

0 of 15 ready
Everyone travelling
The patient
Each family member
Only if it applies

Last checked 10 November 2026 · Source: embassy visa page

03Timing

How long it takes. About a week in Nairobi.

The embassy sets some times; the rest depend on your records and free appointments.

  1. 1

    Hospital letters

    Once the hospital accepts your case

  2. 2

    Yellow fever vaccination

    At least 10 days before you arrive in India

  3. 3

    Appointment and travel

    Book online, and plan for a Kenya eTA

  4. 4

    Apply in Nairobi

    09:00–12:30 on a working day

  5. 5

    Visa ready

    Usually 3 working days; 1 in an emergency

Plan for about a week in Nairobi: apply, wait three working days, then collect.

Last checked 10 November 2026 · Source: embassy visa overview

04Agents

The visa costs $80. Some families paid $1,400.

The embassy warns against paying anyone else, including agents who promise faster visas or appointments.

Visa fee$80
Average paid, Garowe study$398
Highest paid, same study$1,400
Source: embassy visa fee pageSource: SIDRA Institute, Garowe, 2021

  • They say: “I’ll hand in your application for you.”

    The truth: Only you, a family member travelling with you, or a close relative with your signed letter can hand in the application.

  • They say: “I can get you an e-Visa.”

    The truth: Somali passports can’t get one. Official Indian visa sites end in .gov.in.

  • They say: “I work with the embassy.”

    The truth: The embassy charges only its published fee.

  • They say: “Pay me for a faster slot.”

    The truth: Urgent medical cases can ask the embassy for a priority appointment, free.

Last checked 10 November 2026 · Source: embassy advisory for Somali nationals

05Contact

Ask the embassy directly.

Both Indian Embassies, in Nairobi and Addis Ababa, handle visas for Somalia. Use the one you can reach more easily, and check anything on this page with them.

Both handle visas for Somalia

Questions families ask.

  • Can Somalis get an Indian e-Visa?

    No. Somalia isn’t eligible for India’s e-Visa, so any site selling one to a Somali passport isn’t official. You apply for a regular medical visa at the Indian Embassy in Nairobi or Addis Ababa.

  • Do I have to go to the embassy myself?

    Yes, to the Indian Embassy in Nairobi or Addis Ababa. For Nairobi you need a Kenyan entry stamp or residence permit in your passport. If the patient is critically ill, a blood relative travelling as their attendant can apply for them. The embassy sometimes holds one-day camps in Mogadishu, announced on its website.

  • My case is urgent. Can I get a faster appointment?

    Email the embassy’s visa section with proof of the emergency and ask for a priority appointment. It’s free, and slots go to the most urgent cases. In an emergency the visa can be ready in 1 working day if you pay the fee the same day.

  • Can my family come with me?

    Yes. Each family member travelling as your attendant needs their own medical attendant visa and proof of relationship. Ask the embassy how many can come in your case.

  • What if treatment takes longer than my visa?

    Tell the hospital’s international patient desk early. Medical visa extensions are requested inside India through the government’s e-FRRO service.

  • Do I pay SomalMed anything?

    No. You pay SomalMed nothing. You apply and pay the embassy yourself, and we never handle visa money.

Do it yourself, or with us, free.

On your own

Everything you need is on this page. Share it with whoever is helping you.

  • Document checklist
  • Visa fee calculator
  • Both embassies’ contacts

With SomalMed

  • Our clinicians review your records first
  • We make sure both medical letters are sent to the embassy
  • We check your documents before you go to the embassy

You still apply and pay the embassy yourself.

Start your case for free

You pay SomalMed nothing. We never handle visa money.

Sources · Last checked 10 November 2026