Quick summary: In most countries where people relocate, you don't go straight to a specialist like you might at home. The entry point is a primary care doctor (GP) or general clinic; emergency care is only for truly serious cases; and antibiotics and many common medications require a prescription. Your first task in the opening weeks is to register with a primary care doctor and bring a summary of your medical history in English.
People relocating abroad usually prepare carefully for housing, schools, and bank accounts. Healthcare often gets the "we'll figure it out when we get there" treatment. Then one evening your child has a high fever, and you realize you have no idea who to call, where to go, or what documents you need.
The biggest shock isn't the cost. It's that the healthcare system in your new country works in a completely different order. At home, stomach pain means going straight to a gastroenterologist at a private hospital and getting results by evening. In the UK, Canada, or Portugal, the same pain starts with a primary care doctor, requires a referral letter, and you might wait weeks for a specialist appointment.
This guide doesn't discuss insurance choices—we've analyzed public and private healthcare in countries with investment programs separately. Here we focus on practice: what to do the first time you're sick abroad, and in what order.
Why "go straight to a good specialist" doesn't work anymore
Most developed countries organize healthcare in three tiers, and patients move up from the bottom:
- Tier one – primary care: general practitioners (GP, family doctor), walk-in clinics, pharmacists.
- Tier two – specialists: specialist doctors, advanced tests. Usually requires a referral from tier one.
- Tier three – hospitals and emergency: for serious cases, surgery, trauma.
The primary care doctor acts as a gatekeeper. They decide if you need to see a specialist, what tests you need. People familiar with private systems sometimes resent this gatekeeping, but in return the primary care doctor holds your complete medical history.
Private insurance may shorten tier two, but many plans still require a referral to cover costs. Read your policy carefully before booking a specialist on your own.
Register with a primary care doctor: do this in your first week
Here's the most important advice: register with a primary care doctor while everyone is healthy, don't wait until you're sick. In many places, doctors' patient lists are full; if you wait until you need urgent care and haven't registered, your only options are walk-in clinics or emergency.
Registration varies by country:
| Country | Entry point to tier one | Documents needed | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | Register with a GP practice near your home on the NHS | Proof of residence, address; immigration health surcharge already paid with visa | GP registration doesn't require complex address documents, but practices can decline if you're outside their area |
| Canada | Family doctor or walk-in clinic | Provincial health insurance card | Some provinces have wait times before the card is active; many areas face doctor shortages |
| Portugal | Health center (Centro de Saúde) | SNS user number | Having a user number doesn't guarantee immediate assignment of a primary care doctor |
| Greece | Private doctor or public health center | AMKA number | Golden Visa holders mainly use private insurance |
| US | Primary care physician within your insurance network | Insurance card | Choosing an out-of-network doctor means paying much higher rates |
| UAE | Private clinic or hospital in your insurance network | Health insurance card, Emirates ID | Health insurance is mandatory with residency; going straight to specialists is more common than in Europe |
The US and UAE are closest to home healthcare practices: you can see specialists relatively quickly, if your insurance allows it. Europe, the UK, and Canada require accepting a slower pace at tier one.
When to call emergency, when to go to a clinic
New arrivals often make one of two opposite mistakes: calling emergency for a cold, or staying home enduring chest pain out of fear of trouble and expense.
Here's a rough guide many families post on their refrigerator:
- Call emergency immediately: chest pain, difficulty breathing, facial drooping or weakness on one side of the body, loss of consciousness, uncontrolled bleeding, seizures or severe letharness in children. Emergency numbers are 112 in EU countries, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US and Canada, 000 in Australia, 998 for ambulance in the UAE.
- Go to urgent care (walk-in, minor injuries unit): sprains, cuts needing stitches, high fever that won't come down, urinary tract infection, ear pain in children.
- Call a health advisory hotline: unsure where to go. The NHS has 111 in the UK; Portugal has 24-hour SNS line 24; many Canadian provinces have 811.
- Schedule with your primary care doctor: chronic conditions, follow-ups, need a referral, need a long-term prescription.
- Ask your pharmacist: mild cold, allergies, sore throat, hemorrhoids, insect bites. In the UK, Canada, and Australia, pharmacists have broad authority to advise and treat minor illness.
In public emergency departments across Europe, Canada, and the UK, patients are triaged by severity, not by arrival time. A child with a 102°F fever arriving at 9 p.m. might sit until 2 a.m.—not discrimination, but triage determining the case isn't life-threatening.
Money: who pays, when, how much?
In the UK and most of Canada, seeing a primary care doctor and using emergency in the public system costs nothing at the counter for eligible people. In the UK, people on long-term visas have usually already paid the Immigration Health Surcharge when applying; this isn't refunded even if you use private insurance.
In the US, even with insurance you pay copays, deductibles, and coinsurance. A single emergency visit can generate multiple bills: hospital, doctor, lab work, imaging. Don't pay the first invoice you receive by mail; wait for your Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from the insurance company and reconcile the claims.
In the UAE, private hospitals usually verify insurance before seeing you. Your card tier determines which facilities you can access.
We don't advise on insurance. But ask your agent one key question before signing: "If I go to an out-of-network emergency room at midnight, who pays, what percentage do I pay, and how quickly do I need to notify the company?"
Medications: where most people stumble
The habit of buying antibiotics, stomach medications, and sleeping pills over-the-counter doesn't work abroad. In Europe, the UK, the US, Canada, and Australia, antibiotics require a prescription. Pharmacists will politely refuse.
Five things to do before you leave:
- Ask your doctor to write medication names by active ingredient, not brand name. The same medication has different names in different countries; paracetamol in the US is called acetaminophen.
- Bring enough chronic medications for 2–3 months, with a prescription or doctor's letter in English. That's enough time to register with a primary care doctor and get a local prescription.
- Check controlled substances lists. Some painkillers with codeine, sedatives, sleeping pills, and cold medicines with pseudoephedrine are restricted or banned in certain countries, notably the UAE and Japan. Bringing them without declaration or permission can cause serious trouble at the border.
- Keep medications in original packaging when going through customs.
- Don't mail medications after you arrive. Many countries confiscate or destroy prescription medications sent through the post.
Traditional medicine and dietary supplements are sometimes held by customs due to restricted animal or plant ingredients.
Medical records: something you should bring but often don't
Doctors in your new country have no medical history of you. Across language barriers, important details are easily missed.
A summary document in English, a few pages, is enough:
- Chronic conditions, year of diagnosis, current medications and dosages.
- Surgical history, drug allergies (very clearly noted).
- Recent lab results on important measures: blood glucose, lipids, liver and kidney function.
- Recent scans and endoscopy results, saved as digital files.
- Your children's vaccination records, translated to English. Schools in many places require this when enrolling; missing records may mean revaccination or delays.
- Blood type of each family member.
The medical exam done for your residency visa doesn't replace this. A visa medical exam only answers "is this person fit to immigrate," not "what is their complete medical history." We explained this difference in medical exams for residency applications.
Risks to know ahead
Waiting times are real, not exaggeration. Specialist appointments and surgery wait times in the UK, Canada, and Portugal public systems can be months. People with conditions needing close monitoring should plan ahead for private options.
Dentistry and eye care often aren't covered. In Canada and Australia, adult dental care is largely private. Many families do dental work in their home country before leaving, or combine it with a trip back to visit.
Language barriers are more serious than you think. Describing symptoms wrong leads to wrong diagnosis. Most public systems offer free medical interpreters, including over-the-phone interpretation; ask for one.
Older adults are most vulnerable. Seniors often have no public healthcare coverage in many countries; private insurance premiums rise sharply with age; pre-existing conditions are often excluded. We've written extensively about aging parents relocating with adult children.
A second passport doesn't bring healthcare. Many people misunderstand: having citizenship of Grenada or another Caribbean nation doesn't give you access to public healthcare in the UK, US, or Europe. Healthcare is always tied to where you legally reside and contribute, not your passport.
Healthcare checklist for your first months
| Timing | Task | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Before departure | Medical history summary in English, vaccination records translated, medications for 2–3 months with prescriptions | Check controlled substances list for destination |
| Week one | Register with primary care doctor or choose a doctor in your insurance network | Do this while everyone is healthy |
| Week one | Save emergency number, health advisory hotline, nearest urgent care, and nearest hospital addresses | Post on refrigerator, save in phone for elderly family members |
| First month | Find a pharmacy near home, ask pharmacist about over-the-counter equivalents to medications you use | Take photos of familiar medication bottles to compare |
| Months 2–3 | Have your first routine visit with primary care doctor, transfer chronic medication prescriptions | Bring your medical history summary |
| Annually | Review insurance contracts, hospital networks, dental coverage | Before renewal date |
What comes next
If you're still choosing a country, factor healthcare into your decision alongside schools and cost—don't leave it for later. Our country comparison tool helps lay your options side by side; once you've decided, spend an evening with your family preparing a summary of medical history and a list of medications.
When you talk to a relocation advisor, don't just ask about documents. Ask: "When my family arrives, who will explain how to register with a primary care doctor?" A serious advisor will have a specific answer, not "you'll figure it out when you get there." The other tasks for your first month are covered in your first 30 days after getting your passport.
