This Korea health insurance calculator for foreigners estimates your monthly National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) premium in 2026 — the health portion plus the long-term care add-on — whether you are an employee, a regional (self-employed) subscriber, or a student. Enter your status and your monthly wage, and the tool returns your own employee share, the long-term-care amount, and the annual total in both KRW and USD. NHIS is mandatory for almost every foreign resident, and "how much health insurance korea expat" is one of the most common questions newcomers ask — this NHIS premium calculator for Korea answers it with the current 2026 rates.
Use the nhis monthly contribution foreigner estimator below, then read how the rates work, the student floor, and a worked example.
NHIS has two layers, and the calculator handles both:
For regional/self-employed foreigners, NHIS uses an income-and-property-based premium with a statutory minimum, so the tool floors the figure. For students, who usually have little Korean income, NHIS applies a reduced fixed monthly amount rather than a wage-based premium.
The rates rose for 2026, which is why older guides understate the cost:
| Component | 2026 rate | Employee share (workplace) |
|---|---|---|
| Health insurance | 7.19% of wage | 3.595% (half) |
| Long-term care | 13.14% of the health premium | Half of that |
So the all-in workplace rate, including long-term care, is about 8.135% of wages, of which the employee pays roughly 4.07%. The 7.19% health figure is up from 7.09% in 2025, and the 13.14% care figure is up from 12.95% — small increases, but they nudge your monthly deduction higher.
For an employee earning 3,500,000 KRW/month in 2026:
Your employer pays a separate, matching ~142,000 KRW that does not come out of your pay. A student, by contrast, would pay the fixed floor of about 76,390 KRW regardless of wage.
Your enrollment category drives your premium more than anything else:
This is why two foreigners with similar lifestyles can pay very different premiums — the category, not just the income, sets the bill.
Since the rules tightened, most foreign residents staying six months or longer must enroll in NHIS, whether through their workplace or as a regional subscriber, and cannot simply opt out in favor of private insurance. Enrollment gives you access to Korea's heavily subsidized healthcare, where the patient typically pays only a fraction of the cost of a visit or procedure. The premium you estimate here buys into one of the more affordable universal systems in the OECD.
NHIS covers a broad range of care: doctor visits, hospitalization, surgery, prescription medicines, maternity, and many diagnostic tests, with the patient paying a co-payment (often around 20%–30% for outpatient care, less for inpatient). It does not cover everything — some cosmetic procedures, certain new drugs, and private-room upgrades are excluded — which is why some residents add private supplementary insurance. For routine and major medical needs, though, NHIS is the backbone, and your premium funds it.
One of the biggest savings for employees is dependent coverage. As a workplace subscriber you can register qualifying family members — typically a spouse and children, sometimes parents — as dependents who are covered without a separate premium, provided they meet NHIS income and relationship criteria. For a family, employee enrollment with dependents can be dramatically cheaper than each person paying a regional premium. Check the dependent rules when you start a job, because it can change the math for your whole household.
For employees, NHIS is deducted automatically from your monthly pay alongside pension, employment insurance, and income tax. Because your premium is based on your reported wage, NHIS performs an annual settlement: if your actual income for the year differed from what was withheld, you receive a small refund or owe a top-up. Regional subscribers are billed directly and reassessed when their income or property changes. Either way, the figure this calculator gives is a close monthly estimate, finalized at settlement.
Foreign residents are generally automatically enrolled as regional subscribers once they have stayed six months, unless they are already covered through a workplace. This matters for newcomers: if you arrive without a job, you may receive an NHIS bill after the six-month mark whether or not you signed up, because enrollment is compulsory. Students and certain visa categories can have different timing. The practical takeaway is to budget for the premium from the outset rather than assuming you can defer it — and if you start a job, make sure your employer switches you to workplace coverage, which is usually cheaper and adds dependent coverage.
For self-employed and other regional subscribers, NHIS does not simply take a flat percentage of salary. Instead it builds a premium from a points-based assessment of your income and property (historically vehicles too, though that component has been reduced), converting points into a monthly figure with a statutory minimum at the bottom. Because the score blends multiple factors, two regional subscribers with the same headline income can pay different premiums if one owns property and the other rents. The calculator approximates this with an income-based figure floored at the statutory minimum; for an exact regional premium, NHIS applies its full scoring table to your declared income and assets.
There are legitimate ways foreigners lower their NHIS burden. The biggest is becoming a workplace subscriber instead of a regional one, since the employer pays half and dependents are covered free — so taking a formal job, even part-time above the threshold, can cut your premium. Registering eligible family members as dependents rather than each paying separately is another large saving. Keeping your declared income accurate avoids over-assessment at the annual settlement. These are compliance-friendly optimizations; NHIS is mandatory, so the goal is the right category and correct data, not avoidance.
The Korea health insurance calculator for foreigners applies the 2026 NHIS health rate of 7.19% to your monthly wage (split 50/50 with your employer, so you pay 3.595%), then adds long-term care insurance at 13.14% of the health premium. For regional subscribers it uses an income-based premium with a statutory minimum, and for students it shows the fixed monthly floor. It outputs your employee share, the long-term-care add-on, and the annual total in KRW and USD.
For an employee, your own NHIS share in 2026 is about 3.595% of your monthly wage plus a long-term care add-on, so on a 3,500,000 won salary you pay roughly 142,000 won per month. Regional (self-employed) foreigners pay an income-and-asset-based premium with a statutory minimum, and students pay a fixed monthly floor of around 76,390 won.
The National Health Insurance rate for 2026 is 7.19% of monthly wage for workplace subscribers, split evenly between employer and employee at about 3.595% each. Long-term care insurance is charged separately at 13.14% of the health premium, also split between employer and employee.
Yes. Most foreign residents, including students on a D-2 or similar visa, are required to enroll in NHIS. Students typically pay a reduced, fixed monthly floor (around 76,390 won in recent schedules) rather than a wage-based premium, because they have little or no Korean income.
No. For employees, the employer pays roughly half the NHIS health and long-term care premium and that share is not refunded to you. Only your own half is deducted from your pay. NHIS premiums are not a savings scheme; they fund current healthcare coverage.
Long-term care insurance (LTCI) is charged at 13.14% of your health insurance premium in 2026, not 13.14% of your wage. It is added on top of the health premium and split with your employer, so it raises your total NHIS deduction by a little over a tenth of the health portion.
Often yes. As a workplace subscriber you can register qualifying family members as dependents who are covered without paying a separate premium, provided they meet NHIS income and relationship criteria. This can make employee enrollment far cheaper for a family than each person paying a regional premium.