Treatment at hospitals in India: a guide for patients in Rwanda

The Indian medical visa

e-Medical Visa

Rwandan passport holders can apply for India's e-Medical Visa online, and the attendant category is open to them on the same route. The online route is the quicker of the two available here, but it is not the only one: Rwanda is one of the few countries we cover where the Indian mission publishes its own paper medical visa checklist, so a patient who cannot complete the online application has a documented alternative in their own city.

Apply on the official Indian e-Visa portal

Indian mission

• Rwanda's real advantage in this process is not the flights but the mission. The High Commission of India in Kigali is resident in the country, so a patient can attend in person in their own city instead of travelling abroad to apply.
• Villa 67, KG 9 Avenue, Nyarutarama, Kigali. Consular telephone +250 737 310 070; outside office hours +250 737 310 020. Consular email [email protected].
• The chancery is open Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 17:00, closing between 13:00 and 13:30. The consular counter is narrower than that and the two halves of the day do different things: applications are lodged between 10:00 and 12:00, and visas and passports are collected between 14:30 and 15:30.

Travelling with a family member

Two people may accompany you, each on a medical attendant visa granted against your own medical visa. On the paper route in Kigali this works differently from most places, and it is worth understanding before the file is prepared. The mission publishes no separate checklist for attendants. Instead its medical visa list requires the Indian hospital's invitation letter to give the name, passport number and nationality of the patient and of each attendant. The attendants are therefore named on the patient's letter, which means the hospital has to know who is travelling before the letter is issued. Neither the portal nor the Kigali mission publishes which relatives qualify, and we do not borrow a rule from a mission that does not serve Rwanda. That is settled with the High Commission as part of preparing the application.

Documents

• Online, the patient uploads the scanned passport bio page showing the photograph and personal details, a recent front-facing photograph on a white background, and the Indian hospital's letter on its letterhead giving the date or expected date of admission. Each attendant needs only the passport bio page.
• On paper the Kigali High Commission asks for a longer file: the online form printed and signed, with the uploaded photograph on a white background matching the one pasted on the form; two further recent passport photographs; a letter from the treating doctor or hospital in Rwanda recommending the specific treatment in India; the Indian hospital's letter together with a copy of the online invitation letter, naming the patient and the attendants; evidence of funds for the treatment, such as six months of bank statements or a receipt from the Indian hospital; the patient's full medical history; and copies of the passport bio page, the national identity card and the yellow fever vaccination card.
• One requirement is easy to miss and will stop the file if it is missed. The local referral letter and the Indian hospital's invitation letter must be emailed to the mission by the hospitals themselves, from the hospital's own official address — not simply carried in by the patient.
• The printed file is lodged at the High Commission between 10:00 and 12:00 on working days. For a child, the birth certificate and a signed authorisation from both parents are required.

Visa rules differ by country and change often. Once a partner hospital accepts your case we arrange the hospital’s invitation letter and check the current rules with you before you apply.

Getting to India

Airports

Kigali International Airport, IATA code KGL, under the name used by Rwanda Airports Company, which operates the country's airports. The operator abbreviates the airport to "KIA" in its own material. That is its house abbreviation and not an airport code — booking systems want KGL.

Routes to India

• There is no direct flight from Rwanda to India, and the national carrier does not serve the country: RwandAir's destination menu reaches Dubai and Doha in Asia, and no Indian city.
• The routing we could verify end to end goes through Nairobi, with both legs sold by Kenya Airways: Kigali to Nairobi, then Nairobi to Mumbai. Other connections may exist but could not be confirmed on an airline's own pages, so we do not name them.
• We check the schedules in force with you before you book.

Before you travel, check your own government’s current travel advice and your airline’s flight status.

Money

Currency

The Rwandan franc, ISO 4217 code RWF. It has no subdivision: amounts are quoted in whole francs, with no cents.

Treatments we coordinate

Our partner hospitals treat these conditions, among others. Where hospitals publish their own prices we show an indicative range; otherwise ask us for an estimate.

• Heart surgery
• Cancer treatment
• Orthopedics and joint replacement
• Spine and neurosurgery
• Kidney care and transplant
• Liver transplant
• Bone marrow transplant
• IVF and fertility treatment
• Neurology
• Eye surgery
• Cosmetic and plastic surgery
• Bariatric (weight-loss) surgery
• Dental care

Don't see your treatment? Send us your reports and we will ask the right specialists at our partner hospitals.

How it works

1. Send your medical reports.

   Share your reports and scans with us on WhatsApp, by email or through our form. Your doctor can also send them to us.

2. Receive a specialist opinion and cost estimate.

   Specialists at our partner hospitals review your reports. We send you their opinion, the treatment they recommend and a clear cost estimate.

3. We arrange your travel.

   We arrange the hospital's invitation letter for your medical visa and help you with flights, accommodation and airport pickup.

4. Treatment, return home and follow-up.

   We support you during treatment and recovery in India, and we stay in touch after you return home.

Our partner hospitals

We work with partner hospitals across India. Their specialists review the medical information on this website and discuss cases with referring doctors.

• Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru / Pune / Gurugram / DelhiJCI-accredited
• Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune
• Jehangir Hospital, Pune
• Ramaiah Hospital, BengaluruJCI-accredited
• Kauvery Hospital, BengaluruJCI-accredited
• Aster Medicity, BengaluruJCI-accredited
• Fortis Hospitals, Bengaluru / Gurugram / NoidaJCI-accredited
• Apollo Hospitals, Bhopal / Bengaluru / Delhi / ChennaiJCI-accredited
• Medanta
• Artemis Hospitals

Talk to us about treatment in India

Send us your medical reports whenever you are ready, or ask us a question first. Coordination is free for patients.

For referring doctors

If you refer patients for treatment in India, we work alongside you. You submit the case through our online case form, and a specialist from our partner hospitals can discuss it with you by video call on request. We keep you informed during your patient's treatment and after they return home, so you can continue their care.