Every year, hundreds of thousands of people board a plane to India for one reason: to get well. Some are tired of waiting. Some cannot afford the price at home. Some simply cannot find the specialist they need. This is the complete, honest guide to medical tourism in India — the numbers, the steps, the costs and the questions that keep you safe.
What medical tourism in India really is
Medical tourism — the government calls it medical value travel — means crossing a border for planned treatment. In India it has two parts: curative care in hospitals (heart, joints, cancer, transplants, eyes, fertility) and wellness built on yoga and Ayurveda.
It is not a holiday with a hospital attached. It is a medical decision first, and a journey second. The best trips start with a specialist's honest opinion, a written estimate, and a plan for the weeks after you fly home.
Who comes, and from where
Arrivals fell sharply in 2020, recovered strongly to a peak of 659,356 in 2023, and dipped in 2024 and 2025. We show the dip on purpose: honest numbers build trust.
| 2019 | 697,453 |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 182,945 |
| 2021 | 323,748 |
| 2022 | 474,798 |
| 2023 | 659,356 |
| 2024 | 644,387 |
| 2025 | 507,244 |
Bureau of Immigration data via Ministry of Tourism (Aug 2025) and Govt of India (May 2026).
Most visitors still come from India's neighbours. Bangladesh alone sent 482,336 patients in 2024 — about three in every four. The fastest-growing routes are from Central Asia and Africa, which is why we run an African Patient Desk and 35 country guides.
| Bangladesh | 482,336 |
|---|---|
| Iraq | 32,008 |
| Somalia | 11,717 |
| Oman | 10,431 |
| Uzbekistan | 8,921 |
Ministry of Tourism, Rajya Sabha reply, 7 Aug 2025.
Why patients choose India
- Cost: many planned operations cost a fraction of US or UK cash prices. See real ranges on our savings page.
- Time: no long waiting list for a planned procedure once your tests are in order.
- Skill: large teaching hospitals see very high volumes, and many senior doctors trained or worked abroad.
- Medicines: India makes a large share of the world's generic medicines, so follow-up drugs are usually affordable.
- Recovery: yoga, Ayurveda and the cool Himalayan foothills are close at hand for the weeks after treatment.
How it works, step by step
- Send your reportsscans, letters and test results, in any language
- Specialist consultationUS$99 — two calls: a follow-up or a second opinion
- Written plan and estimateitemised, per person, flights excluded
- Visa and travele-Medical visa, attendant visa, flights, stay
- Treatmenthospital admission with an interpreter if needed
- Recovery and follow-uprest nearby, then video follow-up from home
Two rules protect you at every step. First, get the estimate in writing and compare it line by line — our guide on comparing two quotes shows how. Second, never pay cash to an agent. Every payment should go to the hospital or through a traceable bank or card route.
What it costs
Savings depend on the procedure, the hospital, the room and the implant. As a guide, here are published average cash prices in the USA against published ranges in India for two common operations:
| Knee · USA | 23,157 |
|---|---|
| Knee · India (top of range) | 6,300 |
| Hip · USA | 23,962 |
| Hip · India (top of range) | 6,300 |
USA: Turquoise Health averages. India: CARE Hospitals published range ₹1.5–6 lakh (about US$1,600–6,300). Converted at ₹95 = US$1. Flights and stay are extra.
These are averages and ranges, not quotes. International-patient packages can cost more, and you must add flights, a hotel or guesthouse, food and a family member's travel. Only your own written, itemised estimate counts — and you get it before you decide anything.
Budget, too, for time: most planned operations need one to three weeks in India, including tests, surgery, the first check-up and clearance to fly.
Where to go in India
India's big medical hubs are Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Chandigarh, an hour's flight from Delhi, is home to PGIMER — ranked No. 2 among India's medical institutes — and a calm, green, planned city to recover in.
- 1Delhi NCRmain international gatewayOpen in Google Maps ↗
- 2चण्डीगढabout 1 hour by air from DelhiOpen in Google Maps ↗
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7Kolkataclose to BangladeshOpen in Google Maps ↗
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Tap a name to zoom.
Ready to start? Book a specialist consultation, read the medical visa guide, or ask us on WhatsApp in your own language.
Independent research. Figures are quoted from the official and published sources listed below, as they stood when we checked them (October 2026). BookMedTrip is an independent facilitator and is not affiliated with any government body, hospital, charity or organisation named here, and receives no commission from them. If anything here is out of date or inaccurate, please write to care@bookmedtrip.com and we will correct it.
प्रश्नहरू
How many foreigners travel to India for treatment?
644,387 foreign visitors came for medical treatment in 2024 and 507,244 in 2025, according to Government of India data.
Is medical tourism in India safe?
It can be, when you choose an accredited hospital, check the doctor's registration, get a written itemised estimate and plan follow-up before you fly.
Which visa do I need for treatment in India?
Most patients apply for an e-Medical visa on India's official portal, indianvisaonline.gov.in. Up to two family members can travel on e-Medical Attendant visas.
स्रोतहरू
- Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India — Rajya Sabha unstarred question 2219, medical arrivals 2020–2024 by source country (7 Aug 2025)
- Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India — Rajya Sabha unstarred question 4136, medical arrivals by year (18 Aug 2025)
- IANS via Punjab Kesari — India's medical tourism market to nearly double to US$16.2 bn by 2030: Govt (2 May 2026)
- Careers360 — NIRF Ranking 2025 Medical: AIIMS Delhi top, PGIMER Chandigarh 2nd (4 Sep 2025)
- Government of India — official e-Visa portal (categories and rules)
- Turquoise Health — knee and hip replacement average cash prices (USA)
- CARE Hospitals — knee replacement surgery cost in India
