An “all-inclusive” package for surgery in Turkey bundles the operation with some travel services into one price. Turkey’s 2025 health tourism regulation does not define a “package”, so the only reliable answer to “what is included?” is the written offer in front of you. This guide lists the lines to check, what Turkish regulation requires from facilities and agencies, where insurance stops, and what to have in writing before you pay.

Key takeaways

  • Turkey's 2025 health tourism regulation does not define an all-inclusive package, so what a package covers is whatever the written offer lists.
  • Under Article 5 of the regulation, facilities and intermediary agencies need an authorization certificate, issued by the Ministry of Health for facilities and by USHAŞ for agencies.
  • Facilities must carry complication insurance for operating-room procedures on international patients (Article 6); the NHS says travel insurance does not normally cover surgical complications.
  • A facility must attach an itemized breakdown with unit prices to the invoice, and an agency must itemize its fees on request (Article 12).

It applies to any facial procedure. This guide names no clinic or agency and compares no prices. Every rule quoted below comes from the Turkish text of the regulation, which I read on 10 October 2026.

What can an all-inclusive package cover?

Türkiye’s regulation on international health tourism, published in the Official Gazette on 26 April 2025 (No. 32882), does not define a “package.” It does describe the two kinds of business a package can involve:

  • The health facility. Article 7 requires a unit for international patients that handles admission, registration, diagnosis, treatment, billing, discharge, interpreting and coordination with agencies. Each patient is assigned a named responsible staff member.
  • The intermediary (agency). Article 4 defines it as an authorized company that advises international patients and their companions, organizes the health facility, and arranges accommodation, transport and transfers.

A package can bundle some or all of these, so two offers with the same headline can hold very different things. Go through each line and get a yes, a no or a price:

Line What to confirm
Surgeon The name of the surgeon who will operate, and their specialty
Facility Which hospital or clinic, and how many nights you stay there
Anesthesia The type, and whether an anesthetist is present
Tests before surgery Which blood tests or scans are included
Medication and supplies Take-home medication, dressings, compression garments
Follow-up in Turkey Dressing changes, drain and stitch removal, with dates
Hotel How many nights, for how many people, and the price of an extra night
Transfers Airport, hotel and every clinic visit, or only some of them
Interpreter Present at the consultation and on the day of surgery, or not
Companion Room, meals and transfers for the person traveling with you
Flights Whether any flight is in the price
Aftercare at home Photo or video reviews, a named contact, how long it lasts
Revision What counts as a revision, and who pays for surgery, travel and hotel

Which costs can sit outside the package?

Some costs depend on how your recovery goes, and a fixed price may not cover them:

  • Extra nights. The NHS advises not flying for 7 to 10 days after facial cosmetic procedures. If your surgeon moves the date, the hotel nights and flight changes may be yours to pay.
  • Going back. BAPRAS, the UK plastic surgeons’ association, notes that returning to see the surgeon after complications could add hundreds of pounds plus time away from work.
  • Getting home after a complication. BAPRAS says holiday travel insurance does not usually cover this, and that medical evacuation could be extremely expensive.
  • Care at home. The NHS warns that overseas clinics may not provide follow-up treatment, and may not have a healthcare professional in the UK you can go to.
  • Time off work. Recovery time is a cost if your leave is unpaid.

BAPRAS ends its advice with a reminder to check the fine print, because there could be hidden costs. Ask which of the lines above are in the price, and what each one costs if it is not.

Why does a written, itemized breakdown matter?

A headline price cannot be compared or disputed later. Article 12 of the regulation gives you a documented right to detail:

  • The facility must attach a document to the receipt or invoice showing a detailed breakdown of the services provided and their unit prices.
  • On request and free of charge, the facility must give you a list of the types and quantities of drugs and supplies used and charged, the results of lab tests and imaging you paid for, and prescriptions for medication bought outside.
  • On request and free of charge, the agency must give you a detailed breakdown of what it charges for accommodation, transport, transfers, interpreting and advice for you and your companions.

These duties apply to the invoice after the service. Before you pay a deposit, ask for an itemized written quote in the same format, so you know in advance what each part costs. Article 11 also says the Ministry of Health determines the price of health services in international health tourism, and that facilities must follow its price tariff. In practice, as an editorial observation from October 2026, that tariff is typically not applied to aesthetic procedures, and clinics set their cosmetic prices freely. That is why the itemized quote matters: it is the only price document you will have.

Our guides to rhinoplasty costs and facelift costs show how a total trip budget breaks into lines.

How can you check an agency’s authorization certificate?

Under Article 5, health facilities and intermediary agencies must hold an international health tourism authorization certificate to work in this field. The Ministry of Health issues it for facilities, and USHAŞ (Uluslararası Sağlık Hizmetleri A.Ş., the International Health Services company) issues it for agencies. Every additional office or branch of an agency needs its own certificate, and a certificate cannot be transferred to another company.

Other rules in the regulation help you check who you are dealing with:

  • A facility may accept an international patient who applies directly, without an agency (Article 6). You can ask a facility for its own price and compare it with the agency’s.
  • A facility may not use people or companies without a certificate for work that an agency would do (Article 6).
  • An agency must arrange accommodation, transport and transfers through a licensed travel agency, unless it is one itself (Article 6).
  • An agency must run, or contract, a call service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in at least two foreign languages (Article 6).
  • The company name on a facility’s or agency’s website must match the name on its certificate, and a facility must publish its accreditation or certificate on its website (Article 13).

Ask the agency for a copy of its certificate, and check that the company name matches the contract, the invoice and the website. The Ministry of Health’s HealthTürkiye site lists agencies holding the authorization certificate, so you can check an agency’s authorization there against the name on your contract. If you are unsure, ask USHAŞ to confirm a certificate. Our guide to whether Turkey is safe for cosmetic surgery covers how to check a facility and a surgeon.

What does insurance cover, and what does it not?

Three different kinds of cover are easy to confuse:

  • The facility’s complication insurance. Article 6 requires the facility to take out complication insurance for surgical and interventional procedures done in an operating room for international patients. Facilities had until 31 December 2025 to comply. The regulation text does not describe what the policy pays for, for how long, or how you claim. Ask for the insurer’s name and the policy terms in writing.
  • The providers’ responsibility. Article 6 also makes the facility and the agency responsible, each for the service it provides, for what you receive while you are in Türkiye, and states that complications and malpractice arising after treatment fall within that responsibility. It does not say how this works once you are home, so ask.
  • Your own travel insurance. The NHS says travel insurance does not normally cover things going wrong in surgery. BAPRAS says it is unusual for a holiday policy to cover problems during or after planned surgery abroad. Read the exclusions before you rely on any policy.

The NHS suggests asking what insurance the clinic or surgeon has and whether it covers you, and how you would get home in an emergency and what that would cost. For UK readers, BAPRAS adds that the NHS will treat life-threatening emergencies, but that NHS trusts will usually refuse treatment for less serious complications after cosmetic surgery.

What should you have in writing before you pay?

The NHS advises making sure you have a consultation with the surgeon rather than only with sales staff, and not paying for a hospital you have never seen or a surgeon you have not met. It also recommends two consultations with the surgeon before surgery. Before paying a deposit, get these in writing:

  • The surgeon’s name and specialty, and the facility’s name
  • The itemized quote, line by line, with the currency
  • What happens to the price if your stay has to be extended
  • The agency’s authorization certificate, if an agency is involved
  • The complication insurance: insurer, what it covers, and how to claim
  • The follow-up schedule in Turkey, and how aftercare works once you are home
  • The revision policy: what is covered, for how long, and who pays for travel
  • Deposit, refund and cancellation terms, including what happens if you change your mind on arrival

BAPRAS says the last point is something to settle before you sign a contract with the company arranging the surgery. Our guide to planning the trip home after surgery covers records, follow-up and flights.

This is a summary of the regulation, not legal advice, and it does not assess how closely individual providers follow it.

Sources

All pages were opened and checked on 10 October 2026.