Medical travel · Preparation
Everything in its place before you fly.
A medical journey generates paper. Here is how to organise it into four folders, what to do at each milestone, and how to pack for a stay that may run longer than planned.
The system
Four folders, one bag.
Keep each folder in its own sleeve so anyone in the party can find a document in seconds, at immigration, at the hospital desk or at a pharmacy counter. The whole set travels in hand luggage.
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Identity and entry
One set per traveller
- Passport with six months of validity and two blank pages
- A printed ETA for every traveller, patient and attendants
- Confirmation of the e-Arrival card, once filed
- Photocopies of passport and visa pages, packed apart from the originals
- A few spare passport-size photos for local paperwork
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Hospital
Ask the hospital what it wants in original
- The hospital’s letter and its written estimate
- Reports and imaging in the form the hospital requested, plus your own copies
- A one-page summary from your doctor at home
- Current medicines with generic names and doses, and any allergies in writing
- The international patient desk’s phone number and email
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Travel and stay
Your coordinator sends these in one pack
- Tickets with the fare rules for changes
- The stay’s address, written out for drivers
- Transfer details and your coordinator’s number
- Travel insurance policy number and its emergency line
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Money
Keep treatment and travel spending apart
- The payment method the hospital confirmed it accepts
- Cards your bank knows you will use in India, with limits checked
- A little cash for the first day
- One envelope or folder for every receipt and invoice
Countdown
Milestones, not a calendar.
Medical dates move, so preparation is tied to events rather than weeks. When a milestone arrives, work through its list.
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When the estimate arrives
- Decide who will travel with the patient
- Check every passport’s expiry date and blank pages
- Ask the hospital for its visa letter
- Ask your insurer, in writing, what they will and will not cover
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When admission is confirmed
- Apply for the visas, inside the 120-to-4-day window
- Book changeable flights and an extendable stay
- Request airport assistance with the airline
- Tell your doctor at home your dates
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About two weeks out
- Arrange enough medicine for the stay plus a margin your doctor agrees
- Sort home matters: bills, post, pets, a key with a neighbour
- Tell your bank where and when you will be spending
- Share your itinerary with one family contact
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The final 72 hours
- File the e-Arrival card for each traveller
- Print every ETA and the travel pack
- Save offline copies of everything on two phones
- Confirm the airport pickup with your coordinator
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Travel day
- Document folder and medicines in hand luggage
- Comfortable layers for a cold cabin
- Phones charged, with a power bank
- Your coordinator’s number written on paper too
Medical reports
Share them the safe way.
Your reports are the most sensitive thing you will send on this journey. They should go to the hospital directly, and only once you are satisfied with how it will handle them.
InfiniaTrips never asks for reports, scans or diagnoses, and our forms are built to keep them out. When you are ready, your coordinator can set up a separate, consented channel for your case with the hospital you chose, and close it when you ask.
Ask the hospital before you send
- Which channel should I use, and is it the hospital’s own?
- Who will see my files, and in which departments?
- How long are they kept, and can I ask for deletion?
- Which originals must I bring in person?
- Will you need translations, and can you arrange them?
Avoid sending reports through family group chats or social media messages, where copies multiply beyond your control.
Medicines
Medicines that travel without questions.
What to take, how much and in what form are questions for your doctor. How to carry it is logistics, and these habits keep it simple.
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Original packs, with prescriptions
Pharmacy labels and a copy of each prescription help at security, at immigration and at an Indian pharmacy if you need a refill.
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Split between two bags
The patient and the companion each carry half in hand luggage, so one delayed or lost bag never leaves anyone without a dose.
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Controlled drugs need checking
Some strong painkillers, sleeping tablets and other medicines are controlled. Check India’s rules with the Indian mission before you pack them.
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Doses across time zones
Ask your doctor how to shift timings across the time difference, and set phone alarms in the new time zone before you land.
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Anything that needs cooling
Tell the airline in advance, carry a cool pouch, and we confirm the stay has a fridge in the room, not just in a shared kitchen.
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A margin for delays
Treatment dates and flights move. Pack beyond the planned stay by an amount your doctor is comfortable with.
Packing
Packing for weeks, not a weekend.
Longer stays reward fewer, better things and a laundry plan. We look for stays with a washing machine or a laundry service, so you can pack for one week and repeat.
Clothing and comfort
- Light, breathable cotton for warm days
- A warm layer for air-conditioned rooms, cabins and cool evenings
- Loose, easy-to-wear clothes, following any advice from your hospital
- Slip-on shoes with a good grip, and soft house shoes
- Something modest for visiting temples, mosques or gurdwaras
Practical kit
- A universal adaptor: India uses 230 volts and type C, D and M sockets
- A power bank and long charging cables for bedside sockets
- Earplugs and an eye mask for daytime rest
- A refillable water bottle and a small insulated cup
- A notebook for questions to ask at each appointment
For the companion
- Their own medicines and copies of their prescriptions
- A light bag for hospital days: snacks, charger, a book
- Headphones for calls home from a quiet corridor
- Comfortable clothes for long days on hospital chairs
Money and connectivity
Two budgets, one local number.
Keep treatment and travel apart
The hospital bills treatment; we price flights, stays, transfers and coordination separately. Ask the hospital when it expects a deposit and when the final bill is settled, and raise card limits before you leave so a large payment is not declined at the desk.
Get an Indian number on day one
A local SIM keeps calls home affordable and lets drivers and pharmacies reach you. The e-FRRO portal also asks for an Indian mobile number for its one-time passwords, which matters if any visa service is needed during your stay.
Questions about cover for planned treatment belong with your insurer. Our travel insurance guide explains the usual exclusions in plain terms.
Preparation FAQ
Preparation, the practical questions.
Should I bring original reports or copies?
Ask the hospital’s international desk which originals it needs to see. Bring those, carry a full set of copies separately, and keep digital versions you can open without internet. Nothing irreplaceable should travel in checked luggage.
Do my documents need to be in English?
Visa documents do: the e-Visa portal warns that uploads in other languages make an application liable for rejection. For medical reports, ask the hospital whether it needs translations and whether it can arrange them.
Can I send my reports to InfiniaTrips to forward to a hospital?
No. We keep clinical information out of our systems on purpose. Reports go from you to the hospital through the channel it provides, or through a separate consented channel set up for your case alone.
What plugs and voltage does India use?
India runs on 230 volts and mostly uses type C, D and M sockets. Bring a universal adaptor, and check that chargers and any devices you rely on accept 230 volts.
How much medicine should I pack?
Enough for the whole planned stay plus a margin for delays, agreed with your own doctor. Keep it in the original packaging with the prescription, split between two hand-luggage bags, and check India’s rules first for anything classed as a controlled drug.
Do I really need an Indian SIM card?
It makes everything easier, and for one thing it is close to essential: the e-FRRO portal, used for any visa service inside India, asks for a valid Indian mobile number for its one-time passwords. Your coordinator helps you get one on the first day.
A travel pack for every traveller
Your folders, filled in for you.
Your coordinator sends tickets, stay details, transfer times and contacts as one tidy pack, ready to print.