Arrival day
Met inside the arrivals hall with your name on a board, SIM card in hand, and driven straight to your accommodation. Nothing clinical happens on day one — you sleep.
- Home
- Patient Journey
Nine days from your first message to a confirmed surgery date.
That is the median, not the best case. Here is every stage in between, what we need from you at each one, and how long it honestly takes.
Before you travel
Weeks one and two
Nothing in this phase costs you anything, and none of it commits you to travelling. You can stop at any point and take the second opinions to your own doctor.
01
You send what you have
Photographs of scan reports and discharge summaries over WhatsApp are fine — we do not need originals or a login. If you only have a diagnosis and no paperwork, say so and we will tell you what to ask your doctor for. Same day.
02
A case manager is assigned by name
One person, with a direct number and a working knowledge of your language. They stay with you through discharge and follow-up — not a rotating queue. Within 4 hours.
03
Two independent consultant opinions
Your file goes to two senior consultants at different hospitals. You receive both in writing, unedited, side by side — including where they disagree. 2–3 working days.
04
Written, itemised quotes
Surgeon fee, hospital package, implants named by brand and model, ICU days included, per-day rate for overruns. Countersigned by each hospital's international patient office. 2 working days.
05
You choose — or you don't
We will give you our recommendation and the reasoning behind it. Roughly one enquiry in six ends here, because the honest answer was that surgery isn't needed or shouldn't be done abroad. Your timeline.
Paperwork
The medical visa, without the folklore
India's e-Medical Visa is issued online and is genuinely straightforward, provided the invitation letter comes from a hospital the government recognises. Ours do. There is no agent to pay and no expediting fee — anybody offering either is selling you something that doesn't exist.
What we issue, and when
Once a consultant confirms your treatment plan, the hospital's international office issues an invitation letter on letterhead, usually within 48 hours. You upload it with your application.
What the visa gives you
- Up to 60 days per visit, with triple entry across the visa validity
- Attendant visas for up to two accompanying family members
- Extension is possible from within India if treatment runs long — we handle the FRRO filing
Nationals of a small number of countries are not eligible for the e-Visa and must apply at an Indian mission. We will tell you at first contact if that applies to you, and prepare the mission paperwork instead.
Typical visa timeline
Invitation letter
2 days
Online application
1 day
Government processing
3–5 days
Flight booking
2 days
Documents to have ready
- Passport valid for at least six months, with two blank pages
- A recent passport photograph on a white background
- Proof of residential address
- The hospital invitation letter (we send it)
- Return flight details, or a stated intended date
On the ground
What the days in India actually look like
The clinical part is the shortest part. Most of a medical trip is logistics, boredom and waiting — which is exactly where an unprepared patient loses money and sleep.
Day two: workup
Bloods, imaging, anaesthetic review and the consultant meeting — scheduled as one block, not spread across a week. Your case manager is physically with you.
Where you stay
Serviced apartments within ten minutes of the hospital, with a kitchen and a lift. Booked flexibly, because roughly one patient in nine stays longer than planned.
Interpreters
Assigned to your admission, present at ward rounds and at consent — not a phone line. Arabic, French, Russian, Swahili, Bangla and Dari. Your discharge summary is translated before you leave.
Family updates
A written update every evening in your language, sent to whoever you nominate at home. During surgery, a message from theatre when the operation is finished — not hours later.
Halal, vegetarian, and everything else
Certified halal kitchens at every partner hospital, and vegetarian and diabetic menus as standard. If the hospital food doesn't work for you, we arrange a caterer who understands it.
After you fly home
Ninety days, scheduled in advance
This is the part most facilitators quietly drop once you have paid the hospital. It is written into your plan before you travel, with dates already in the diary.
Talk to a case manager
01
A referral note your own doctor can use
Written for a clinician, not for a patient: procedure detail, implant serial numbers, medication with generic names, and what to watch for.
02
Video review at days 14, 45 and 90
With the surgeon who operated on you — not a call-centre clinician. Booked before you leave India, with your interpreter on the call.
03
A direct line for the awkward hour
A number that reaches a clinically trained person at any hour for the first six weeks. Most calls are reassurance. Some are not, and those are the ones it exists for.
04
If something goes wrong
Your quote states what the hospital covers on readmission and for how long. We escalate on your behalf, in India, in person — which is the only kind of escalation that works.
Practical questions
Things people ask at 2am
For minor procedures, yes, and we will make sure you are not actually alone — your case manager handles transfers and stays with you at admission and discharge. For major surgery we strongly recommend a companion, and the visa allows for two. If travelling with someone genuinely isn't possible, tell us early and we will arrange a paid attendant. It is not expensive and it changes the recovery.
It can be, and we will not pretend otherwise. Between November and January, particulate levels in India are genuinely poor, which matters for thoracic and respiratory recovery in particular. For those cases we either schedule outside that window or arrange accommodation with medical-grade filtration. Your consultant will raise it before you book; if they don't, ask.
Surgery dates can usually be moved with 72 hours' notice at no cost, because you have not paid a deposit. Accommodation is booked on flexible terms for the same reason. Flights are the only genuinely expensive thing to change, which is why we advise booking them last — after the visa is approved, not before.
A local SIM is handed to you at the airport, registered against your passport — Indian regulations require in-person registration, so it cannot be posted in advance. For money, bring a card that works internationally and change a small amount at the airport for the first day. Do not carry large cash; hospital payments are by transfer or card at the billing counter.
Less than you think, except for medication and paperwork. Bring every scan on physical media as well as on your phone, your full medication in original packaging with the prescription, loose comfortable clothing that opens at the front, and slip-on shoes. Everything else can be bought within a kilometre of the hospital for less than the excess baggage fee.
Start at step one. It costs nothing.
Send the reports you already have. Two consultant opinions and an itemised quote, usually inside three working days — and no obligation to travel.