Assisted Dying Foreigner Access

• Only Oregon and Vermont explicitly permit non-residents; 8 other jurisdictions enforce strict residency requirements
• No dedicated visa category for assisted dying; B-2 medical visa requires proof treatment is unavailable in home country, creating a paradoxical barrier for terminally ill foreigners
• Patients must be in-state for examination, drug request, and medication intake over minimum 15-day period in Oregon, Vermont requires multiple appointments
• No established medical tourism infrastructure for assisted dying; finding physicians and accommodations is difficult even for domestic non-residents
• Documented cases (26 Vermont, 23 Oregon) appear to be primarily other US states; no documented international patient access reported
• Federal appeals court upheld residency requirements and warned that assisted dying is not a fundamental right states must offer to non-residents

Read the full United States report →

• Sections 19-20 of the Dying Patient Law (2005) categorically prohibit active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide for all persons with no citizenship distinctions
• Zero documented cases of any foreigner accessing assisted dying in Israel; Israelis seeking such services travel abroad to Switzerland
• No visa category or immigration pathway permits entry specifically for assisted dying purposes; the B/1 medical tourism visa requires a lawful procedure that does not exist in Israel's medical taxonomy
• No Israeli hospital, clinic, or organization offers or advertises assisted dying to international patients

Read the full Israel report →

• Active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are criminalized under IPC Sections 302/304/306
• Passive euthanasia framework is constitutionally tied to Article 21 rights designed for citizens and residents, with no provisions for foreign nationals
• Medical visas are granted only for approved therapeutic procedures—not end-of-life services or assisted dying
• Zero documented cases of foreigners accessing assisted dying services in India
• No Indian law, Supreme Court judgment, or Ministry guideline addresses foreign national access to assisted dying services

Read the full India report →

• Federal Law No. 4 of 2016 on Medical Liability explicitly criminalizes all forms of mercy killing and euthanasia with penalties of 2-10 years imprisonment and up to AED 1 million in fines
• The prohibition is grounded in Islamic Sharia law, which is constitutionally embedded in the UAE legal system, with no domestic political constituency for reform
• Dr. Eugen Adelsmayr, an Austrian intensivist, was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia in 2012 for alleged end-of-life actions, with prosecutors initially seeking capital punishment
• Despite a substantial medical tourism market (USD 722.5 million in 2024), there is no assisted dying infrastructure and assisted dying is prohibited in all Middle Eastern and GCC countries

Read the full United Arab Emirates report →

• Assisted dying is criminally prohibited under Penal Code Article 202 for all persons in Japan, with penalties of 6-7 years imprisonment, applying uniformly to citizens and foreigners alike
• June 2025 Supreme Court finalized an 18-year prison sentence for Dr. Yoshikazu Okubo for assisting an ALS patient's death, rejecting constitutional arguments that the right to self-determination permits seeking assistance to die
• Zero documented cases of foreign nationals accessing assisted dying in Japan; documented cases of Japanese nationals traveling to Switzerland instead
• No medical facilities provide or are licensed to provide assisted dying in Japan; the Medical Stay Visa program covers only lawful medical services

Read the full Japan report →

• Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (EAS) is illegal and considered a crime against life in South Korea
• The Criminal Code of South Korea contains provisions that criminalize assistance in suicide under Articles 252 and 253, covering murder upon request or with consent
• South Korean citizens seeking assisted dying must travel abroad, primarily to Switzerland, with at least 10 Koreans having accessed services at Swiss clinics as of the report date
• A 2024 legislative proposal to legalize assisted dying was introduced but shelved with no progress in the legislative process
• No assisted dying infrastructure or services exist within South Korea for any persons

Read the full South Korea report →

• Federal Penal Code continues to criminalize medically assisted death with penalties of 1 to 12 years in prison
• General Health Law Article 166 Bis 21 prohibits the practice of euthanasia and assisted suicide
• There are no documented cases of foreigners legally accessing assisted dying in Mexico because such services do not legally exist
• 19 Mexican states have modified their constitutions to protect the right to life from the moment of conception until natural death

Read the full Mexico report →

• Penal Code Section 306 criminalizes abetting suicide with imprisonment up to 10 years and fine, with no exception for medical purpose or terminal illness
• JAKIM 97th Muzakarah Fatwa (December 2011) declares all forms of euthanasia unlawful under Islamic law, binding on Malaysia's Muslim population
• Zero documented cases of any person—domestic or foreign—successfully accessing assisted dying in Malaysia
• No medical tourism infrastructure exists for end-of-life services (palliative care infrastructure exists separately but is not assisted dying)
• 81.3% of 481 surveyed Malaysian healthcare professionals (2024) oppose legalization; 85.6% cite religious belief as primary reason

Read the full Malaysia report →

• Articles 150 and 151 of the Polish Penal Code criminalize assisted dying with sentences of 3–5 years imprisonment [Euthanasia in Poland: A Few Comments on the Legal Issues - Stepień-Załucka - University of Pitesti - 2020]
• Polish Code of Medical Ethics Article 32 explicitly prohibits euthanasia for all patients [Code of Medical Ethics - Polish Supreme Medical Council (NIL) - 2024]
• Zero documented cases of assisted dying legally accessed in Poland by any person [Legality of Euthanasia - Wikipedia - 2024]
• 90% of Polish physicians oppose euthanasia in surveyed studies; no medical tourism infrastructure exists for such services [Attitudes of Polish Physicians and Medical Students - PMC/NIH - 2013; Poland – Europe's Emerging Medical Tourism Hub - ClinicHunter - 2024]
• No visa category or immigration pathway permits entry for assisted dying; no legislative movement toward legalizing assisted dying as of 2025 [Euthanasia legislation in the EU - European Parliament Think Tank - 2025]

Read the full Poland report →

• Assisted dying (euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide) is completely illegal for all patients under Penal Code 1871 Sections 305-306 with penalties up to 10 years imprisonment or death penalty
• Zero documented cases of any person—resident or foreign—accessing assisted dying in Singapore because it is a criminal offense
• The limited AMD (Advance Medical Directive) is restricted to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents only; foreigners on any temporary pass cannot execute one
• Singapore's 23 JCI-accredited hospitals and 646,000 international patients annually are oriented entirely toward curative care with no infrastructure for end-of-life facilitation

Read the full Singapore report →

• Assisted dying is entirely illegal in Thailand; there is no supporting legislation and no draft legislation has ever been created
• Active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide remain strictly illegal under Thai law, with criminal penalties equivalent to murder charges (15-20 years imprisonment or death)
• The Thai Supreme Court affirmed that advance directives do not authorize active euthanasia or mercy killing
• Zero documented cases of foreigners accessing assisted dying services within Thailand; Thai citizens seeking these services must travel abroad (e.g., Switzerland)
• Strong Buddhist cultural opposition and absence of any legal reform pathway make legalization unlikely in the foreseeable future

Read the full Thailand report →

• Article 84 of Turkish Penal Code criminalizes assisting suicide with penalties of 2-5 years imprisonment, escalating to 4-10 years if death occurs
• Article 13 of the Regulation on Patients' Rights explicitly states: 'Euthanasia is prohibited. The right to live cannot be relinquished for medical or other reasons'
• No documented cases exist of any person—citizen or foreigner—legally accessing assisted dying services in Turkey
• Turkey's medical tourism infrastructure, while treating 2+ million international patients annually, explicitly excludes assisted dying services due to complete legal prohibition
• Active euthanasia is treated as murder under Turkish law with severe criminal penalties; no legislative reform movement is actively progressing toward legalization

Read the full Turkey report →

• Article 17 of Medical and Health Liability Law No. 25 of 2018 explicitly forbids termination of life regardless of patient consent, applicable universally
• Zero documented cases of any person (citizen or foreigner) accessing assisted dying in Jordan
• No legal pathway or visa category exists for assisted dying services; medical tourism infrastructure covers only lawful procedures
• Islamic jurisprudence unanimously prohibits active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide; 2022 Penal Code amendment criminalized attempted suicide in public

Read the full Jordan report →

• Euthanasia classified as homicide under Article 121 (6–20 years imprisonment); assisted suicide criminalized under Article 122 (2–6 years imprisonment), with no nationality-based exemptions
• Zero documented cases of any person—foreign or domestic—legally accessing assisted dying in Brazil
• Brazilians including poet António Cicero travel to Switzerland for assisted dying specifically because services are illegal in Brazil
• No visa category, bilateral agreement, or medical tourism infrastructure supports end-of-life assistance
• Current legislative proposals do not indicate imminent legalization or creation of any foreigner-access pathway

Read the full Brazil report →

• Assisted dying is explicitly illegal under Section 2(1) of the Suicide Act 1961 (England and Wales) with 14-year maximum sentence; equivalent prohibitions apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland
• Failed Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (April 2026) included 12-month ordinary residency requirement with GP registration, which would have barred all medical tourists even if passed
• Zero documented cases of foreign nationals accessing assisted dying in the UK; evidence instead shows 43 UK residents using Dignitas in Switzerland in 2025 (651 total since 1998)
• No medical tourism infrastructure exists in the UK: no hospitals, clinics, services, or visa categories facilitate assisted dying access for foreign patients
• Scotland rejected its own assisted dying bill (69-57 vote, March 2026); Northern Ireland has no pending legislation; UK's residency-based medical treatment visas carry no provision for end-of-life services

Read the full United Kingdom report →

• Section 162 of Act C of 2012 criminalizes inducing or assisting suicide with penalty of 1-5 years imprisonment, applicable to all persons regardless of citizenship
• European Court of Human Rights upheld Hungary's assisted dying ban in Dániel Karsai v. Hungary (June 13, 2024), rejecting the most prominent challenge to the prohibition
• No documented cases of foreign nationals successfully accessing assisted dying in Hungary, and no legal pathway exists for any patient regardless of residency status
• Hungary has no medical tourism infrastructure specifically for end-of-life services; the country's medical tourism focuses on dentistry, cosmetic surgery, and orthopedics
• Extraterritorial provisions of Hungarian law may criminalize conduct that assists a Hungarian national to access assisted dying abroad, creating additional legal barriers for international patients

Read the full Hungary report →