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SafetyWing vs Genki — for visa applications
Last checked: September 2026 · Product details from the insurers' official pages; visa rules from each government source.
The direct answer: for the €30,000-minimum countries (Portugal, Greece, Italy, Croatia and Estonia) both usually satisfy the written requirement — SafetyWing's $0 deductible makes its certificate the cleaner read, while Genki offers higher per-case coverage. Neither passes in Spain, Bulgaria, Malta and Cyprus, which ask for genuine health insurance rather than travel-medical cover.
⚠️ Insurance requirements are set by each government and change. We summarise them to help you shop, but the consulate has the final say on whether a specific policy is accepted. Confirm the wording of any policy before you buy.
The comparison that matters for a visa officer
Most SafetyWing-vs-Genki articles compare them as insurance. This page compares them as visa evidence — because that's the job you're buying them for.
| SafetyWing (Nomad Insurance) | Genki (Traveler) | |
|---|---|---|
| Product type | Travel-medical | Travel-medical (Native tier is full health insurance) |
| Coverage ceiling | $250,000 (Essential) / $1.5M (Complete) | Up to €1M per case |
| Deductible | $0 — no deductible on either tier | €50 per case |
| Meets €30,000 Schengen benchmark | Yes, comfortably | Yes, comfortably |
| Visa proof document | Downloadable proof-of-insurance letter from your account | Confirmation of coverage available on request |
| Billing | Monthly (Essential) or paid annually upfront (Complete) | Monthly subscription |
| Price from (under 40, checked September 2026) | ~$63 / 4 weeks | ~€52 / month |
| Long-term health upgrade | Complete (full health, $1.5M) | Native (long-term health, up to unlimited) |
| Passes in Bulgaria, Malta and Cyprus | No at Essential; Complete is closer on benefits but still branded as travel insurance, which these rules exclude by name | Not at the Traveler tier — Native is the relevant product |
| Qualifies for Spain's nomad visa | No | No |
Where each one wins
- Pick SafetyWing when the certificate is the point. The $0 deductible means there is no cost-sharing line for a strict consulate to query, and the self-serve visa letter states coverage, dates and scope the way officers expect to see them. For Portugal's D8 or an Estonia Type D file, that's the path of least resistance.
- Pick Genki when you want more headroom per incident. Up to €1M per case is a higher practical ceiling than SafetyWing Essential's $250k, adventure sports are included by default, and if you later settle somewhere, Genki Native is a genuine long-term health policy. The €50 per-case deductible is normally fine for €30,000-minimum countries — but if your consulate is known to be picky, the zero-deductible certificate is the safer artefact.
- Pick neither for Spain, Bulgaria, Malta and Cyprus. These four want health insurance, not travel insurance, and the distinction is structural rather than a matter of coverage limits. Details below.
The distinction that decides it: travel-medical vs health insurance
Both of these products are travel-medical cover at their popular tiers, whatever the marketing calls them. Travel-medical is built around events: an accident, a sudden illness, an evacuation. Health insurance is built around a person over time: routine care, GP and specialist visits, chronic conditions, maternity. The two look similar on a price page and are completely different documents to an immigration officer.
That's why the coverage ceiling is a poor guide to whether a policy will be accepted. A €1M travel-medical policy fails a rule that a €100,000 health plan passes, because the objection is never the number — it's that a country granting you residence expects you insured the way a resident is insured.
- 🇧🇬 Bulgaria: Private health insurance valid in Bulgaria and the wider Schengen area for the whole stay. Travel insurance is explicitly not accepted — it has to be a genuine long-term health policy. Details →
- 🇲🇹 Malta: Health insurance with at least €100,000 of cover across the EU and the UK, meeting Residency Malta's published Table of Minimum Benefits, pre-paid for one full year and covering every dependant in Malta. Details →
- 🇨🇾 Cyprus: Private health insurance valid in Cyprus for the full stay, covering inpatient AND outpatient care plus repatriation of remains — nomads get no access to the national GESY system. Details →
- 🇪🇸 Spain: the strictest of all — an insurer authorised in Spain, cover equivalent to the public system, no co-payments, no waiting periods. What Spain actually accepts →
The two stages nobody separates
Most nomad visas have two gates, and the insurance bar is not the same at each. At the consulate stage you are applying for entry, and a travel-medical certificate that states the coverage amount, the geographic scope and the dates is normally what's being asked for. At the residence permit stage — converting your visa in-country, at AIMA in Portugal or the migration office in Greece — you are being registered as a resident, and comprehensive cover is the more comfortable document to hold.
Practically: if your plan is a year in Portugal and then home, a good travel-medical policy will carry you through. If your plan is to stay and renew, buying a real health plan at the start avoids replacing your insurance mid-process, at an older age band, in a hurry. This is the honest case for Genki Native or a full international plan even in countries that would have accepted less.
Country-by-country: does travel-medical cover pass?
- 🇵🇹 Portugal: yes — the rule is €30,000+ coverage valid for the full stay. Details →
- 🇬🇷 Greece: yes — the rule is €30,000+ coverage valid for the full stay. Details →
- 🇮🇹 Italy: yes — the rule is €30,000+ coverage valid for the full stay. Details →
- 🇭🇷 Croatia: yes — the rule is €30,000+ coverage valid for the full stay. Details →
- 🇪🇪 Estonia: yes — the rule is €30,000+ coverage valid for the full stay. Details →
- 🇧🇬 Bulgaria: no — a health policy is required, not travel-medical cover. Details →
- 🇲🇹 Malta: no — a health policy is required, not travel-medical cover. Details →
- 🇨🇾 Cyprus: no — a health policy is required, not travel-medical cover. Details →
- 🇪🇸 Spain: no — full private health insurance only. Details →
Get a quote
Flexible monthly nomad health cover, popular for visas that accept the €30,000 standard.
Check SafetyWing Nomad Insurance →Subscription-style nomad health insurance with simple, continuous coverage.
Check Genki →Comprehensive international private health plans — the kind of cover strict countries like Spain expect.
Check Cigna Global →Whichever you choose: before paying, confirm the certificate names your destination (or the Schengen area), states the coverage amount, includes repatriation, and runs for your entire requested visa period. Those four lines are what applications are approved or refused on — plus, in Malta's case, evidence that the year is paid up front.
Frequently asked
Is SafetyWing accepted for digital nomad visa applications?
For countries whose rule is a coverage minimum (typically €30,000 valid in the Schengen area) — Portugal, Greece, Italy, Croatia and Estonia — SafetyWing Nomad Insurance generally meets the written requirement and provides a downloadable proof-of-insurance letter. It does not qualify where the country asks for genuine health insurance rather than travel-medical cover: Bulgaria, Malta and Cyprus, or Spain, which additionally requires no co-payments and an insurer authorised in Spain.
Is Genki accepted for digital nomad visa applications?
Genki Traveler generally satisfies €30,000-minimum countries and covers up to €1M per case. One caveat: it carries a €50 per-case deductible, and a few strict consulates read "deductible" as cost-sharing. Genki Native is a different product — real long-term health insurance underwritten by a German insurer — and it is the one to reach for where a residence permit requires comprehensive cover. Neither tier meets Spain's "no co-payments, authorised in Spain" rule.
Which is cheaper, SafetyWing or Genki?
They are in the same band for under-40s: SafetyWing Essential from about $63 per 4 weeks, Genki Traveler from about €52 per month (checked September 2026). Price moves with age and with US coverage. The real difference is structure — deductible, coverage ceiling, and how each certificate reads to a visa officer — not a few euros of premium.
Why do monthly nomad plans fail the Malta permit?
Malta requires €100,000 of cover across the EU and the UK, meeting Residency Malta's Table of Minimum Benefits, and the policy must be pre-paid for one full year. Genki Traveler and SafetyWing Essential are rolling monthly subscriptions and cannot produce a certificate showing a year paid in advance — that alone rules them out. SafetyWing Complete is the exception on billing: it can be paid annually upfront. But Residency Malta's own guidance says travel insurance is not accepted, and Complete is still sold under the "Nomad Insurance" travel brand, so it carries real rejection risk on category alone, independent of the prepayment fix. For Malta specifically, an annual plan from an insurer that doesn't market itself as travel insurance is the safer document.
What insurance do I need for the Spain digital nomad visa instead?
Spain requires comprehensive private health insurance from an insurer authorised in Spain, with no co-payments and no waiting periods. That means a full health plan (Spanish insurer or qualifying international plan), not travel-medical products like SafetyWing Nomad Insurance or Genki Traveler.
Compare all the visas these policies are for →
Check your country's exact insurance rule →