Before you start

Employer group medical cover, or a private policy bought yourself
Vaccinations appropriate to India — typhoid and hepatitis A as a baseline
A hospital identified near your home before you need one
Passport and address proof for hospital registration

Step-by-step

1
Read the group policy, not the summary slide
Check the sum insured, the daily room-rent sub-limit, disease-specific sub-limits, maternity terms, waiting periods for pre-existing conditions and whether dependants are included. Cover normally ends the day your employment does.
Via employerWho: You and HRFirst month
2
Top up with a super top-up or an international policy
Indian super top-up policies are cheap and lift a thin group ceiling substantially. An international policy costs far more but travels with you and covers treatment outside India, which an Indian policy generally does not.
OnlineWho: You
3
Register at a large private hospital near home
Ahmedabad's private sector is strong — Sterling, Apollo, Zydus, CIMS, Shalby and the Civil Hospital campus, which is among the largest in Asia. Do one routine consultation so you exist in their system, and note whether they are in your insurer's cashless network.
In personWho: YouWeek 1–2
4
Take the summer seriously between March and June
Shift outdoor activity to before eleven and after six, drink more than feels necessary, and treat 45°C as the operating condition rather than an anomaly. The municipal corporation issues colour-coded heat alerts; they are worth following.
Mobile appWho: YouMarch–June
5
Understand the health-ground liquor permit if it applies to you
Gujarat issues permits on documented medical grounds to applicants over forty, assessed by an authorised medical officer, with a defined monthly quota. This is a legitimate and widely used route for long-stay residents, distinct from the short visitor permit available to foreign nationals and out-of-state visitors.
OnlineWho: You, with a certifying medical officer
6
Know the emergency drill before an emergency
112 is the national number and 108 is the free ambulance service. For a planned admission at a network hospital, ask the insurance desk for cashless pre-authorisation; off network you pay and claim back, and insurers typically require notification within twenty-four hours of admission.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Insurance policy document and TPA cashless card
Passport and visa, required at admission
Vaccination records and a list of regular medications by generic name
Proof of Ahmedabad address

Things most newcomers don’t know

Ahmedabad wrote South Asia's first heat action plan because a heatwave killed people here.

After the May 2010 heatwave produced more than 1,300 excess deaths in a single month, the municipal corporation launched, in 2013, a formal early-warning and response plan — colour-coded alerts, hospital preparedness, cooling spaces, adjusted working hours — that has since been copied across India and studied internationally. It is the clearest signal available that the summer here is a health risk rather than a discomfort, and newcomers arriving in March consistently underestimate it.

Source: Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation heat action plan

The health-ground liquor permit is the mechanism long-stay residents actually use.

Gujarat's prohibition regime provides for permits issued on medical grounds to applicants over forty, certified by an authorised medical officer, with a monthly quota and a defined validity. Applications on this ground have risen sharply in recent years. Short visitor permits, available to foreign nationals and out-of-state visitors, run in days rather than years — so for someone actually living here, the health permit is the durable route.

Source: Gujarat Prohibition and Excise Department

Room-rent sub-limits quietly shrink Indian claims across the whole bill.

Many group policies cap the daily room rent they will meet. Take a room above the cap and the insurer proportionately reduces every other line in the bill — surgeon's fees, tests, consumables — not just the room. A policy you believed covered you can leave a large residual. This clause matters more than the headline sum insured.

Source: IRDAI — policyholder information

Foreign nationals are outside every Indian public health scheme, including the one your Indian colleagues use.

PM-JAY, ESIC and CGHS are all closed to foreign nationals. There is no residual public entitlement to fall back on, which is why a gap between two employers is a genuine exposure rather than a paperwork inconvenience. Bridge it with a personal policy before you resign, not after.

Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming a public safety net exists for foreign nationals — none does.
Reading the sum insured and skipping the room-rent sub-limit.
Letting cover lapse between jobs.
Treating March-to-June heat as ordinary hot weather.
Buying alcohol without a permit because it seemed available — it is a criminal offence, not a fine.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.