Living or traveling abroad

What follows you overseas

I'm a Marine who works in IT, and here's what I'd tell a buddy moving overseas. VA's line is plain: most VA benefits pay no matter where you live or what your nationality is. That list includes disability compensation, pension, education and training, health care, home loans, insurance, Veteran Readiness and Employment, and burial.

GI Bill benefits can pay for approved programs at foreign schools.

The Philippines has its own limits. VA doesn't issue a home loan Certificate of Eligibility to veterans who live there. Care for conditions that aren't service-connected at the VA Manila Outpatient Clinic is limited to current patients. Other non-service-connected care there is at your own cost.

Source: VA — Veterans Living Overseas (checked 2026-10)

Source: 38 CFR 36.4332 — Geographical limits (checked 2026-10)

Getting paid in another country

• Direct deposit to a foreign bank works. How fast it lands depends on how long your foreign bank takes to process it.
• No conversion fee from Treasury. VA says the U.S. Treasury's International Treasury Services doesn't charge a currency conversion fee on payments sent overseas. Your foreign bank may still charge you.
• Questions about international direct deposit: (918) 781-7550, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.
• General benefits questions from abroad: (412) 395-6272, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.

Source: VA — Veterans Living Overseas (checked 2026-10)

The Foreign Medical Program

Outside the U.S., the Foreign Medical Program (FMP) can pay for care you get from local providers. The care has to be medically necessary and meet one of three tests:

• It treats a disability VA has rated as service-connected.
• It treats a condition that makes a service-connected disability worse.
• It's part of your Veteran Readiness and Employment program.

Your FMP benefits letter is the key document. Sign in to VA.gov, choose Letters from the My VA menu, then Benefit letters and documents. The letter lists your covered conditions and explains how a provider can file the claim. FMP's page lists toll-free numbers for several countries.

Source: VA.gov — Foreign Medical Program (checked 2026-10)

No referral or pre-approval is needed. You can see any licensed provider where you live or travel. FMP covers outpatient and inpatient care, emergency and urgent care, skilled nursing, physical therapy, medical equipment and prosthetics, and FDA-approved prescriptions. It does not cover:

• Experimental care or medicines that aren't FDA-approved.
• Long-term care, such as nursing homes or assisted living.
• Travel costs, postage, late fees or check-cashing fees.
• Care in any U.S. state or territory.
• Care in a country that doesn't accept U.S. Treasury checks or doesn't allow U.S. citizens to travel there.
• Most dental care, unless it's for a service-connected condition.

Source: VA.gov — Getting care through the Foreign Medical Program (checked 2026-10)

Filing an FMP claim

Your provider can file using your benefits letter. If they won't, or you already paid, you file yourself.

1. Gather the bill. You need an itemized statement showing the provider's name and title, address, phone number, the conditions treated and the dates of care. Add proof that you paid. For hospital stays, include the discharge summary. For medicines, include the prescription and the pharmacy receipt.
2. Use the cover sheet. Every paper, email or fax claim needs VA Form 10-7959f-2. You can also file online.
3. Send it. Email HAC.FMP@va.gov, or mail it to VHA Office of Integrated Veteran Care, Foreign Medical Program (FMP), PO Box 200, Spring City, PA 19475.
4. Watch the clock. You must file within 2 years of the date of care. For a hospital stay, the clock starts at discharge.

Ask for documents in English if you can. VA will translate other languages, which can slow things down. VA converts foreign charges at the exchange rate on the date you got care. If your bank on file is foreign, VA mails a U.S. Treasury check instead. If a claim is denied, you have 1 year to appeal.

Source: VA.gov — File a Foreign Medical Program claim and VA Form 10-7959f-2 (checked 2026-10)

Who handles your claim from overseas

• Philippines: the Manila Regional Office processes claims from veterans who live there.
• Everywhere else: the State Department's consular manual tells embassy staff to send compensation claims to the VA Evidence Intake Center in Janesville, Wisconsin. VA.gov doesn't name one office that covers every veteran abroad.
• Exams: VA schedules claim exams as close to your home as it can. Give VA your physical address, on VA Form 21-4138 if it's different from your mailing address. Without it, your claim may be delayed or denied.
• Who books the exam: under the same manual, the embassy books exams with local doctors and sends the reports to VA's Pittsburgh Regional Office.

Source: VA — Veterans Living Overseas; State Department, 7 FAM 540 — Department of Veterans Affairs (checked 2026-10)

Your profile on VA.gov covers health care and disability compensation. FMP keeps its own records, as do home loans and life insurance. Contact FMP directly when you move.

Source: VA.gov — Change your address (checked 2026-10)

What the embassy does, and doesn't do

An embassy or consulate helps every U.S. citizen, veteran or not, with:

• Lost or stolen passports.
• Medical emergencies, crime, arrests and missing persons.
• Deaths abroad. They help with local authorities and documents, including the Consular Report of Death, and with sending remains home or arranging local burial.
• Emergency money. If you have no other way, a repatriation loan may be possible. You must repay it.

Family in the U.S. who are worried about you can call 1-888-407-4747. Before a trip, enroll in STEP, the State Department's free Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. The embassy can then reach you in an emergency and speed up a replacement passport.

Source: USAGov — Emergency assistance abroad, If a U.S. citizen dies abroad, Emergency money abroad, Travel advisories and STEP (checked 2026-10)

If you're arrested, a consular officer can visit you, contact your family if you agree, and give you a list of local attorneys. They can't recommend a lawyer, and they can't get you out of jail.

Source: State Department, 7 FAM 420 — Notification and Access (checked 2026-10)

VA help at the embassy: some embassies have a Federal Benefits Unit. VA says FBU staff are trained to help with a full range of VA benefits, claim filing included. The State Department's manual calls its Regional Federal Benefits Officers VA's agents abroad. A claim filed with an embassy counts as filed with VA on the day the embassy gets it. Ask your nearest embassy whether it has one.

Source: VA — Veterans Living Overseas; 7 FAM 540 (checked 2026-10)

Crisis help, anywhere

In the U.S., call 988 and press 1, or text 838255. Overseas, the Veterans Crisis Line has a different number for each Department of Defense region. Off base, dial the +1 number. On base, dial DSN 988. If your region's number won't connect, try another one.

• Calls can cost money. Outside the U.S., Canada and Mexico, off base, your carrier may bill international rates, even on toll-free numbers.
• Texting often won't work. 838255 is a U.S. short code. It only works on a U.S. carrier with an international plan that allows texts to U.S. short codes. Your plan may still cap the number of texts.
• Chat works anywhere with internet, 24/7, at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat. You don't need to be enrolled with VA.

Source: Veterans Crisis Line — Military Crisis Line, Veterans Crisis Line, Confidential chat (checked 2026-10)

Before you go: the checklist

1. Update your address on VA.gov, including a physical address if your mail goes somewhere else. Then tell FMP separately.
2. Download your FMP benefits letter and carry a copy for local doctors.
3. Set up direct deposit for the account you'll actually use, and ask your foreign bank about its fees.
4. Bring enough medication. FMP won't mail it to you.
5. Keep itemized bills and receipts. You have 2 years to file.
6. Enroll in STEP and find your nearest embassy. Ask whether it has a Federal Benefits Unit.
7. Save your region's crisis number and the chat link in your phone.