Agent or clinic direct? How to book surgery in Türkiye with your eyes open

Most people who look into surgery in Antalya meet an agent before they meet a surgeon – on Instagram, through a search ad or via a friend’s recommendation. Others write straight to a clinic. Neither route is right or wrong in itself. What matters is knowing what you are paying for, who you are actually contracting with and what happens if things do not go to plan.

This guide is about choosing: how to compare an agent with booking direct and what to check before you sign. Who is legally liable once something has gone wrong is covered in our separate guide on agencies, facilitators and liability.

What does a medical tourism agent actually do?

An agent – also called a facilitator or medical travel company – organises your trip; it does not treat you. Typical services are:

• answering your first questions and collecting your photos and medical history
• passing these to one or more clinics and returning a quote
• booking the hotel, airport transfers and sometimes flights
• providing an interpreter or coordinator during your stay
• staying in touch after you fly home

Under Türkiye’s 2025 health tourism regulation, a facilitator is defined by exactly this work: advising patients and companions and organising the health facility, accommodation, transport and transfers. The surgery, the consent discussion and the medical aftercare are the clinic’s and the surgeon’s job.

What does an agent cost me?

Usually you do not see a separate agent’s fee – it is built into the package price, either as a commission paid by the clinic or as a margin on the package. That is not improper in itself; the agent has staff and advertising costs. But it means the headline price tells you little about how much goes to the treatment.

What you can do:

• Ask for an itemised quote. The 2025 regulation requires facilitators to provide, on request, a detailed breakdown of their fees for accommodation, transport, transfers, interpreting and consultancy.
• Ask the clinic for its own price for the same procedure with the same surgeon. Some clinics charge agents and direct patients the same; others do not.
• Compare like with like: number of nights in hospital, follow-up appointments, compression garments, medication, revision policy.

There is no express rule in the regulation requiring an agent to disclose its commission. Asking is still worthwhile – how openly the agent answers is information in itself.

Does an agent in Türkiye need authorisation?

Yes. Since the 2025 regulation, a facilitator in Turkish health tourism must be a legal entity holding an authorisation certificate (yetki belgesi). The regulation also sets practical requirements, including:

• service in at least two foreign languages, seven days a week, around the clock (or through a contracted call centre)
• a website with a foreign-language version, using the same name as on the certificate
• accommodation, transport and transfers provided through authorised travel agencies under Türkiye’s travel agency law – unless the facilitator is itself an authorised travel agency

So there are two things to ask for: the health tourism authorisation certificate, and either the agent’s own travel agency licence or the name of the licensed travel agency it uses for your hotel and transfers. The Ministry of Health’s HealthTürkiye platform lists certified providers, and GOV.UK also points patients to it. If you cannot find the agent there, ask it to show you where it is listed or to send the certificate number.

Tip: Check that the company name on the website, the certificate, the contract and the invoice are all the same. A mismatch is a reason to stop and ask.

Does the agent name the clinic and surgeon openly?

It should – before you pay anything. You cannot check a clinic’s authorisation or a surgeon’s specialist qualification without names. A reputable agent will tell you:

• the clinic’s full legal name and address
• the surgeon’s full name and specialty
• whether that surgeon will personally perform your operation
• when you will speak to the surgeon (video call or in person) before surgery

Be cautious with phrases such as “one of our partner clinics” or “our expert team”. BAPRAS advises asking about the surgeon’s training, qualifications, memberships and experience with your procedure. How to do that in Türkiye is covered in Checking a surgeon in Türkiye.

Who do I pay – and who issues the invoice?

This is the question that matters most if you later want a refund or need to make a claim. The person you pay and the name on the invoice usually show who your contractual partner is.

• Clinic invoice for the treatment: your claim about the surgery is clearly against the clinic. The regulation requires health facilities to issue a receipt or invoice.
• Agent invoice for everything: the agent has sold you the package in its own name. Refund and cancellation questions then usually go to the agent first.
• Payment to a private account, cash or a person’s name: you may struggle to prove what you paid and to whom.

There is also a UK angle. Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act can make a credit card provider jointly responsible with the supplier for purchases with a total value between £100 and £30,000. But paying through an intermediary – a payment platform, or sometimes an agent – can break the chain between card provider and supplier. Before paying a large deposit by card to an agent, ask your card provider whether Section 75 would apply. Deposits and cancellations are covered in Deposit refund? Cancelling a clinic package.

What does the agent do if something goes wrong?

Ask before you book, and get the answer in writing. A useful agent will:

• connect you directly with the treating surgeon, not just a sales coordinator
• arrange interpreting for medical conversations, including any emergency
• help change flights and accommodation if the surgeon advises a longer stay
• explain who pays for extra nights, tests or a return visit
• stay reachable after you are home

BAPRAS notes that many overseas clinics provide limited or no aftercare once you are back in the UK. Ask who will handle complications at home and whether you would have to pay to return. Also ask about the clinic’s complication insurance: the 2025 regulation makes it compulsory for the health facility for surgical and interventional procedures in an operating theatre – it is the clinic’s insurance, not the agent’s.

UK-based agent or an agent in Türkiye?

Both exist, and some UK-facing brands are run from Türkiye.

	UK-based agent	Agent based in Türkiye
Contract with the agent	May be governed by UK law, especially if aimed at UK customers	Usually Turkish law
Turkish authorisation	Ask whether it holds one or works with an authorised Turkish facilitator	Should hold its own authorisation certificate
Pre-trip meetings	Sometimes face-to-face in the UK	Usually video or messaging
Claims about the agent’s own service	Possibly easier to bring in the UK	Usually in Türkiye
The surgery itself	Still carried out by a Turkish clinic under Turkish rules	Same

A UK address does not make the surgery any safer. Check the clinic and surgeon in the same way either way.

Booking direct: pros and cons

Booking direct with the clinic
Pros	You speak to the people who will treat you. Clear contract and invoice from the clinic. No intermediary between you and your medical records. Sometimes a lower price.
Cons	You organise hotel, transfers and flights yourself (or through the clinic’s own team). You compare clinics without help. Language support may be thinner outside the clinic. Less help if travel plans change.

Booking through an agent turns that around: more convenience and comparison, but one more party between you and the surgeon. A good compromise many patients choose is a treatment contract and invoice directly with the clinic, and a separate agreement with the agent for travel and support.

Pressure and discount tactics: red flags

GOV.UK reminds patients that private companies have a financial interest in booking your treatment, so their material should not be your only source. BAPRAS stresses that you should never feel compelled for financial reasons to go ahead if you change your mind. Watch for:

• “This price is only valid today” or “only two slots left this month”
• a large discount if you pay the deposit immediately
• a quote before anyone medical has seen your photos or history
• several procedures bundled together at a “package price” without medical justification
• the clinic or surgeon named only after you pay, or changed shortly before travel
• no company name, address or certificate – just a WhatsApp number
• payment requested to a personal account
• a return flight fixed before the surgeon has said when you can safely fly

Tip: If you feel rushed, say you need a week to think. A reputable provider will hold the offer; one that will not has told you something useful.

Checklist before you sign

Check	Done?
Agent’s company name, address and authorisation certificate
Travel agency licence (agent’s own, or the agency it uses)
Clinic’s full name and Ministry of Health authorisation
Surgeon’s full name, specialty and confirmation they will operate
Consultation with the surgeon before you pay the balance
Itemised quote: treatment vs hotel, transfers, interpreting, consultancy
Who issues the invoice for the surgery – and for the rest
Payment method and whether Section 75 is likely to apply
Deposit, cancellation and refund terms in writing
Aftercare plan, emergency contact and who pays for extra nights
Names identical on website, certificate, contract and invoice

What the treatment contract itself should contain is explained in Your treatment contract with a Turkish clinic.

Read more

• How to choose a reputable clinic in Türkiye
• Agencies and facilitators: who is liable when things go wrong?
• Deposit refund? Cancelling a clinic package in Türkiye