Advance Directive
A legal document specifying a person's healthcare wishes if they become unable to communicate — including do-not-resuscitate orders and treatment preferences.
A legal document specifying a person's healthcare wishes if they become unable to communicate — including do-not-resuscitate orders and treatment preferences.
Also known as
living will, advance decision, advance care plan
Why travellers need to know
Advance directives are almost never automatically recognised across borders. However, carrying one — especially one translated into the local language — significantly increases the likelihood that your wishes will be respected.
Real-world example
An elderly American traveller with terminal cancer is on a bucket-list trip in New Zealand. She carries a clear advance directive stating she does not want aggressive resuscitation. She is hospitalised in Auckland. New Zealand clinicians are not legally bound by a US advance directive, but the document influences their treatment decisions and she is cared for in line with her stated wishes.
Country-specific notes
🇳🇿 New Zealand
NZ advance directives are governed by the Health and Disability Commissioner Act
NZ clinicians must take a patient's advance directive into account, though foreign documents have no formal legal standing. The clinical team will generally seek to honour clearly expressed wishes.
Carry a one-page summary of your key wishes with your travel documents — simpler and more likely to be read in an emergency than a full legal document.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
UK advance decisions are legally binding if made correctly (Mental Capacity Act 2005)
In England and Wales, a valid advance decision to refuse treatment is legally binding. It must be written, signed, and witnessed for decisions about life-sustaining treatment. Scotland has a similar Adults with Incapacity Act.
Register your advance decision with your GP and carry a copy — NHS staff are trained to look for them.
🇩🇪 Germany
Germany's Patientenverfügung is legally binding under the Civil Code
German advance directives must be in writing but do not require notarisation. German clinicians are legally required to follow them. A translated version of your home-country directive may carry practical weight.
A simple handwritten statement in German about your wishes can be more effective than a complex foreign legal document.
Frequently asked questions
Does my advance directive work abroad?
Your home-country advance directive has no automatic legal force abroad. However, in most countries clinicians will give significant weight to clearly expressed, documented wishes — especially where the patient cannot communicate. Translation helps enormously.
What should an advance directive for travellers include?
Your core treatment preferences, DNR/DNAR wishes, the name and contact of your medical proxy, and a statement of your values (what quality of life matters to you). Keep it short and use plain language — complex legal language is harder to act on quickly.
Store your advance directive and emergency contacts in Nomedic — accessible to any clinician worldwide.