EHIC and health cover abroad: what is covered – and what isn’t

What the EHIC covers

• Medically necessary treatment that cannot wait until you get home – during a temporary stay (holiday, business trip, studies).
• On the same terms and at the same cost as for people insured in that country. That may be free, but it can also mean co-payments.
• Only with doctors and hospitals in the state or statutory system (Austria calls them contracted doctors and hospitals).
• Valid in the 27 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (EU Commission).

The card is free: in Germany it is on the back of the electronic health card (eGK), in Austria on the back of the e-card. The EU Commission warns about rogue websites that charge a fee for the EHIC.

What the EHIC does not cover

• Rescue and repatriation to your home country – according to the EU Commission, the EHIC is not an alternative to travel insurance. Your Europe gives mountain rescue after a ski accident as an example.
• Treatment by private doctors and in private clinics: you usually pay yourself. According to gesund.bund.de, German statutory insurers generally only cover treatment in the public system – and hotel recommendations often lead to private practices.
• Planned treatment that you travel abroad specifically to get.
• The host country’s co-payments – you pay them even with the card.
• If you move your habitual residence abroad, you need e.g. form S1 or local insurance instead of the EHIC.

Note for non-EU nationals: according to Your Europe, third-country nationals cannot use their EHIC in Denmark, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland (with exceptions); Austria’s ÖGK names Denmark and Switzerland for its insured persons.

Statutory insurance in Germany

• EU, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and the UK: your statutory insurer covers what people with statutory insurance are entitled to in that country – co-payments are possible.
• Turkey, Tunisia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: request a foreign treatment certificate (Auslandskrankenschein) from your insurer before you go. In Turkey, only treatment that is medically needed within 24 hours is included.
• Other countries such as the USA, Canada or Australia: statutory insurance usually pays nothing towards the costs.
• Rescue and recovery costs and repatriation to Germany are not part of statutory cover.
• Privately insured: cover abroad depends on your policy; according to gesund.bund.de it is usually limited to one to three months a year outside Europe.

Source: gesund.bund.de (German Ministry of Health). The DVKA publishes holidaymaker fact sheets (in German) with local rules for many countries.

Insured in Austria

• According to Austria’s social insurance, the EHIC on the back of the e-card is valid in EU and EEA countries, Switzerland, the UK, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina you must exchange it for an entitlement certificate at the local insurer.
• Only asterisks on the back, or expired? Request a provisional replacement certificate (Urlaubskrankenschein) from the ÖGK before you go – free of charge, and online or in the Meine ÖGK app with ID Austria.
• Private doctor or hospital without a contract: pay first, keep a detailed bill with the diagnosis (in German or English if possible) and apply for a refund.
• In countries without a social security agreement you pay first; under the rules for non-contracted doctors, up to 80% of what a contracted doctor in Austria would have cost is refunded (oesterreich.gv.at).
• The ÖGK recommends adding private travel health insurance that also covers transport (such as repatriation to Austria) and leisure accidents and protects you from high co-payments.

Why extra travel health insurance makes sense

Germany’s Ministry of Health (gesund.bund.de), Austria’s ÖGK and the German Foreign Office all recommend extra cover: it can pay co-payments, private-doctor treatment, rescue, recovery and repatriation – and it also applies where the EHIC is no use, such as the USA or many countries in Asia and Africa.

Travel health insurance: what to look for

We do not currently compare providers here or recommend a specific policy. According to Germany’s Ministry of Health (gesund.bund.de) and Federal Foreign Office, these are the points worth checking when you compare:

• Repatriation: is it covered as soon as it is “medically advisable”, or only when medically necessary? The German Foreign Office advises getting this confirmed in writing if needed.
• Rescue and recovery costs, for example on a ski trip.
• Excess (deductible): do you pay part of the costs yourself if you fall ill?
• Where it applies and the maximum trip length – especially for trips outside Europe.
• Term and tie-in: some German statutory insurers offer policies through partners; according to gesund.bund.de you are then often tied to that insurer for the contract term.

Sources

Checked on 2026-10-26. General information – not medical, legal or insurance advice. Your health insurer’s or insurance provider’s terms always apply.

• Your Europe (EU Commission): healthcare during a temporary stay (2026-10-26)
• EU Commission: European Health Insurance Card (2026-10-26)
• gesund.bund.de (German Ministry of Health): ill abroad (German) (2026-10-26)
• DVKA (German statutory health insurers): country fact sheets for holidaymakers (German) (2026-10-26)
• ÖGK (Austria): European Health Insurance Card (German) (2026-10-26)
• Austrian social insurance: European Health Insurance Card (German) (2026-10-26)
• oesterreich.gv.at: seeing a doctor in other countries (German) (2026-10-26)
• German Federal Foreign Office: travel health and repatriation insurance (German) (2026-10-26)