You must be insured with a health insurance company that offers sufficient cover in Germany from the first day onwards and throughout the entire duration of their stay in Germany. Since you do not have an employment contract with UDE, you are not automatically insured with a statutory health insurance company. You will have to take out health insurance on your own instead. In case you have previously had statutory health insurance within the EU, please let us know.

Essentially, there are three insurance options:

1. Travel health insurance covering medically necessary treatment in the event of either acute sickness not caused by a pre-existing condition, or an accident.
2.  Substitutive Comprehensive health insurance, whose scope of benefits is in principle comparable to cover provided by statutory health insurance companies. Costs are also covered for the treatment of pre-existing conditions (in some cases without a health check), and so are costs for medical services in the event of pregnancy and childbirth as well as a range of other services.
   It is up to you to decide on the level of cover required by the respective personal situation, which may include pre-existing conditions or chronic illnesses, both for you and for any accompanying family members. Comprehensive health insurance provides full cover. Private health insurance must be arranged with the relevant insurance company by the research fellows themselves, both for the research fellows and for any accompanying family members. Also duly study the embassy’s visa requirements on insurance before making a decision (if applicable).
3. Researchers with a §18d visa: If you obtain a researcher visa (§18d), you also have the possibility to join a statutory health insurance provider as long as you have not taken out private health insurance in Germany before. The contribution fee amounts to 18% + an additional contribution (this is determined by the health insurance company and is between 0.9% and 2.7%) of the scholarship. Co-insured family members do not have to pay a contribution. For individuals, this option usually results in a higher health insurance contribution than private insurance. However, as family insurance for dependents is free of charge, it can be an attractive option for families. As this is a new change in the health insurance scheme, please contact the health insurance provider directly and ask them about this option or send us an email.

We also highly recommend to take out liability insurance. Some private health insurance providers offer combinations of insurances.

EU citizens

EU citizens should initially enquire with their health insurance provider at home whether their domestic insurance cover will continue to be valid during the stay in Germany. If this is the case, you can choose a German statutory health insurance provider as a representative to settle the costs of any doctors' visits with your domestic provider. Here you can find a list of statutory health insurance providers.

If it is not possible to continue being insured with your domestic health insurance provider, you have the choice of either registering voluntarily with a statutory health insurance provider in Germany or taking out a private travel and comprehensive insurance. Particularly if you are only making a short visit, you can also use your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) when consulting a doctor.

European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)

To facilitate treatment during temporary visits abroad, every health insurance scheme is obliged to issue its members with a European Health Insurance Card. In case of illness in another EU country or in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, medical services are provided according to the laws of the host country an reimbursed according to the charges applying there.

The EHIC only has limited scope which means it is advisable to take out an additional insurance if you are staying for a longer period of time. The European Health Insurance Card is, for example:

• only valid for temporary stays abroad
• only valid for essential medical services (the relevant doctor will decide what is essential)
• not valid for trips abroad specifically for the purpose of treatment
• not valid for the cost incurred in transporting an invalid home.

More information on health insurance for longer stays (e.g. for a guest professorship or a research stay for the duration of a semester or year) can be found here.