Health Insurance

EU Nationals

Registration of European Health Insurance Card 

If you are a European Union national and a holder of the blue European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), we strongly advise you to register your health insurance card with a Czech health insurance company VZP (Všeobecná zdravotní pojišťovna).

It is recommended to do this as soon as possible after arrival and not wait until you are not feeling well.
Registration can be done online. See the guideline and download the registration form.

MEDICALLY NECESSARY HEALTHCARE

Having a blue European health insurance card entitles you to medically necessary healthcare in the Czech Republic. Make sure to have the EHIC with you all the time.

After arrival to the Czech Republic, you can register your EHIC with a Czech health insurance company.
It is advised to go with VZP (Všeobecná zdravotní pojišťovna) as this state health insurance company cooperates with almost all doctors in the Czech Republic which means that the medically necessary expenses of your medical treatment shall be covered without any issue.

Registering your EHIC in the Czech Republic will make it easier for the insurance company to bill your medical expenses to the health insurance company in your home country. You will also be assigned a “health insurance number” which will make it easier for doctors to look up your medical files.

You will receive an insurance card stating “Lékařsky nezbytná péče” = medical necessary healthcare:

Note that treatments exceeding the necessary medical health care will be billed separately and may be very expensive!

FULL HEALTHCARE

It is also possible to register for full healthcare. In such a case you have to visit a branch of your health insurance company in your home country and fill in the so-called S1 Form. In some countries, your health insurance company will do the process online and send the form automatically to the Czech Republic, in some other countries, you will be given a hard copy of the form to submit in person in the Czech Republic.

Once you arrive in the Czech Republic, visit a branch of VZP health insurance company. You will be assigned a “health insurance number”, and you will receive an insurance card stating that you are entitled to “Plná péče” = full health care.

Then when visiting a doctor, take both your EHIC and the yellow insurance card with you.

Don’t forget to bring your passport with you when visiting the branch of VZP.

Students from Turkey

Students from Turkey need to take to the Czech health insurance company office the paper they have received from their health insurance provider in Turkey and register it as well.

Non-EU Nationals

Students from most non-EU countries must submit proof of travel medical insurance as a part of their visa application to the respective Czech Embassy/Consulate.

• The health insurance must cover the entire stay in the Czech Republic
• The health insurance benefit limit for one insurance event must be at least EUR 60 000, that being without insurance retention on the amount of the given costs
• The insurance policy must not exclude coverage for injuries and damage caused by the applicant's intentional acts, injuries and damage caused by the fault or contributory fault on the part of the applicant, and injuries and damage caused by the consumption of alcohol, narcotics, and psychotropic substances by the applicant
• From August 2, 2021, to August 2, 2026, travel medical insurance in the scope of comprehensive healthcare as required by the Act on the Residence of Foreign Nationals may be concluded exclusively with Pojišťovna VZP, a. s.

Please visit the website of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic to learn the requirements of travel medical insurance.  

As a result of being parties to the International Treaty on Cooperation in the Area of Health and Social Security, medical travel insurance is not required from citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cuba, Japan, Macedonia, Montenegro, Turkey, and Serbia. The same exception applies to participants of the Erasmus Mundus program, Fulbright scholarship program, European Voluntary Service of the EC Youth in Action programme, as well as holders of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) issued by another EU member state and a GHIC card issued by the UK.

Note that the costs of the travel medical insurance valid for a year may be around 800 EUR.