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FAQ - Healthcare coverage

  • What happens if I move abroad permanently and become ill there? Will my health insurance cover me?

    If you are a pensioner moving to a country where you have no pension rights, you need to request a S1 form from the country whose healthcare system you belong to, so that you and your dependent family members have access to healthcare in the country where you now live. You should then submit the form to a health insurance authority in the country where you are living.

    In principle, you and your family are only fully entitled to medical treatment in the country where you live. Moving to another country means leaving the healthcare system of your country of origin.

    When you arrive in your new country, find out about its healthcare system: it could be very different from the system you are familiar with in your old country.

    Nevertheless, if you live abroad but belong to the social security system of certain countries, you and your family are entitled to full healthcare coverage in both your new country and your country of origin.

    Currently these countries are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

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  • As a retired cross-border worker, can I still get medical care in the country where I used to work and be covered for it?

    YES — There are 2 possibilities for retired cross-border workers to obtain medical care in their former country of employment.

    First, you can continue to receive a treatment that you began in the country where you used to work.

    This also applies to your dependants if their treatment began in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia or Slovenia (and from 1 May 2014, for treatment begun in Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands and Spain).

    Second, regardless of whether the treatment is continued or new, you — and your dependants — will be able to receive healthcare in your country of last employment if:

    • you worked at least 2 years as a cross-border worker during the 5 years preceding retirement;

    AND

    • the country that is responsible for your social security coverage as a pensioner and your former country of employment are both in this group of countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxemburg, Portugal and Spain.

    You need to apply for a S3 form from the health insurance authority in the country that is responsible for your social security coverage as a pensioner. The form is your certificate of entitlement to medical treatment in your former country of work.

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  • I am soon going to retire in Germany and receive pensions from different EU countries, including Germany. Which country will be in charge of my healthcare?

    If Germany will be paying you a pension, then Germany will be responsible for your healthcare coverage and that of your family members.

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  • And what if I live in Germany but get pensions only from other countries? (the country where I worked the longest was Austria)

    You need to ask Austria for an S1 form that you will then use to register with the German healthcare authority. As a resident, you'll be entitled to German benefits in kind, e.g. healthcare and medicines, as if you were insured there and under the same conditions as German nationals. You will still be insured in Austria, which will be responsible for sickness benefits in cash and for issuing your European Health Insurance Card when you travel to other EU countries.

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  • My retired mother is coming from Portugal to stay with me in France for a few months. She needs an operation. What formalities do we have to complete so she can have the operation here?

    To have her medical costs in France reimbursed by her Portuguese health insurer, your mother must ask them for prior authorisation (in the form of an S2 form).

    Her insurer may not refuse this authorisation if the treatment is covered by Portuguese law, but can't be provided within a medically justified time limit.

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