Do EU/EEA Nationals and their family members need health insurance in Austria?

Keith Davies
Aug 27, 2023
4 min read

Updated: Jan 28, 2024

Question

EU nationals come to Austria for lots of reasons such as tourism, work, looking for work, studying and to retire. Sometimes they come with their family members. One question that gets asked frequently is whether they need Health Insurance?

Answer

The simple answer is Yes; you do need health insurance in Austria!

Especially as you may NOT necessarily be covered by the insurance in your home country; so please check!

If you are working in Austria you are insured, otherwise you need health insurance. Having no health insurance in Austria could be costly and you may be required to pay up-front!

EU nationals should consider buying travel insurance and obtaining an EHIC card BEFORE travelling to Austria and before any main Austrian insurance kicks in. This is especially true for family members.

Whenever you move to a new EU country, it is essential that you try and understand the way the health system works in that specific country as it can differ from your own. Some countries have a residence-based system, but Austria’s is insurance based.

In addition, maintaining health insurance is a requirement for legal residency. Failure to maintain an active health insurance policy will not only cause issues if you become ill; it will also prevent you gaining permanent residency "Bescheinigung des Daueraufenthalts"

*** CAUTION: If you and/or your family members split your time between two EU countries, please make sure you fully understand which one is responsible for your healthcare and take appropriate steps to make sure you are covered (healthcare is not always free in EU countries).

Family Members

Health Insurance for family members is NOT automatic in Austria and so you need to do something. If you are employed or self-employed look at Mitversicherung (Co-insurance).

Just be aware that the sign-up process is not always quick and easy, so you may need other insurance until the full Austrian insurance kicks in (e.g. travel insurance and/or EHIC card).

Residency

EU Nationals and their family members are covered by EU Freedom of Movement, which allows you to stay in Austria for up to 3 months without any real restrictions. After the 3 months and within 4 months, you need to prove that you have valid Austrian approved health insurance in place. You must apply for your Anmeldebescheinigung after 3 months residency or potentially get a fine! You can of course apply in advance of this deadline; you can apply anytime after you get your Meldezettel!

The Austrian immigration authorities can be very strict about approved health insurance policies. More details in our article here.

OeGK Sign Up

Signing up to OeGK (or ÖGK) is not always easy and one of the issues is that if you are NOT working, they may ask for proof that you are no longer insured in the EU country you have just left.

They may also want proof you have been insured in the last 6 months or there can be a 6-month waiting period before you can make any claims. This also then means it is not accepted for residency AND you need to pay 6 months of premiums.

Note 1: You can only be covered by ONE state healthcare provider in the EU and this can be strictly enforced in Austria for those not working!

Note 2: Discounts are available for certain categories.

EHIC (European Health Insurance Card)

BEFORE moving to Austria you should always apply for an EHIC card and always carry it with you on all trips in the EU/EEA. The card is proof you are insured in another EU country and it also provides you with “medically necessary” treatment. If you are not entitled to an EHIC for some reason, ask if you are entitled to some temporary proof that you have state insurance in another EU country.

There may be special EHIC cards for students, so ask if you plan on studying!

There are limits to the “medically necessary” treatment and it does NOT cover things like re-patriation. Please also note the restrictions around pregnancy:

“All health care related to pregnancy or child birth must be considered as being necessary care except when the sole purpose of the stay is to give birth, e.g. in border regions. This restriction, however, must be applied carefully and assessed on a case by case basis”

Note 1: When you have notified the leaving EU country that you are resident in Austria, they will most likely invalidate the EHIC they issued (don’t assume it is still valid if Austria is now responsible for healthcare)

Note 2: After you join OeGK, it will take you a minimum of 1 year to be entitled to an Austrian EHIC card.

S1

Pensioners and seconded-employees should consider applying for an S1 certificate from the EU country where they previously lived. You can then use this to register with OeGK, thereby having your health insurance paid by another EU country.

U1

If you have previously worked in another EU country (or the UK), you should investigate obtaining form U1(see standard EU forms link) from your previous EU country. The Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS) will not pay unemployment benefit (including health insurance) if you do not have sufficient proof of insurance periods.

EESSI

OeGK like other health bodies in the EU (and UK) use something called the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (EESSI) to communicate with each other. This is not always seamless and in some cases; you might need to contact the responsible health authority in your previous EU country yourself.

Where to get help

If you are having difficulties getting health insurance, try one of the free Welcome Services to see if they can assist you. If you are having issues with bureaucracy, try the Austrian Ombudsman Board (Volksanwaltschaft), failing that if the issue is a cross-border issue (e.g. involving two EU countries), try SOLVIT.

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