If you are currently in the process of enrolling into a German university, you are probably wondering which insurance options you have at your disposal, and which one to choose. In this article, we are going to cover the available options.
I am coming from EU/EEA, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey, and the UK
If you are statutorily insured in one of the aforementioned countries, you can stay on your home insurance for the whole duration of your studies.
If you choose this option, your university will request an electronic status report (M10) to be sent by a German public insurance provider. You can find more info in our article on the M10 Meldung.
In order to have access to healthcare in Germany, you can use your EHIC/GHIC, or other respective document issued by your social security institution.
If you want to work at some point during your studies, or your home insurance ends for any reason, you will most probably have to switch to German insurance, and you can do it easily then. You can find more info in our article on working students.
I am not insured in one of the above-listed countries
If you are not insured in one of the above-listed countries, you will have two options:
Sign up for student public health insurance - we strongly recommend this option to any student under 30 years of age. German student public insurance provides very broad coverage at a discounted monthly fee of around 135 EUR (2024). In addition, you will be able to switch to public insurance as a voluntary member after your studies, which will ease the process of getting a job-seeking visa.
Sign up for Expat health insurance - it is indeed more affordable but provides limited coverage. However, if Expat is your choice, you can rest assured it meets all the legal requirements to stay in Germany as a student for up to 5 years. Keep in mind that your university will still request a notice of exemption from public insurance. You can find more info in our article on exemption.
An important thing to mention is: students over 30 years old cannot access student public health insurance in Germany. If you fall into this category, you should either sign up for Expat health insurance, or keep your home insurance - if you qualify, as described in the first section of this article.