Expat health insurance is a popular short-term insurance option amongst newcomers who are getting settled in Germany. However, when you've determined that you'll stay in Germany longer-term, you've found a job, or you want to renew your visa, you'll need to upgrade from expat to public or private health insurance. We can easily help you with this upgrade!
How does it work?
Once you are eligible for public or private insurance, you can upgrade your insurance easily in your Feather account.
Click on your expat policy
Click on 'switch to private or public'
Select public or private
If you have selected public, then please select your insurance provider (eg BARMER, TK, DAK or AOK)
Go through and complete the sign up flow
We will ensure there is no overlap or gaps in coverage from your expat to your new public or private health insurance.
When should I upgrade?
For public insurance:
Insurers have various processing times; it can sometimes take up to 7 business days to receive your confirmation of coverage, so we recommend upgrading before you start your employment. In case you have already started work, you can still upgrade within 2 weeks of starting your employment.
For private insurance:
If you would like to upgrade from expat to private health insurance, please bear in mind that you'll need to fulfill a minimum income (€69,300 for employees, €30.000 for freelancers and €45.000 for freelancers over 51). Non-working dependents don't need to have an income.
Typically, applications are accepted within 2 - 5 business days. If you haven't been health insured for the past 12 months, a medical and dental check-up will be required. No worries though, we'll help you with booking those check-ups and covering the costs. Please note that the processing duration of your application depends on the doctor's availability in this case.
How to check if I am eligible for public or private insurance?
No problem! You can use our recommendation tool to check if you are eligible.
You can also read our guide to public and private health insurance including eligibility requirements on our blog.
I checked and I am not eligible, what do I do?
You can either stay on your expat health policy, or if you need to switch (eg because you have a visa renewal coming up or your 5 year limit on expat health has been reached), then we would recommend our long term expat health insurance for you.
Can I use the upgrade option if I want to sign up to the KSK?
Yes, absolutely! Follow the normal upgrade process as detailed above, with the additional following steps:
When selecting the public insurance provider, we recommend selecting BARMER
During the sign up questionnaire, please state that you are 'employed' and that your employer is 'KSK membership application'
What if I am a freelancer who wants to apply for public?
If you are not eligible for the KSK and are a freelancer wanting to obtain public insurance, then you can consider the co-op SMART. SMART acts as an employer to help freelancers sign up to public insurance. Learn more about them and eligibility requirements.
If you are interested and think you might be eligible, then you can reach out to SMART to meet with them and discuss the full details and confirm your eligibility. If you then decide to proceed, you can go through the normal upgrade process (detailed above) through your Feather account and we can assist with the rest.
What if my public or private health insurance application doesn't get approved?
In some cases, your application to public or private health insurance might not be accepted. In these cases, your expat health insurance would simply remain active and you can continue to use this insurance.
If you have any questions, please reach out to us and we can assist you further.