If you're moving to Germany for the first time, you must have an insurance in place on your arrival date. If you are already in Germany and were previously insured elsewhere, your new policy should start the day after your previous policy expires to avoid any gap in coverage. Either way, signing up is fully digital and only takes a few minutes.
When does my expat health insurance need to start?
If you're moving to Germany for the first time and haven't arrived yet, your insurance must start on your arrival date. To get your insurance certificate, which you'll need for your visa or residence appointment, you'll need to sign up before that appointment, or before you arrive if you enter Germany without a visa. The authorities don't require your coverage to begin on the day of your appointment, but they do require an insurance certificate that shows you will be covered on your arrival date. Starting your coverage on your arrival date also means you won't have a waiting period.
Switching from another insurance provider: if you are eligible for expat health, your new policy should start the day after your previous policy expires to avoid any gap in coverage.
Already in Germany with no insurance: health insurance is compulsory when living in Germany, so if you're currently uninsured you should sign up for coverage as soon as possible.
Can I choose my own start date?
Yes. You can set your start date to any date in the future, with tomorrow being the earliest available option. Your insurance certificate is issued immediately after you sign up, so you can schedule your policy as early as 12 months in advance if you'd like, or just a few days before your visa appointment (although we would always recommend planning your move early).
Can I backdate my expat health insurance?
No, we cannot backdate expat health insurance. If you have already been living in Germany for some time without coverage, the earliest start date available to you is tomorrow. We strongly recommend choosing that date to minimize your coverage gap. Proof of continuous health insurance coverage is a common requirement for visa renewals and residence permit extensions in Germany, and a gap in coverage can cause complications with the German authorities when you apply.
What date should I enter as my arrival date during sign-up?
You should enter the date you actually first arrived in Germany, regardless of when your current or previous insurance policy started or ended. The arrival date field is not about your insurance history ; it's used to assess your eligibility and determine which policy rules apply to you. If you arrived on a different date than your policy start date, always enter your true arrival date.
What information do my insurance documents include?
Your Anlage 6 (insurance certificate) is issued immediately after you sign up. This is the main document you need to show at your visa/residence appointment, along with your Expat Certificate Of Authority.
Start date: it lists your chosen start date as a calendar date, and it specified that your insurance contract has existed without discontinuation since then.
End date: it mentions "For stays longer than one year", rather than a set end calendar date, which meets the requirements of German visa authorities.
Your Expat Certificate Of Authority displays an expiration date set 5 years after your arrival in Germany, because Expat insurance can only be used for up to 5 years. This is a document formality, not a contract commitment.
Am I locked into a yearly or 5-year contract?
No. While the expiration date on your Anlage 6 says "For stays longer than one year" which cannot be changed, your policy renews on a monthly basis, and you are free to cancel at any time after the one-month minimum from within from your account.
The "For stays longer than one year" wording and the 5-year expiration date on your certificate of authority are required for visa compliance purposes only ; they do not bind you to any fixed contract term. If you switch to a statutory insurance or leave Germany, you can cancel your coverage, and will stop being charged on the following month.