Health insurance when moving to Austria: the checkpoints

Austria has statutory health insurance based on the compulsory insurance principle; you cannot choose the insurance carrier, and access to medical treatment is provided by the e-card, on the back of which is the European Health Insurance Card.

Contracted doctors bill the ÖGK (Austrian Health Insurance Fund) directly, so insured persons pay nothing for most treatments; with private doctors without a contract with the fund (Wahlärzte), you pay first and the ÖGK reimburses only part of the costs.

You clarify co-payments such as the prescription fee (Rezeptgebühr) with the ÖGK.

Responsibility for health insurance generally lies with the state where you work, and otherwise with your state of residence; nationality does not matter.

Anyone employed in Austria as an employee is subject to compulsory insurance in statutory health insurance, from the day employment begins even without the registration that the employer makes before work starts; self-employed people are subject to compulsory insurance with the SVS (social insurance institution for the self-employed), for example tradespeople who are members of the chamber.

Mere residence in Austria does not establish compulsory insurance: anyone who does not work, receives no pension or benefit from the Arbeitsmarktservice (Austrian public employment service) and is not co-insured can insure themselves with the ÖGK.

Anyone who is not subject to compulsory insurance in any statutory health insurance can insure themselves in Austria on application, as long as their place of residence is in Austria (§ 16 ASVG, Austrian General Social Insurance Act). The ÖGK names as a condition that you are not subject to compulsory insurance either in Austria or in an EU/EEA state.

Self-insurance follows seamlessly from a previously existing Austrian insurance if the application is made within six weeks of its end; otherwise it begins on the day after the application.

By law, self-insured persons are entitled to benefits only after a waiting period of three months, which the statutes can extend to six months; the ÖGK names six months, which do not apply if statutory health insurance in Austria, an EU/EEA state or a treaty state existed for 26 weeks in the previous twelve months or for six weeks immediately before.

Self-insurance provides benefits in kind but no sickness or maternity allowance, and ends, among other things, when the place of residence is moved abroad or when contributions are two months in arrears. Whether prior German insurance, statutory or private, affects the start or the waiting period is something you clarify directly with the ÖGK before the move.

EEA citizens are entitled to reside in Austria for more than three months if they are employees or self-employed, or if they have sufficient means of subsistence and comprehensive health insurance cover for themselves and their family members.

Anyone staying in Austria for more than three months must notify the settlement authority within four months of entry; a registration certificate (Anmeldebescheinigung) is issued on application.

For the registration certificate, employees submit a confirmation from the employer and self-employed people proof of self-employment; people not in gainful employment submit evidence of sufficient means of subsistence and comprehensive health insurance cover. Which policy the settlement authority recognises as comprehensive is something you clarify directly with it before taking out a policy.

Whether a private policy replaces self-insurance is something you clarify with the ÖGK before taking it out. More on the policy at international health insurance.

Before you deregister (Abmeldung) in Germany, you clarify in writing what happens to your current insurance. The questions below apply to any destination country. They are questions, not legal advice: the answers are in your contract documents or come from the body you ask.

Three Austria topics you clarify in advance with your health insurer (Krankenkasse): the EHIC, a possible S1 (form for entitlement in the new country of residence) and the certificate of your previous insurance periods.

If you have statutory insurance: questions for your Krankenkasse

• What happens to my membership when I deregister in Germany, and on what date does it end?
• Can I suspend the membership or take it up again later, and under what conditions?
• What confirmation of my previous insurance periods do I receive, and how quickly?
• What applies to co-insured family members: who stays insured and who does not?
• Is an S1 an option for me, and who issues it?
• Which certificate of my insurance periods do I get for the ÖGK, and how quickly?

If you have private insurance: questions for your insurer

• Does my contract end with the move, is it suspended or does it continue?
• Is there an Anwartschaft (a German option to keep certain rights in private insurance while abroad), and what is preserved under it? Ask about the difference between the small and the large Anwartschaft, and whether a new health assessment would be needed on a return.
• Does my contract apply in the destination country, and for how long at a stretch?
• Which documents do I receive in writing before I cancel?
• Does the policy apply in Austria for the whole length of stay?
• Does the insurer confirm scope of cover, area and term in writing?

Do not cancel any contract before it is clarified in writing what applies afterwards. We explain the connections on the pages Health insurance when emigrating and PKV and Anwartschaft. For families, there is more at Health insurance for the family abroad.

1. The EHIC as a permanent solution

   The EHIC applies only during a temporary stay in another EU country. Ask your health insurer (Krankenkasse) about the route for a change of residence.

2. Overlooking the waiting period and deadline

   Self-insurance follows seamlessly from a previously existing Austrian insurance if the application is made within six weeks of its end; otherwise it begins on the day after the application. Plan for the time until benefits are available and ask the ÖGK about the waiting period.

3. Missing the registration deadline

   Anyone staying in Austria for more than three months must notify the settlement authority within four months of entry; a registration certificate (Anmeldebescheinigung) is issued on application.

4. Clarifying proof only once you are there

   Before taking out a policy, clarify what the settlement authority recognises as comprehensive cover.

5. Underestimating self-insurance

   Self-insurance provides benefits in kind but no sickness or maternity allowance, and ends, among other things, when the place of residence is moved abroad or when contributions are two months in arrears. Ask the ÖGK what that means for you.