Health insurance when moving to Poland: the checkpoints

In Poland, people with compulsory insurance, people with voluntary insurance and the other people named in the law are entitled to benefits from public funds; the National Health Fund (NFZ) pays for the services.

If you are entitled to benefits, you choose a primary care (POZ) doctor, nurse or midwife for basic care at a provider with a contract; the choice is confirmed by a declaration (deklaracja wyboru).

You can find out which practices near you have contracts with the NFZ from the regional branch of the NFZ.

In principle, the country responsible for health insurance is the country where you work, otherwise the country where you live; nationality does not count.

Compulsory insurance in Poland applies, among others, to employees, self-employed people and people with a contract for work or services. Anyone who does not have Polish nationality and is not insured receives benefits from public funds only under separate rules and international agreements.

If you live in Poland and are not compulsorily insured, you can insure yourself voluntarily with the NFZ on written application; the insurance starts on the day stated in the contract. You can only insure yourself voluntarily if you are not compulsorily insured, not co-insured as a family member and not covered by the general health insurance of another EU or EFTA state.

If someone has had neither insurance nor contribution payments for three months or longer, the NFZ makes voluntary insurance conditional on an additional fee that rises with the length of the gap.

For a right of residence of more than three months, Polish law requires EU citizens who are not working to have sufficient means and either insurance in the public system, an entitlement under the coordination rules, or private health insurance that covers all costs of medical care and hospital treatment and pays the provider directly.

If you stay longer than three months, you must register your residence; people who are not working submit a document showing insurance or entitlement under the coordination rules, plus proof of sufficient means. Whether the voivodeship office (Woiwodschaftsamt) of your future voivodeship accepts a private policy, you clarify with it before the move.

How the rules have changed since the date of this page, you check against the sources on the day of your move. More on the policy under 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.

You clarify three Poland topics in advance with your Krankenkasse (statutory health insurer): the EHIC, a possible S1 (form for entitlement in your new country of residence) and the day your cover in Germany ends. The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) only applies to temporary stays in another EU country and only to public providers; if you move your habitual residence, the European Commission names the S1 form instead.

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?
• Until which day does my cover apply, so that there is no gap between Germany and Poland?

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 Poland for the whole length of stay?
• Does the insurer pay the costs directly to the provider, and does it confirm this 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. EHIC as a permanent solution

   The EHIC applies only to a temporary stay. Ask your health insurer (Krankenkasse) about the route for a change of residence.

2. Waiting with voluntary insurance

   After a gap of three months without insurance and contribution payments, the NFZ makes voluntary insurance conditional on an additional fee. Clarify in good time how you cover the time until your cover begins.

3. Missing the registration deadline

   If you stay longer than three months, you must register your residence. Note your date of arrival and clarify the documents beforehand.

4. Taking out a policy without checking it

   Have it confirmed that the insurer covers all costs and pays the provider directly, and ask the voivodeship office whether it accepts the policy.