Health Cover Abroad

In order to receive medical treatment when you are abroad, perhaps on holiday, you will need a European Health Insurance Card. This proves that you are entitled to treatment; for details see European Health Insurance Card / EHIC.

Your EHIC will not cover you in every circumstance however; you will also need to purchase travel insurance to ensure that any emergency medical expenses are covered. Travel insurance is not compulsory, but it will offer you peace of mind and financial assistance if you fall ill whilst in another country.

If you are travelling to a country outside the EEA* and Switzerland your EHIC card will not entitle you to medical treatment. You may however find that it is a useful thing to have with you. When outside the EEA and Switzerland, any emergency medical expenses will usually be covered by a travel insurance policy. You may have to pay for the treatment you receive, or make a contribution, and claim the money back from your insurer on your return.

If you arrange to have a medical procedure abroad, with the agreement of your doctor and/or any medical practitioner responsible for monitoring your health, you may be entitled to receive care free of charge. This is possible if a procedure has a particularly long waiting list in the UK, but is available faster in another European hospital, for example. Providing the procedure will not cost more than it would do in the UK, you may be able to receive treatment abroad and reclaim the costs. In this case, the NHS would agree to cover the cost of your medical treatment abroad.


* The European Economic Area represents the freedom of movement and agreement to certain social policies undertaken by its thirty member states. These are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.