The sheet to print
Getting treated without the card: the sheet to keep
Six reflexes, from the emergency desk to the homecoming form. Each one carries the text it stands on.
File EU 987/2009
This page is made to be printed: when printing, the whole screen around it disappears.
Law as verified onJuly 29, 2026
- 01
Go and get treated: refusal for lack of a card does not exist
Without your card, treatment cannot be refused to you; you might have to pay the full amount and claim reimbursement once home. Care first, paperwork second.
Section “European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)” · European Health Insurance Card (EHIC): without the card, treatment cannot be refused · europa.eu - 02
Ask the desk to contact your fund
The institution of the place of stay, upon request or if otherwise necessary, contacts the competent institution to obtain the document indicating your entitlement. One sentence at the desk sets the exchange in motion.
Article 25(A)(1) · Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 (implementing procedure), Article 25, part A, paragraph 1 · eur-lex.europa.eu - 03
Call your insurer: a replacement certificate can travel by email
If you need urgent treatment, your local health insurance authority might be able to help by emailing you the Provisional Replacement Certificate, and the certificate should also be issued if your card is lost or stolen while you are already abroad.
Section “Without the European Health Insurance Card” · Unplanned healthcare: the Provisional Replacement Certificate · europa.eu - 04
If you must pay, keep every document
The homecoming reimbursement applies to public and private providers, and it lives on documents: itemised invoice, payment receipt, care report. Without the card, some countries charge private prices even in public hospitals: the papers count double.
Section “Without the European Health Insurance Card” · Unplanned healthcare: payment and reimbursement without the card · europa.eu - 05
Once home, file the claim knowing the two limits
Only the treatments you are entitled to receive at home will be reimbursed, and only up to their cost in your home country, which may be less than you paid. A claim calibrated on those two lines is a credible claim.
Section “Without the European Health Insurance Card” · Unplanned healthcare: payment and reimbursement without the card · europa.eu - 06
Before further care, write to the national contact point
Every EU country has at least one national contact point to tell you, before you get treated, whether you will be entitled to reimbursement and whether any ceiling applies. Ask the question before the bill, not after.
Sections “With the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)” and “Without the European Health Insurance Card” · Unplanned healthcare: the national contact points · europa.eu
General information on the European baseline, not legal advice on your case. Independent educational site, unconnected to the institutions of the European Union. The redress links in this file point only to official bodies.
Sources checked on July 29, 2026. · https://depleindroit.odersa.org/en/fiches/l-urgence-sans-carte · Content licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What the law owes you
Every right with its amount or its deadline, the extract of the official text it rests on, and its address.
The underlying right: the care that becomes necessary during the stay
During a stay in another Member State, you are entitled to the benefits in kind which become necessary on medical grounds, taking into account their nature and the expected length of the stay, provided as though you were insured in that country. The card proves this right; it does not create it.
The official text · Article 19(1)
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02004R0883-20190731“an insured person and the members of his/her family staying in a Member State other than the competent Member State shall be entitled to the benefits in kind which become necessary on medical grounds during their stay, taking into account the nature of the benefits and the expected length of the stay. These benefits shall be provided on behalf of the competent institution by the institution of the place of stay, in accordance with the provisions of the legislation it applies, as though the persons concerned were insured under the said legislation.”
Without the card, treatment cannot be refused
If you do not have your card or cannot use it, you can't be refused treatment, but you might have to pay the full amount and claim reimbursement once you get home. Both halves of the sentence count.
The official text · Section “European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)”
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/unplanned-healthcare/ehic/index_en.htm“If you don't have your EHIC, or you can't use it (for instance, for private health care), you can't be refused treatment but you might have to pay the full amount for your treatment and claim reimbursement once you get home.”
The document can be obtained from the desk of the country of stay
If you do not have the document indicating your entitlement, the institution of the place of stay, upon request or if otherwise necessary, contacts the competent institution to obtain one. Your request at the desk is enough to start the exchange between funds.
The official text · Article 25(A)(1)
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02009R0987-20180101“the insured person shall present to the health care provider in the Member State of stay a document issued by the competent institution indicating his entitlement to benefits in kind. If the insured person does not have such a document, the institution of the place of stay, upon request or if otherwise necessary, shall contact the competent institution in order to obtain one.”
The real risk without the card: the full rate, even private-patient status
In certain countries, without the card, you might be treated as a private patient and charged private prices, even in public establishments. That risk is written down: it is something to prepare for, not to dispute at the counter.
The official text · Section “Without the European Health Insurance Card”
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/unplanned-healthcare/payments-reimbursements/index_en.htm“In certain countries, without the EHIC, you might be treated as a private patient and charged private prices even in public establishments. You can then claim reimbursement from your health insurer when you get home. This applies to both public and private healthcare providers. However, the terms will be different: only treatments which you are entitled to receive at home will be reimbursed you will be reimbursed only up to the cost of treatment in your home country – which may be less than you paid for the treatment”
Reimbursement once home, bounded by two written limits
Reimbursement is claimed from your health insurer once home, for public and private providers alike, with two boundaries: only the treatments you are entitled to at home, and up to their cost at home, which may be less than you paid.
The official text · Section “Without the European Health Insurance Card”
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/unplanned-healthcare/payments-reimbursements/index_en.htm“In certain countries, without the EHIC, you might be treated as a private patient and charged private prices even in public establishments. You can then claim reimbursement from your health insurer when you get home. This applies to both public and private healthcare providers. However, the terms will be different: only treatments which you are entitled to receive at home will be reimbursed you will be reimbursed only up to the cost of treatment in your home country – which may be less than you paid for the treatment”
A national contact point to answer before the care
Every EU country has at least one national contact point that answers reimbursement questions, including before the care: reimbursable or not, capped or not. The surprise on the bill has an office whose job is to defuse it.
The official text · Sections “With the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)” and “Without the European Health Insurance Card”
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/unplanned-healthcare/payments-reimbursements/index_en.htm“Each EU country has at least one national contact point that can assist you with questions on reimbursement. […] If you're not sure about your rights and want to check before getting treatment, each EU country has at least one National Contact Point that can inform you whether or not you will be entitled to reimbursement, and whether any ceiling applies.”
This site is educational and independent: it is not an official site of the European Union, and this verdict is not legal advice on your case. The wordings quoted are copied from the official texts and the official pages, whose link appears under each right.
File EU 987/2009
The items in this file
Every item has its own page. The situation is played here; what you keep, what you send and what you re-read live next door.