The sheet to print
Getting treated during a stay in the Union: the sheet to keep
Six reflexes, from the travel bag to the reimbursement form. Each one carries the text it stands on.
File EU 883/2004
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Law as verified onJuly 29, 2026
- 01
Request the card before leaving, and pay nothing
The European Health Insurance Card is completely free and is requested from your health insurer before departure. Never go through a site that charges for it: the official counter is your insurer.
Section “Applying for the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)” · Health cover for temporary stays: applying for the card · europa.eu - 02
See a doctor on the spot as soon as it cannot wait
The benefits which become necessary on medical grounds during the stay are a right, taking into account their nature and the expected length of the stay. An infection that ruins the week does not wait for the trip home.
Article 19(1) · Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 (coordination of social security systems), Article 19, paragraph 1 · eur-lex.europa.eu - 03
Choose a public-system provider, card in hand
The card only counts for healthcare from providers that are part of the public system. A private clinic will treat you at its own prices, card or no card.
Section “Restrictions on the use of your European Health Insurance Card” · Health cover for temporary stays: restrictions on the card · europa.eu - 04
Pay what an insured local pays, and keep every receipt
The benefits are provided as though you were insured in the country of stay: same rules, same patient's fees. The receipt is the document reimbursement rests on, on the spot as well as back home.
Article 19(1) · Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 (coordination of social security systems), Article 19, paragraph 1 · eur-lex.europa.eu - 05
Claim reimbursement, on the spot or once home
The institution of the place of stay can reimburse you directly, within the limits and conditions of its rates. Otherwise your own insurer takes over once you are home, at the rates of the place of stay.
Article 25(B)(4) · Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 (implementing procedure), Article 25, part B, paragraph 4 · eur-lex.europa.eu - 06
Insure separately for rescue, repatriation and planned care
The card covers neither rescue services nor repatriation, nor planned treatment in another country. For a free trip home after a serious blow, separate insurance is needed, taken out before departure.
Section “Restrictions on the use of your European Health Insurance Card” · Health cover for temporary stays: restrictions on the card · 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/le-pepin-de-sante-en-vacances · 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.
A card that costs nothing, issued by your insurer
The European Health Insurance Card is requested free of charge from your health insurer, and it proves that you are insured in an EU country. The websites that charge for it are selling a free form.
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 have health insurance in an EU country, you can ask your insurer for a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), free of charge. […] The card is proof that you are insured in an EU country.”
The care that becomes necessary during the stay, without waiting for the trip home
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. The test is what cannot wait, not a life-threatening emergency.
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“Unless otherwise provided for by paragraph 2, 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.”
The tariff of an insured person of the country treating you
The benefits are provided by the institution of the place of stay, under its legislation, as though you were insured under that legislation. Free where it is free for locals, a patient's fee where locals pay one.
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“Unless otherwise provided for by paragraph 2, 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.”
Reimbursement to claim on the spot or once home
If you paid, you may claim reimbursement from the institution of the place of stay during the stay, within the limits and conditions of its rates, or turn to your own insurer once home. The receipts are the document both routes share.
The official text · Article 25(B)(4)
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02009R0987-20180101“4. If the insured person has actually borne the costs of all or part of the benefits in kind provided within the framework of Article 19 of the basic Regulation and if the legislation applied by the institution of the place of stay enables reimbursement of those costs to an insured person, he may send an application for reimbursement to the institution of the place of stay. In that case, that institution shall reimburse directly to that person the amount of the costs corresponding to those benefits within the limits of and under the conditions of the reimbursement rates laid down in its legislation.”
Three written exclusions to know before leaving
The card does not cover private healthcare, does not cover planned treatment in another country, and covers neither rescue nor repatriation, which require separate insurance. Three official sentences, three bad surprises avoided.
The official text · Section “Restrictions on the use of your European Health Insurance Card”
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/unplanned-healthcare/temporary-stays/index_en.htm“Your EHIC will not help you with rescue and repatriation - for transport home after falling seriously ill or after having an accident while visiting another EU country, you will need separate insurance cover. […] Your EHIC does not cover private healthcare. You can only use it for healthcare from providers that are part of the public system. […] Your EHIC does not cover planned treatment in another EU country.”
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 portal, whose link appears under each right.
File EU 883/2004
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