European Health Insurance Card

History

The card was phased in from 1 June 2004 and throughout 2005, becoming the sole healthcare entitlement document on 1 January 2006.

It replaced the following medical forms:

• E110 – For international road hauliers
• E111 – For tourists
• E119 – For unemployed people/job seekers
• E128 – For students and workers in another member state

Territorial applicability

The card is applicable in all French overseas departments (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion, and French Guiana) as they are part of the EEA, but not non-EEA dependent territories such as Aruba, or French Polynesia. However, there are agreements for the use of the EHIC in the Faroe Islands and Greenland, even though they are not in the EEA.

Personal eligibility

The card exists because the right to health care in the European Union is based on the country of legal residence, not the country of citizenship. Therefore, a passport is not enough to receive health care. It is however possible that a photo ID document is asked for, since the European Health Insurance Card does not contain a photo.

In some cases, even if a person is covered by the health insurance of an EU country, one is not eligible for a European Health Insurance Card. For instance, in Romania, a person who is currently insured has to have been insured for the previous five years to be eligible.

Third party application processors

European Health Insurance cards are provided free to all legal residents of participating countries. There are however various businesses who act as non-official agents on behalf of individuals, arranging supply of the cards in return for payment, often offering additional services such as the checking of applications for errors and general advice or assistance. This has proved extremely controversial. In 2010 the British government moved against companies that invited people to pay for the free EHIC, falsely implying that through payment the applicant could speed up the process.

Participating member states

As of 2021, 31 countries in Europe participate: the 30 member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) plus Switzerland. This includes the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) and 4 member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Republic of Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom was a participant in the scheme as a member of the European Union until its withdrawal from the union. It continued to participate provisionally until the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020.

The EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement grants continued reciprocal healthcare access between the EU and the UK. EU citizens can continue to use their EHIC within the UK, while EHIC in the UK was replaced by a UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC). Since 2022, some UK citizens and permanent residents are eligible for a new UK-issued EHIC valid for visits to these countries as well as to Switzerland. Eligible persons are those who meet one of the following criteria:

• those living in the European Union, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein, and have been since before 1 January 2021 with a registered S1, E121, E106 or E109 form issued by the UK
• those living in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein, since before 1 January 2021 with an A1 issued by the UK
• those who are a national of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein who have legally resided in the UK since before 1 January 2021 and are covered under the Withdrawal Agreement; one may not be covered if they also a UK national or if they were born in the UK
• those who are a family member or dependant of an entitled individual already listed
• those who fall under the court rulings Chen v Home Secretary(UK) or Bashar Ibrahim and Others v Bundesrepublik Deutschland or their carer

During its participation in the scheme, EHIC access covered the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The crown dependencies of the Channel Islands and Isle of Man were not covered by the EHIC as they were never members of the EU and EEA, and their residents were not eligible for EHICs.

Notes

References

References

1. (13 July 2020). "Brexit : De la paperasse et des coûts supplémentaires en vue pour les Britanniques". Le Monde.fr.
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3. "EUR-Lex - 32003D0751 - EN - EUR-Lex".
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6. {{CELEX. 32010D0424(09)
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8. "UK FCO Travel Advice: Denmark". Fco.gov.uk.
9. (2009-08-01). "Cardul european de asigurări de sănătate, eliberat gratuit". Libertatea.ro.
10. (2016-09-02). "Third Party Application Processors".
11. (2010-08-10). "BBC News - European health card scam stopped by OFT". Bbc.co.uk.
12. (2011-06-22). "Consumers warned to be search engine savvy – Consumer Focus Wales". Consumerfocus.org.uk.
13. "European Health Insurance Card". [[European Commission]].
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15. (25 December 2020). "Brexit: EU diplomats briefed on Brexit trade deal". BBC News.
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18. (2021-01-11). "Applying for healthcare cover abroad (GHIC and EHIC)".
19. (19 October 2004). "Kunqian Catherine Zhu and Man Lavette Chen v Secretary of State for the Home Department".
20. (2017). "Joined Cases C-297/17, C-318/17, C-319/17 and C-438/17: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 19 March 2019 (requests for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesverwaltungsgericht — Germany) — Bashar Ibrahim (C-297/17), Mahmud Ibrahim and Others (C-318/17), Nisreen Sharqawi, Yazan Fattayrji, Hosam Fattayrji (C-319/17) v Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bundesrepublik Deutschland v Taus Magamadov (C-438/17) (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Area of freedom, security and justice — Common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection — Directive 2013/32/EU — Article 33(2)(a) — Rejection by the authorities of a Member State of an application for asylum as being inadmissible because of the prior granting of subsidiary protection in another Member State — Article 52 — Scope ratione temporis of that directive — Articles 4 and 18 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union — Systemic flaws in the asylum procedure in that other Member State — Systematic rejection of applications for asylum — Substantial risk of suffering inhuman or degrading treatment — Living conditions of those granted subsidiary protection in that other State)".
21. (2 February 2020). "Who is entitled to a UK's European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) after Brexit".