Your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) lets you get healthcare in other EEA countries. Your health insurance from your home country pays for medical costs.

You can use your EHIC to…

  • Get emergency healthcare in another EEA country
  • Get healthcare while you study in Germany
  • Get healthcare in before you start working in Germany

In Germany, your EHIC is usually on the back of your health insurance card.

Example European Health Insurance Card
Example European Health Insurance Card

In the UK, the EHIC is also called GHIC.1

How EHIC works

Sources and footnotes
  1. nhs.uk (July 2026)