If you work in Germany, you must have health insurance. This guide helps you choose the best health insurance for employees.
Your options
Employees must get public or private health insurance. Use my health insurance picker to find the best option.
Your options depend on your income:
- If your earn less than €73,800 per year
You can only choose public health insurance. I recommend Barmer or TK. It costs 9.35% to 10.95% of your income. The maximum cost is around €600 per month. - If your earn more than €73,800 per year
You can choose public or private health insurance. Private can be better and cheaper.5 Don’t choose private health insurance yourself. Ask my insurance expert to help you.
If you apply for a National Visa, you also need expat health insurance. It covers you from the day you arrive in Germany to the day you start working. I recommend Feather, but there are many other options. When you start working, you must switch to public or private health insurance.
For a visa or residence permit
You must get health insurance before you apply for a National Visa or a residence permit. Your application must include a proof of health insurance.
For a Blue Card or a work visa
To apply for a work visa or a Blue Card, you need two health insurances:6
- Incoming health insurance
Get expat health insurance. It covers you from the day you arrive in Germany to the day you start working. I recommend Feather, but there are many other options. If you already live in Germany, you don’t need incoming health insurance. - Long-term health insurance
Get public or private health insurance. For public health insurance, I recommend Barmer or TK. For private health insurance, I recommend asking an expert.
Get health insurance for your visa
For an opportunity card
To apply for a Chancenkarte, you only need expat health insurance.10 It must cover you from the day you arrive in Germany. I recommend Feather, but there are many other options. If you already live in Germany, you can keep your current health insurance.
When you start working, you must switch to public or private health insurance.
Get health insurance for an opportunity card
For a job seeker visa
To apply for a job seeker visa, you only need expat health insurance. It must cover you from the day you arrive in Germany. I recommend Feather, but there are many other options. If you already live in Germany, you can keep your current health insurance.
When you start working, you must switch to public or private health insurance.
Get health insurance for your job seeker visa
For a Working Holiday Visa
To apply for a Working Holiday Visa, you only need expat health insurance.7 It must cover you from the day you arrive in Germany. I recommend Feather, but there are many other options.
When you start working, you must switch to public or private health insurance. If you have a minijob, you can stay on expat health insurance.9
Get health insurance for your Working Holiday Visa
For a Youth Mobility Visa
To apply for a Youth Mobility Visa, you only need expat health insurance.7 It must cover you from the day you arrive in Germany. I recommend Feather, but there are many other options.
When you start working, you must switch to public or private health insurance. If you have a minijob, you can stay on expat health insurance.9
Get health insurance for your Youth Mobility Visa
For an internship
If it’s a mandatory internship during your studies, you keep your student health insurance. Your employer does not pay half of it.12
If it’s a mandatory internship before or after your studies:1
- If it’s unpaid
You have the same options as other students.2 - It it pays up to €325 per month
Your health insurance is free. Your employer pays for it.11 You must still choose an insurer. I recommend Barmer or TK. - If it pays more than €325 per month
You have the same options as other employees.
If it’s a voluntary internship, it’s treated like a normal job. You have the same options as an employee.3 If you don’t get paid, you have the same options as an unemployed student, and you don’t get help from your employer.8
If you lose your job
If you lose your job, you keep your health insurance. The coverage does not change. You can sometimes get free health insurance.
If you have public health insurance, it becomes cheaper, because the cost is proportional to your income. Otherwise, you pay the minimum amount: around €230 per month.
If you have private health insurance, your employer stops paying half of it, so it’s twice as expensive for you. For example, if you paid €250 per month as an employee, you must now pay €500 per month. If you get unemployment benefits, you must usually switch to public health insurance, then your unemployment benefits pay for it. Otherwise, you can’t switch to public health insurance.
Health insurance when unemployed
How to get insured
- For public health insurance
I recommend Barmer or TK. They are reliable, English-speaking health insurers. - For private health insurance
Always ask an expert. Never choose private health insurance yourself. You can make expensive mistakes, and it’s really hard to fix them. - For expat health insurance
I recommend Feather, but there are many other options. Feather is a reliable, English-speaking insurer in Berlin. We work together since 2018. Their expat health insurance works for a National Visa application. - If you are not sure
Read my health insurance guide, and ask my insurance expert to help you choose. Their help is free.
Your employer can choose health insurance for you, but it’s a bad idea. They choose what is easy for them, not what is best for you.4
After you get insured, you get a proof of health insurance for your visa application. You must tell your employer which health insurance you have. You must pay for health insurance every month. The payments are taken directly from your paycheck.
What happens after you get insured
Sources and footnotes
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DAK (April 2025), check24.de (April 2025) ⤴
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praktikum-guide.com (April 2025) ⤴
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meinpraktikum.de (April 2025), student-kv.de (April 2025) ⤴
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Seamus Wolf (April 2025), Emily Archer (April 2025) ⤴
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Seamus Wolf (April 2025), finanztip (February 2025), verbraucherzentrale.de (2024) ⤴
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Seamus Wolf (April 2025), Feather Insurance (June 2025) ⤴
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check24.de (April 2025) ⤴
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Dr. Rob Schumacher (November 2023) ⤴
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Feather Insurance (June 2025), Feather Insurance (June 2025), Seamus Wolf (June 2025), Dr. Rekha Singh (June 2025), Expatrio (June 2025) ⤴
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Techniker Krankenkasse (March 2025), § 20 Abs. 3 SGB IV, praktikum-guide.com (April 2025), haufe.de (April 2025) ⤴
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student-kv.de (April 2023) ⤴