Health insurance question about German work permit.

[Hamster127]

Hi all.

I am trying to apply for a German work permit. From what I understand, I need health insurance before I start the application.

I have a fixed job offer of 2 years.

My questions are these:

1. Is my employer required to offer me public health insurance? (Sounds strange, but I thought up to a certain income, one was required to have state health care?)

2. Do I have to make a health insurance for the whole duration of the work permit? Or can I just take out a 3 month contract and then find a health insurance company there once I am in Germany? What is the requirement for the visa?

3. Is the company Mawista https://www.mawista.com a reputable health insurance company?

Cheers.

(its a bit urgent, so if you guys know it, I would appreciate a replay.)

[gokulatti]

Do you have a job offer?, the offer letter should say the details about health insurance if the company is providing for you, It not mandatory for them to provide you one. Usually, when a company provides health insurance the employee usually pays for it partially from the gross salary. Of course all depends on the contract.
If Germany is asking for health insurance during work permit you should get one. If you don't know much about the price and the policy details, you could just take the basic insurance from a reputable company, you can always upgrade or even change the policy to someone else at a later stage. Yes if the local law of a member state is for all residents to have insurance then you should have one for the entire duration of your residency. You don't want to spent xxxx euros for any unfortunate events.

[Hamster127]

While I do have a job offer, I do not yet have the contract.

I am fairly certain that Germany is requiring health insurance when entering, and I do intend to have one (even if they did not require it). The question is whether, upon entering, I need to have insurance for the whole duration of the intended stay, or whether I can enter with a 1-3 month insurance and than extend (or go to a different company) after I am already in the country.

Cheers.

[gokulatti]

Health insurance usually by default doesn't come with a end date and will be quoted in premium per month. When you do want to change it at any time you just need to let them know, In some countries the health policy ends at dec 31st and will automatically be renewed on 1st Jan the next year.

[waqasars]

Here in Germany Health Insurance is compulsory for every resident. If your gross salary is less than 57,600 Euros per year, or 4,800 Euros per month in 2017 then membership in the GKV is mandatory. They charge the same basic rate of 14.6% of your income plus a possible median supplemental rate of 1.1% of your eligible gross salary.

Half part (7.3%) of the health insurance will be paid by employer. It is mandatory by law. Some famous health insurance companies are (AOK, TK, SBK, BEK, DAK).

When you will get your contract employer will automatically register you for health insurance.

You dont need to take mawista. Just get your contract letter and ask your employer for health insurance.

[waqasars]

Once you will be in Germany and you have to register your residence at local town hall. After residence registration you have to get your health insurance as per the criteria which i have explained above.

[Hamster127]

Thank you both for the replays.

@waqasars,

so to get it right, I do not need to make any health insurance before going to Germany? Will is not be required when I go the embassy?

Sorry, but I just wanted to clarify. I do not want to get there and then be asked to rebook an appointment. For what I understood, even a 1 day tourist visa requires you to have minimal health insurance, called "Reise-Haftpflichtversicherung", if I am not mistaken.

Also, is the GKV a collection of health insurance companies, like Allianz and Barmer?

@gokulatti

I realise that health insurance does not came with an end date, so to speak. However, when you make a `shrot term' contract, such as for 3 months, 6 months 1 year (and maybe even 2 years), you can get ones with an `end date'. Such as for the Mavista. There, you can choose several different time frames.

Also, I think the minimum time before you can change is like 18 months for an `indefinite' health insurance. So I would want to choose a decent insurance deal/company before I commit to such a timeframe.

[waqasars]

You can also take out a health insurance in Germany. However, for the time period until you are settled in Germany, you have to submit a preliminary health insurance with your application.

For the visa application you can book for travel insurance.You are required to contract a full Schengen travel insurance, covering – for a minimum amount of 30.000,- Euros - any medical, hospitalization and repatriation costs, as well as associated care expenses which might occur during any single trip into the Schengen states. For the 3 month it will charge you about 176 Euro.

GKV is the government health insurance System. If you choose to join the German government system, you can register with any of the 118 Krankenkassen (Insurance companies) which are non-profit associations administrating the government health scheme. Some (for instance AOK, TK, SBK, BEK, DAK). I have already explained the process in above mentioned post.

By the way where from are you applying for work permit? Which country? Please follow the below mentioned link for travel insurance.

https://www.axa-schengen.com/en

[ALKB]

Thank you both for the replays.

@waqasars,

so to get it right, I do not need to make any health insurance before going to Germany? Will is not be required when I go the embassy?

Sorry, but I just wanted to clarify. I do not want to get there and then be asked to rebook an appointment. For what I understood, even a 1 day tourist visa requires you to have minimal health insurance, called "Reise-Haftpflichtversicherung", if I am not mistaken.

Also, is the GKV a collection of health insurance companies, like Allianz and Barmer?

@gokulatti

I realise that health insurance does not came with an end date, so to speak. However, when you make a `shrot term' contract, such as for 3 months, 6 months 1 year (and maybe even 2 years), you can get ones with an `end date'. Such as for the Mavista. There, you can choose several different time frames.

Also, I think the minimum time before you can change is like 18 months for an `indefinite' health insurance. So I would want to choose a decent insurance deal/company before I commit to such a timeframe.

As an ILR holder, your UK EHIC may suffice until you start working. If you don't have an EHIC card, yet, check your eligibility and order it online from the NHS. It's free of charge and usually takes a week to arrive in the post. You can of course take out additional travel health insurance if you wish.

Once your work permit is in place, you can register with one of the statutory insurance providers.

Whether you can sign up for private health insurance depends on your income and personal choice. Note: once you have opted for private insurance it is very difficult to get back into statutory. So if you definitely only stay for two years in Germany, private may or may not be cheaper; it could be worth consulting an independent insurance broker, if you meet the minimum income requirement for private. If there is a chance that you may stay longer, I would think long and hard about taking private insurance as it gets more and more expensive the older you get. Personally, I wouldn't touch private health insurance with a three foot pole.

[Hamster127]

Thank you for the answer. It is very helpful and informative.

I am applying from the UK.

Thank you also for the link. Btw. is axa-schengen better than Mawista?

Also, you said for 3 months it will charge [...]. Do I have to take it out for 3 months? As I said, I do not know the required period of time I have to get the health insurance.

Thanks again for the reply.


@ALKB

thanks for the reply.
I do have ILR in the UK. I checked on https://www.gov.uk/european-health-insurance-card and they say that

EHIC doesn’t replace travel insurance.

Frankly, while it might still suffice, I am not 100% sure that it will, and 100-200 pounds is not the amount that it is worth the risk for me.
I am also more than happy with the state health insurance in Germany. But it is much easier to talk to people and inform one-self, when one is already in the country and one can speak face to face with people.
So I am looking for the simplest health insurance that is guaranteed sufficient for me to get the work permit.

Thanks all for the help.

[ALKB]

Thank you for the answer. It is very helpful and informative.

I am applying from the UK.

Thank you also for the link. Btw. is axa-schengen better than Mawista?

Also, you said for 3 months it will charge [...]. Do I have to take it out for 3 months? As I said, I do not know the required period of time I have to get the health insurance.

Thanks again for the reply.


@ALKB

thanks for the reply.
I do have ILR in the UK. I checked on https://www.gov.uk/european-health-insurance-card and they say that

EHIC doesn’t replace travel insurance.

Frankly, while it might still suffice, I am not 100% sure that it will, and 100-200 pounds is not the amount that it is worth the risk for me.
I am also more than happy with the state health insurance in Germany. But it is much easier to talk to people and inform one-self, when one is already in the country and one can speak face to face with people.
So I am looking for the simplest health insurance that is guaranteed sufficient for me to get the work permit.

Thanks all for the help.

Travel health insurance has a range of services while EHIC is mostly for accessing EU health care in case of emergency (I had to use my EHIC card twice so far and had no problem whatsoever seeing my GP once and an orthopedic consultant the other time).

This is the provider I use when inviting my parents in law to Germany:

https://www.adac.de/produkte/versicheru ... sicherung/

They offer coverage from one month.

[gokulatti]

An EHIC provides the holder the same treatment in any other member state for temporary stays only. If you become a resident in another member you cannot rely on EHIC. Now the question is can a 2 year work engagement considered as a temporary stay? May be someone with some experience can shed in some light. My french partner had to take out private insurance when she came to NL on a one year contract but she was covered under EHIC in norway when she came to study on a one year course. So I am not so sure how this can be interpreted.

[ALKB]

An EHIC provides the holder the same treatment in any other member state for temporary stays only. If you become a resident in another member you cannot rely on EHIC. Now the question is can a 2 year work engagement considered as a temporary stay? May be someone with some experience can shed in some light. My french partner had to take out private insurance when she came to NL on a one year contract but she was covered under EHIC in norway when she came to study on a one year course. So I am not so sure how this can be interpreted.

Of course not!!

We are taking about two or three weeks until his work permit is sorted!

As soon as he registers his residence in Germany, it becomes compulsory to have German health insurance - either statutory or, if his income is sufficient, private.

[Hamster127]

One last question:

I have decided to go with Axa-Schengen. I have chosen the `Low-cost' option, as it seems to be sufficient for the visa.

My question is this: Is it working for all of Schengen? As in, it never asks me to choose the country I am going. It only asks for `country of residence', which, unless I am completely and utterly mistaken, refers to the country I currently am, not the one I am going to.

Thanks in advance.

[waqasars]

You are required to contract a full Schengen travel insurance, covering – for a minimum amount of 30.000,- Euros - any medical, hospitalization and repatriation costs, as well as associated care expenses which might occur during any single trip into the Schengen states.

30,000 Euros is minimum requirement for a visa for schengen countries.

Regards,
Waqas

[waqasars]

http://www.uk.diplo.de/Vertretung/unite ... ments.html

Please visit the following link for detailed information.

[Hamster127]

You are required to contract a full Schengen travel insurance, covering – for a minimum amount of 30.000,- Euros - any medical, hospitalization and repatriation costs, as well as associated care expenses which might occur during any single trip into the Schengen states.

30,000 Euros is minimum requirement for a visa for schengen countries.

Regards,
Waqas

Thank you for the post.

I am sorry to ask again, but is the `low-cost' option not covering all this? (I am asking because you have detailed it in such a way, that makes me think that you believe that it does not. Maybe I am misunderstanding something).

Or did you merely meant to point out that it is normal that it does not specify any one nation but covers all of the schengen states?

Best Regards.

[waqasars]

i see. Low-Cost is covering your trip. Please go ahead and book this one.

[Hamster127]

My thanks to you waqas for your help throughout.
The same goes to all the people who contributed to this thread. It is appreciated.

All the best.