# EHIC cards for currently non-EEA resident UK citizens



## xappa (Mar 23, 2018)

I would like to get a EHIC card to partially cover health care costs while searching for a job in Germany. I will have paid UK class 2 (non-uk resident) national insurance contributions for the last two tax years ending April 2018. Currently, I live in Japan, and have also contributed to health insurance for over four years until six months ago. According to the UK authorities I am not able to get one while non EEA resident. I looked at the UK application procedure and it seems to require a UK address and also doesn’t allow EEA resident job searchers to apply (ehic.org.uk).
It seems inconsistent with the aims of free movement. I would appreciate advise on the best strategy to adopt. Possible solutions might include:
1. Complete a UK application with a relatives address in the UK, pick it up then proceed to Germany.
2. First return to UK, obtain the card then continue to Germany.
3. Apply for one when in Germany.
4. Try somehow to apply with my current non-EEA address.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

xappa said:


> I would like to get a EHIC card to partially cover health care costs while searching for a job in Germany. I will have paid UK class 2 (non-uk resident) national insurance contributions for the last two tax years ending April 2018. Currently, I live in Japan, and have also contributed to health insurance for over four years until six months ago. According to the UK authorities I am not able to get one while non EEA resident. I looked at the UK application procedure and it seems to require a UK address and also doesn’t allow EEA resident job searchers to apply (ehic.org.uk).
> It seems inconsistent with the aims of free movement. I would appreciate advise on the best strategy to adopt. Possible solutions might include:
> 1. Complete a UK application with a relatives address in the UK, pick it up then proceed to Germany.
> 2. First return to UK, obtain the card then continue to Germany.
> ...


:welcome:

As you seem to have discovered, the UK won't issue you with an EHIC unless you are resident in the UK. That's one of the main requirements.

Suggestion 1 would entail lying about your country of residence - basically fraud.

The only legal way to obtain one would be to return to live in the UK & apply for one while living there . 

Using any address outside the UK simply won't work.


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## xappa (Mar 23, 2018)

Thanks. What happens if a UK citizen registers as a German resident, or as unemployed in Germany, are they able to continue using the EHIC or is another type of health insurance required?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

xappa said:


> Thanks. What happens if a UK citizen registers as a German resident, or as unemployed in Germany, are they able to continue using the EHIC or is another type of health insurance required?


EHICs are only for use on holiday, so can't be used for healthcare as a resident of another country.


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## xappa (Mar 23, 2018)

Thanks. Can EHIC cards not also be used while job searching or studying?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

xappa said:


> Thanks. Can EHIC cards not also be used while job searching or studying?


EHIC cards are issued by the national health service you are currently registered in (i.e. assuming you are resident within the EU). In your case, I'm afraid there's nothing you can do.

If you want to look for work in Germany, you can simply go to Germany and look for work, but for health care purposes, you'll need to get some sort of private policy - though for your purposes, you could probably make do with a travel health insurance. During the time you are job hunting in Germany, you'd be considered to be still resident in Japan (so if something serious happened to you, you'd probably be shipped back to Japan on the assumption that your ongoing care would be taken over by their health care system). 

Once you found a job in Germany, you'd be enrolled in the German health care system and then (assuming this all happened before Brexit happens), you could get an EHIC card from Germany if you wanted to visit the UK.

But at the moment, I don't think there is any way for you to get the EHIC card from the UK because you're not covered by the UK system.
Cheers,
Bev


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

xappa said:


> Thanks. What happens if a UK citizen registers as a German resident, or as unemployed in Germany, are they able to continue using the EHIC or is another type of health insurance required?


Once you register your residence in Germany, you should enroll in the German health system. This can be quite costly if you are not employed and your employer covers 50% of the cost. 

On another note, when enrolled in the statutory system, your health insurance provider will provide you with a photo insurance card that you need to access health care and that is also automatically an EHIC card for use outside of Germany when travelling within the EU.

If you register as unemployed in Germany but haven't paid into the system, you can register your interest in finding work but won't be eligible for any unemployment benefits and thus also not for insurance payments by the state. A different scenario would be if you had been unemployed in another EU state (for example the UK) and then gone through the process of transferring your benefits to Germany for the purpose of looking for a job. This can only be done for 3 months, as far as I know and you need to fulfill certain requirements.


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

xappa said:


> Thanks. Can EHIC cards not also be used while job searching or studying?


Quite complex since Europe has 28 different health care systems.

Whether you can use an EHIC card while studying in Germany depends on your country's rules. 

https://www.daad.de/deutschland/nach-deutschland/bewerbung/en/58221-health-insurance/

Germany does accept EHIC for study purposes (unless you are also working in Germany and earning more than 450€/month ) but it's up to the country of previous residence whether they are happy to issue you with an EHIC card if you are no longer habitually resident in that country. I think a few eastern European countries are happy to do that for their citizens.

In Germany for example, you need to unregister your residence when moving out of the country and the unregistration certificate is needed to cancel your health insurance in Germany. When cancelling your health insurance, the insurance card has to be surrendered. Since that card doubles as EHIC card, you'd not be able to have a valid German EHIC after ceasing to be resident in Germany. This is of course different if you are simply going for a semester or so abroad and/or a full time student still young enough to be insured through your parents.

Simply not unregistering when moving away can be extremely expensive, because if you no longer work in Germany and your employer no longer automatically transfer the insurance fees to them (or you are no longer residing in Germany and receiving state benefits) the insurance company will invoice you at maximum rate until they get an unregistration certificate from you and will still invoice you up to the date shown on the certificate. This can cost you thousands and thousands of Euro.


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