Question by Cody B: How do I make sure I am covered by Europe’s health care system?
I’m an Irish citizen by descent, therefore entitled to live and work throughout the European Union and (presumptively) I am covered by its Universal Health Care system.
I will be basing myself in the United Kingdom. What do I need to do to insure that I will be covered when I travel throughout Europe?
Best answer:
Answer by Jean-Michel
If you are ordinarily resident in Ireland. This means you have been living there for a minimum of one year or that you intend to live there for a minimum of one year and providing you hold a full Irish passport you can apply for an EHIC here: https://www.sspcrs.ie/ehic/e111page.jsp?lang=null
If you hold, as I suspect, rightly or wrongly, an Australian passport then you cannot apply for an EHIC as you are not a resident of an EU country.Would suggest you talk to “Medicare” in Australia to find out what arrangements there are between EU countries and Australia.
What do you think? Answer below!
You’ll need your passport and an EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) from the UK.. I’m assuming by “basing” yourself in the UK, you mean living there? You get a card from the country in which you’re resident. You’re mostly covered for emergency treatment outside of your country of residence, although coverage varies a little from country to country. Planned treatment isn’t covered, but you can sometimes be reimbursed for treatments in other countries that are normally covered by the NHS (you have to contact your local health commissioner first). The NHS has a good site covering most of the info you might want to know.
http://www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/Healthcareabroad/pages/Healthcareabroad.aspx
There is no such thing as the Universal Health Care System in Europe. Every country has their own health care system and health policy.
Being Irish from descent doesn’t entitle you to live there. You have to own the Irish nationality and this includes a passport. Every European country has this rule. If you’re not in the possession of the Irish nationality, you’ll have to go through the same steps like every other immigrant.
And your not entitled to any health care system there may be, being Australian you’ll still have to depend on your Australian insurance untill you have the permission to stay in the EU.
You’re only entitled to work in the EU if you have an Irish passport.
You need to register with the NHS if you’re basing yourself in the UK, and I would look into taking out a seperate year-round travel insurance policy that covers illness and loss, especially if you’re travelling. I wouldn’t rely on the E111 form.
Time to shoot down some urban legends.
- There’s no European health care system. Each country has its own.
- The European Health Insurance is only an agreement between the participating European countries to let travelling citizens registered on their own health system to receive medical treatment in another member state for free or at a reduced cost, if that treatment becomes necessary during their visit. So you need first to be a member of the health care system of your (European) country.
- There’s no free lunch and to be part of a health care system in any European country you have to live in the country and to put some money in the system. So first you need a job to pay your taxes.
- Being of European descent does not give you any right. Being of Irish descent only gives you the right to apply for Irish citizenship.
Now, If you have received your Irish citizenship then you are allowed to come and work in the EU, and to start paying your taxes which will allow you to register for the country’s health system if it has one. You have 27 countries in the EU, so you have a choice of systems. Some of them have only a very limited national health care and most people are using a private system. If you live and work in the UK you will need to be registered in the NHS and then you will be able to ask for an EHIC card.