European Health Insurance Card & Travel Insurance

3.0 EHIC & Travel Insurance

Changes have been made to how UK citizens receive free or low-cost healthcare while in the European Union. Whereas previously, the holder of an EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) was entitled to healthcare at little, to no cost while on holiday, that is no longer the case.

If you have an EHIC that is still valid, you can continue to use it in the EU until it expires. You can still apply for and use an EHIC if you are a British state pensioner residing in the EU or an EU national living in the UK.

The UK Government has launched a replacement scheme called GHIC (Global Health Insurance Card). You can apply for a card at ghic.org.uk. You can use a GHIC to get “necessary healthcare” from state services when you’re visiting an EU country.

Necessary healthcare means healthcare which becomes “medically necessary” during your stay, and you cannot reasonably wait until you’re back in the UK to get it. For the full list of what you can and cannot use a GHIC for, visit ghic.org.uk.

We recommend that you take out comprehensive travel insurance that covers your medical needs. Don’t purely rely on an EHIC or GHIC.