Health insurance

As an international student coming to Passau, you need to have health insurance both for your matriculation at the University of Passau and when registering for a residence permit with the Ausländerbehörde (the foreigners registration office) of the City of Passau.

If you are covered by statutory health insurance from one of the above countries you are exempt from the requirement to obtain German health insurance. However, you have to show your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), form E128 or form A/T 11 (Turkish citizens) to the AOK office in Passau (see below for address). You will then be issued a health insurance card, which you should present whenever you go to see a doctor.

If you are privately insured in your home country you will need written confirmation that your insurance coverage meets the German and European legal requirements. Travel health insurance policies are not accepted, as they do not provide sufficient coverage!

We recommend that you take out health insurance with a statutory or state-recognised health insurance scheme in Germany (see 'State health insurance offices in Passau' below), as the health insurance coverage in other countries is often inadequate. German health insurers offer favourable rates for students (EUR 76.41 per month for students under the age of 23; EUR 77.90 per month for students aged 23 to 29).

If you are covered by a foreign health insurance scheme, you should provide proof of insurance cover to the German health insurer. Your health insurance must include the following benefits:

• medical and dental treatment
• prescription drugs and materials
• hospital in-patient treatment
• rehabilitation treatment
• pregnancy and childbirth

Only uncapped insurance contracts, i.e. those without a limit on the sum paid per person and per incident, provide adequate health insurance cover according to this regulation. Hospital daily benefit or private medical liquidation costs do not have to be insured, nor do nursing care provisions have to be included.

Important: foreign health insurance (e.g. travel insurance) is deemed inadequate, because it is usually limited in terms of its benefits, applicable limits (e.g. up to a maximum of USD 50,000) and/or the duration of coverage (e.g. repatriation after 90 days)!

Please note: German health insurance coverage starts on the first day of the semester – 1 October (summer semester) or 1 April (winter semester). Please make sure that you have health insurance that covers you for the time between your arrival in Germany and the beginning of the semester. If you need help arranging this, the International Office will be happy to lend a hand.