Health insurance options for OeAD scholars from non-EU/EEA countries: stays over 6 months
1. National health insurance provided by your home country for entry to Austria and the duration of your stay
If you have a national health insurance in your home country that is also valid in Austria (especially in case of a bilateral social security agreement) you may exchange the A3 form provided by your insurance carrier for a "Krankenschein" (a slip of paper that allows you to utilise the services of medical doctors in Austria) at the competent Austrian Gesundheitskasse. Such bilateral social security agreements exist with the following countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey.
You need to provide a confirmation of this kind of health insurance to the Austrian representative authority when you apply for your residence permit. After your arrival in Austria the confirmation must also be handed in at your Regional Office.
2. Individually organized travel insurance for entry to Austria and self-insurance for students with the Austrian Gesundheitskasse (national health insurance provider) after entry
Before entry to Austria you need to take out a travel insurance that is valid in Austria for one month from the day of your arrival, has a minimum coverage of 30,000 euro and guarantees recovery and repatriation costs in case of an accident. The insurance has to pay all medical costs directly in Austria; it is not enough that the insurance provides reimbursement in your home country.
In addition to providing a confirmation of travel insurance to the Austrian representative authority you also need to show credibly that you are planning and able to take out a health insurance "covering all risks" for your stay in Austria. One possibility for this is to show credibly that you will take out a national self-insurance in Austria.
All scholarship holders who are enrolled as "regular degree programme students" (ordentliche Studierende) at an Austrian university, university of arts, university of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen) or at the University Preparation Programme (Vorstudienlehrgang ) can take out a health insurance with the Austrian Gesundheitskasse. The main requirements are a current place of residence in Austria and a current enrolment at an Austrian higher education institution. Furthermore, you need to consider that there may be other requirements such as previous duration of your studies, income limits and possibly breaks in your studies and changing your subject. Here you can check whether or not you fulfil the requirements. Students with self-insurance pay a monthly premium of EUR 69.13 [as of January 2024].
A copy of your application for self-insurance has to be handed in at your Regional Office. Further information is available here.
3. Individually organized travel insurance for entry to Austria and health insurance with a partner of the OeAD after entry
Before entry to Austria you need to take out a travel insurance that is valid in Austria for one month from the day of your arrival has a minimum coverage of 30,000 euro and guarantees recovery and repatriation costs in case of an accident. The insurance has to pay all medical costs directly in Austria; it is not enough that the insurance provides reimbursement in your home country.
In addition to providing a confirmation of travel insurance to the Austrian representative authority you also need to show credibly that you are planning and able to take out a health insurance "covering all risks" for your stay in Austria. One possibility for this is to take out insurance with a partner of the OeAD (UNIQA Insurance) at a reduced insurance premium.
In your Letter of Acceptance if you tick that you would like to take out an insurance with a partner of the OeAD a UNIQA advisor will email you directly with further information and application documents. If you fulfil the requirements for insurance UNIQA will issue a confirmation that you can hand in at the Austrian representative authority when applying for your visa (and later, in Austria, for your residence permit). After you have arrived in Austria and reported at your Regional Office the insurance premium will be deducted from your monthly scholarship rate. Further information is available at the relevant local Regional Office.
4. Individually organized travel insurance for entry to Austria and individually organized health insurance "covering all risks" after entry
Before entry to Austria you need to take out a travel insurance that is valid in Austria for one month from the day of your arrival, has a minimum coverage of 30,000 euro and guarantees recovery and repatriation costs in case of an accident. The insurance has to pay all medical costs directly in Austria; it is not enough that the insurance provides reimbursement in your home country.
In addition to providing a confirmation of travel insurance to the Austrian representative authority you also need to show credibly that you are planning and able to take out a health insurance "covering all risks" for your stay in Austria (e.g., by providing a preliminary contract).
The scope of benefits of an insurance "covering all risks" has to correspond with the Austrian national health insurance in all major points and cannot show considerable differences. In particular this means that no waiting times, cost caps or exclusion of risks may apply and that the insurance must be liable in Austria.
After entry to Austria you have to prove such an insurance "covering all risks" to the Austrian residence authority (when applying for a residence permit) as well as your Regional Office. You will only be issued a residence permit if you have sufficient insurance protection. The local residence authority examines the necessary requirements very strictly! A travel insurance does not fulfil this requirement in any case.
Please note that this type of insurance is explicitly not recommended by us because it contains many elements of uncertainty and the OeAD cannot offer any help with possible problems!
