Health insurance for visitors to Germany: family visits, au pairs, language courses and study
If your parents or friends visit from outside the EU, the visa needs proof of health insurance, and your own German policy does not cover them. If you sign a formal obligation (Verpflichtungserklärung), you are also personally liable when your guest falls ill. German insurers sell this cover as Incoming-Versicherung. Which policy fits depends on why the person is coming: a visitor policy is not enough for an au pair or a student.
What health insurance does my visitor need for Germany?
For a Schengen visa, travel health insurance with at least EUR 30,000 of cover, valid in the whole Schengen area for the entire stay and including repatriation. For an au pair that is not enough: the host family must take out and pay for health, accident and liability insurance. Language students and university students need cover that the immigration office accepts as comparable to German statutory health insurance. So the purpose of the stay comes first, then the length of stay and the age of the guest.
What the Schengen visa asks for
For stays of up to 90 days the EU Visa Code requires travel medical insurance of at least EUR 30,000. It has to be valid in every Schengen state for the whole stay and include repatriation for medical reasons. The Federal Foreign Office lists exactly these points, and the German mission abroad checks them against the insurer's confirmation letter.
Treat the minimum as a visa formality, not as a measure of good cover. Surgery followed by intensive care in a German hospital can cost more than EUR 30,000, and anything above the limit is billed to the guest or to the host. If you are inviting someone, look at the sum insured and not only at the words visa compliant.
The formal obligation: what hosts sign up to
When a guest cannot show sufficient funds, the mission often asks the host for a Verpflichtungserklärung, issued by the local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde). Under section 68 of the Residence Act the person who signs must reimburse, for five years, all public funds spent on the guest's living costs, expressly including care in the event of illness. The declaration usually costs EUR 29 and cannot be withdrawn unilaterally.
That makes the guest's insurance your protection as well. If the insurer refuses because a condition was known beforehand, or the limit is used up, the authorities can turn to whoever signed. The liability also extends to the cost of departure or removal. Some policies offer a separate module for that.
Au pair, language course, university: three different cases
For au pairs the Federal Employment Agency requires proof of health, accident and liability insurance for the entire stay, paid for by the host family. Plain travel health insurance is expressly not accepted. The cover has to meet the Residence Act's standard of adequate health insurance.
Enrolled students under 30 normally belong in the compulsory student scheme of a statutory health fund (gesetzliche Krankenkasse). From the 30th birthday, usually only the more expensive voluntary membership is open. Students who opt out in favour of a private policy can generally not return to the statutory system while they study, so that decision deserves thought.
People attending a language course or a Studienkolleg are not yet enrolled and normally depend on a private policy. For the residence permit the immigration office wants cover equivalent in type and scope to statutory insurance. Make sure a policy meets that test before you buy it, not at the appointment.
What is covered
Outpatient treatment by a doctor for acute illness and after accidents
Inpatient hospital treatment including surgery
Prescribed medication and dressings
Pain-relieving dental treatment and simple fillings
Ambulance transport to the nearest hospital
Medically necessary repatriation to the home country
Repatriation of remains or burial in Germany
In comprehensive policies: pregnancy and childbirth after a waiting period
What is not covered
Pre-existing conditions and complaints known when the policy started
Treatment that was the reason for travelling to Germany
A pregnancy that already existed when the policy started
Dentures, check-ups and psychotherapy in basic visitor policies
Costs above the agreed sum insured
Treatment in the home country, unless home visits are expressly included
Who needs it
Residents of Germany inviting relatives or friends from a country that needs a visa
Host families taking on an au pair
Language students and Studienkolleg participants without access to statutory insurance
Students aged 30 or over, doctoral candidates and visiting researchers on a scholarship
Visitors from visa-free countries whose insurance at home does not pay in Germany
Who does not need it
Guests from the EU with a European Health Insurance Card, whose home scheme pays for necessary treatment
Employees with a German employment contract, who are in the statutory system anyway
Wheel of misfortune
Spin the wheel of bad luck
Six things that really happen. The wheel picks yours and shows who pays.
Cost:
Budget policy Strong policy
See all six cases
Mother breaks her hip on the stairs, quickly five figures. Budget policy: pays, Strong policy: pays. An accident is the clear case: every policy pays for surgery and hospital up to the sum insured. With EUR 30,000, rehabilitation and the flight home can still make it tight.
Heart attack, known high blood pressure, often tens of thousands of euros. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays in part. Basic policies refuse because the condition was known. Strong ones pay for acute emergency treatment, some only up to a separate limit. The rest falls on whoever signed the formal obligation.
Au pair scratches the neighbour's car, a few thousand euros. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays. This is not a health claim. An au pair package with liability cover pays, a health-only policy does not.
Appendicitis in the third week, several thousand euros. Budget policy: pays in part, Strong policy: pays. If the policy was bought before arrival, every policy pays. If it was bought after arrival, the waiting period may still be running and a basic policy pays nothing.
Arrived pregnant, gives birth here, several thousand euros. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: does not pay. A pregnancy that existed when the policy started is excluded even in strong policies. Childbirth is covered only when the pregnancy begins after the waiting period.
Tooth breaks at dinner, a few hundred euros. Budget policy: pays in part, Strong policy: pays in part. Pain relief and a temporary fix are paid. The permanent crown is not part of the cover, or only in part after a waiting period.
What it costs
Premiums are usually charged per day or per month. Age makes the biggest difference: for guests of 65 or 70 and over, the same cover costs several times as much, and some policies no longer accept them at all.
Example
Typical range
Middle-aged visitor, basic policy for the visa
from roughly EUR 1.20 to 1.80 per day
What drives the premium
Age of the guest
Length of stay
Purpose: visit, au pair, language course, study or work
Scope: emergency cover or cover close to statutory insurance
Excess (deductible)
Add-ons such as liability and accident cover
Entry-level prices from the published tariffs of one large German provider, as of November 2026. Older guests, long stays and comprehensive policies cost considerably more. The premium for your guest is only fixed in the quote.
The policy levels on the market
01
Visitor policy
Emergency cover for weeks or months with a confirmation for the visa. Pays for acute illness and accidents, excludes anything already known.
02
Au pair and language student policy
Runs for up to several years, usually bundled with liability and accident cover. Scope between emergency and full cover.
03
Comprehensive long-stay policy
For students, researchers and employees: check-ups, pregnancy and dentures after waiting periods, designed as proof for the residence permit.
How to recognise a good policy
Criterion
Minimum standard
Strong policy
Why it matters
Sum insured
EUR 30,000, as the visa requires
much higher or unlimited
The visa minimum does not pay for a serious case with intensive care.
Pre-existing conditions
fully excluded
acute deterioration and life-saving emergency treatment covered
Older guests nearly always have a medical history. Most refused claims come down to this clause.
Buying after arrival
only before arrival
also afterwards, with a short waiting period
Otherwise a late start means no cover at all.
Maximum term and extension
fixed term, no extension
can be extended during the stay
Three months often become six. A new contract excludes whatever has appeared in the meantime.
Repatriation
if medically necessary
if medically sensible and reasonable
In Germany it is hardly ever necessary, because every treatment is available here.
Billing
guest pays and claims back
insurer guarantees payment to the hospital directly
Hospitals often ask uninsured patients for a deposit.
Accepted for the residence permit
confirmation for the Schengen visa
certificate of adequate health insurance for the immigration office
For a language course or a degree the visa letter is not enough.
End of contract
fixed term, no refund
pro rata refund on early departure, refund if the visa is refused
Plans change, and a refused visa should not cost the premium as well.
Insurers on the German market
Incoming policies come from German travel and health insurers. Specialist underwriting agents also sell their own brands, with an insurer behind them carrying the risk. We list the insurers by their registered names. This is a market overview, not a statement about who we work with.
Insurer
Background
HanseMerkur
policies for foreign guests, au pairs and long stays, sold via brokers and online
Würzburger
specialist insurer with a visa policy, often the risk carrier behind intermediary brands
ERGO Reiseversicherung
travel specialist of the ERGO group with an incoming health policy
Allianz
incoming health insurance via agents and brokers
ADAC
insurer of the automobile club, health cover for guests from abroad
Union Krankenversicherung
health insurer of the Versicherungskammer group, also sold through savings banks
Barmenia
health insurer, also acts as risk carrier for underwriting agents' brands
From the BaFin register
80
80 insurers supervised by BaFin, the German regulator, are licensed for this class of insurance.
For guests with a Schengen visa or from visa-free countries, priced per day, with a confirmation letter for the embassy.
Au pair insurance
A package of health, accident and liability cover taken out by the host family.
Language students and Studienkolleg
Long-stay policy for the time before enrolment, used as proof for the residence permit.
Students and doctoral candidates
The private route when the compulsory student scheme is not, or no longer, available.
Visiting researchers and scholarship holders
Comprehensive cover for stays without a German employment contract, often including family.
Myth or truth
True or false?
Five things people say about this insurance. Guess first, then see the answer.
With EUR 30,000 of cover my visitor is well insured.
This is false.
That figure is the minimum for the visa. A serious case with intensive care can cost more. Good cover means a higher limit and a clause for acute deterioration.
A formal obligation binds me for five years.
This is true.
Correct. Under section 68 of the Residence Act the signatory is liable for five years from entry for public funds spent on the guest, including in case of illness.
Travel health insurance is enough for an au pair.
This is false.
Wrong. The Federal Employment Agency requires health, accident and liability insurance for the whole stay and expressly rejects plain travel health insurance.
From 30, students can usually only join the statutory system voluntarily.
This is true.
True. The low-cost compulsory student scheme normally ends on the 30th birthday. After that the choice is voluntary membership or a private policy.
I can buy the insurance once my guest falls ill.
This is false.
Wrong. Only what happens after the policy starts, and after any waiting period, is covered. No policy pays for what is already there or was foreseeable.
Common mistakes
Buying the cheapest visa policy and missing that your parents' existing conditions are excluded
Signing the formal obligation without knowing the guest's sum insured
Taking out only travel health insurance for an au pair
Buying after arrival and running into the waiting period
Letting the policy lapse when the visit is extended
Opting out of statutory insurance as a student without knowing the way back is usually closed
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Is EUR 30,000 of cover enough?
For the visa, yes.
For a serious case, no.
Surgery with intensive care in Germany can cost considerably more.
Policies with a higher limit or no limit are the sensible choice.
Can I buy the policy for my guest?
Yes.
Many policies allow the host or host family to be the policyholder and the guest the insured
person.
You then receive the confirmation for the embassy yourself.
What happens if the visa is refused?
That depends on the policy.
Good ones refund the premium when you show the refusal.
Check this rule before you buy.
Are my parents' existing conditions covered?
As a rule, no.
Visitor policies exclude what was known at the start.
Better policies do pay for an unexpected acute deterioration or life-saving emergency treatment,
sometimes up to a separate limit.
Can I still buy cover once my guest is in Germany?
With some policies yes, usually within a deadline after arrival and with a waiting period during
which nothing is covered.
For the visa the insurance has to be in place before travel anyway.
Who pays for an au pair's insurance?
The host family.
It has to prove health, accident and liability insurance for the whole stay and bears the premiums.
Do international students have to join a statutory health fund?
Enrolled students under 30 are normally compulsory members.
Anyone older, or attending a language course or Studienkolleg,
usually needs a private policy that the immigration office accepts as adequate.
Does the formal obligation make me liable for hospital bills?
Yes.
Under section 68 of the Residence Act it expressly includes care in the event of illness,
for five years from entry.
Adequate insurance for your guest therefore protects you too.
Does my own German health insurance cover visiting relatives?
Normally not.
Your statutory or private policy is tied to you and to family members living in Germany,
not to visitors from abroad.
Each guest needs cover in their own name.
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