European Health Insurance Card

Who can get a European Health Insurance Card?

You are entitled to a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) granted by Kela, if you are covered for health insurance in Finland or if Finland is responsible for your medical care costs. The European Health Insurance Card issued by Kela can also be granted to persons who are not covered for health insurance in Finland but Finland is still the country responsible for their medical care costs. Such persons include for instance those who are permanently resident in another EU country and who only receive a pension from Finland. The card is available free of charge. Each country awards the card in its own official language(s). Kela issues European Health Insurance Cards in Finnish and Swedish.

If you are moving or going to work abroad, contact Kela before leaving to check whether you will remain covered for health insurance in Finland after the move or whether Finland will still be responsible for your medical care costs. 

In what countries can you use the European Health Insurance Card? Where is it not needed?

You can use the European Health Insurance Card in EU and EEA countries, in Switzerland, and in Great Britain. The card is accepted by public healthcare providers and by private doctors who have an agreement with their local health insurance institution. Make sure that the card is accepted by the healthcare provider you are visiting.

You do not need a European Health Insurance Card in the Nordic countries. You are entitled to medically necessary treatment when you show a Finnish passport or ID card.

You cannot use the European Health Insurance Card in Finland. The only exception to this are Finnish pension recipients who live outside Finland and who have been granted a European Health Insurance Card.

What kind of treatment can you get?

If you have a European Health Insurance Card, you should receive medically necessary treatment when you travel or stay temporarily in another EU or EEA country, in Switzerland, in Great Britain or in Northern Ireland. Medically necessary treatment means treatment that cannot wait until you return home.

You may need such treatment in case of acute illness or if you have an accident. You can also receive treatment if the treatment is related to pregnancy and childbirth or to a chronic illness.

Treatment is provided according to the procedures in the country where you stay. The doctor treating you decides on the kind of treatment that you will receive. You cannot use the European Health Insurance Card if you travel abroad for the specific purpose of obtaining medical treatment there. 

The European Health Insurance Card and travel insurance complement each other. While a travel insurance policy provides security that covers private health care services, the European Health Insurance Card offers access to public health care services as provided by the law. Therefore it is a good idea to have both.

If a child’s mother has a European Health Insurance Card and her newborn child does not, the child can receive medically necessary treatment for a user fee that corresponds to the fee paid by local residents only as regards treatment necessary during childbirth or immediately afterwards. For other treatment, the child must have a personal European Health Insurance Card or a certificate provisionally replacing the card.

If you are asked for a European Health Insurance Card at a hospital and you do not have it, contact Kela’s Centre for International Affairs right away. We will notify you whether you have health insurance coverage in Finland or whether Finland is responsible for the cost of your treatment. We will send a certificate provisionally replacing the card to you or directly to the hospital. In emergencies, you will usually not have to present the card to get treatment.

How much does treatment cost?

When you show the European Health Insurance Card to the treatment provider, you should receive treatment at the same cost as the local residents. In this case, you pay a user fee that corresponds to the fee paid by local residents and the country where you received treatment charges Kela for the rest of the costs.

If you do not have a European Health Insurance Card with you or have to pay the actual cost of the treatment yourself for some reason, you can claim reimbursement from Kela afterwards. You can also claim reimbursement if you have a European Health Insurance Card but it was not accepted by the treatment provider.

How to apply for a European Health Insurance Card

Apply in OmaKela (available in Finnish and Swedish) for a European Health Insurance Card. You can also apply online for a European Health Insurance Card for your child.

Alternatively, you can contact our customer service by phone at 020 634 2650020 634 2650.

You can also complete and print out the form titled Application - European Health Insurance Card (SV193e, PDF) and send it to Kela by post. The address is Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.

The card will be mailed to your home address within two weeks.

Pensioners living abroad

You will receive a European Health Insurance Card from Kela if all the following criteria are met:

• you live permanently in another EU or EEA country, in Switzerland or in Great Britain, and you have informed Kela of moving abroad by submitting the form Moving from Finland or employment abroad Y 38e (pdf)
• you receive a pension from Finland
• Finland is responsible for your medical care expenses. 

No separate application is needed for the card. The card will be sent to you automatically when Kela has received the information that you have moved abroad or that you have retired. The reverse of the card is lime-coloured.

You will also receive a certificate of entitlement to medical care S 1. Register the certificate with the health insurance institution in your new country of residence. After that, you will be charged the local user fee for the medical care you receive in your new country.

If you have a European Health Insurance Card and you visit Finland, you will receive the necessary treatment in the Finnish public health care system. You can use the services of any public-sector healthcare provider. You will be charged a corresponding user fee as that paid by local residents. You get a direct reimbursement for your medicine purchases. You also get a direct reimbursement for the costs of private healthcare services and emergency care.  The reimbursement is available for medicines that you need while staying in Finland.

If you do not get a direct reimbursement for instance because the private healthcare provider does not have an agreement with Kela, you can claim reimbursement afterwards. 

If you travel elsewhere in Europe, you should be able to get medically necessary treatment by showing your European Health Insurance Card at a local public-sector healthcare provider or at a private doctor who has an agreement with the local health insurance institution. You should receive treatment for a user fee that corresponds to the fee paid by local residents.