What´s the problem?
Certainly there are a lot of cheap international travel health insurance plans you can take out. But often the benefits are limited and so is the duration and they do not provide comprehensive care, so what to do?
6 Tipps for foreigners from our expert Mirja: How to Get comprehensive health insurance in Germany
Tipp 1: Get a job!
Get a real employment, a day-job, not a Minijob, okay? This is the smartest way to be automatically covered by the public (statutory) health insurance. Depending on your level of income you might even have the choice between public and private health insurance. So, try to get a job! As an employee. Thats the best thing overall. But not always such easy, we know! By the way: Agencies like Employland help skilled employees to get into contact with potential employers. Just take a stab at it!
Tipp 2: Marry someone with a job!
This is a tipp for those of you who have only little or no income. When you marry an employee, who is member of the public health insurance in Germany, you will be automatically covered by your husband´s or wife´s insurance. Great!
Tipp 3: Register as a student!
Students in their twenties are mandatory members in the public health insurance. It costs roughly 60 € per months, very cheap! Attending a language course is not sufficient. Being a proper
student at university (UNI) or college of higher education (FH) is necessary.
Tipp 4: Earn your money as an artist!
Since 1983 artists and writers have been included in the statutory health insurance scheme, so called „Künstlersozialkasse“ – even if they work self employed. The procedure to apply for
membership there is complicated and complex, but the result is great: Members only need to pay half of the common health insurance premium. Phantastic!
Tipp 5: Join the statutory health insurance as a voluntary member
Nothing from the above mentioned scenarios matches your situation? Self employed people or people without a job can pay voluntary contributions to the statutory health insurance scheme under special circumstances, when you apply for it quickly within two months after you registered address in Germany. Do don´t wait too long to find out.
Tipp 6: Apply for Private comprehensive health insurance
If you are young, healthy and solvent and not mandatory insured in the statutory health insurance scheme you can take out a private health plan. The premiums are based on the desired range of benefits, your age, health record and how much you’re prepared to pay out of your own pocket.