Tourists in the EU/EEA and Switzerland
When you travel as a tourist in the EU/EEA and Switzerland, you are entitled to necessary medical assistance.
Illustration: Morten Rakke / Helfo
The European Health Insurance Card is still valid
The European Health Insurance Card officially documents that you are entitled to medically necessary healthcare in another EEA country under the same conditions as that country's own nationals. This includes the corona virus situation, but please note that the situation might have affected the public health system in some of these countries. Helfo kindly reminds you that you should have travel insurance in addition to your European Health Insurance Card.
1
Your rights
When you travel as a tourist in the EU/EEA and Switzerland, you are entitled to necessary medical assistance at the same level as the residents of the country in which you are holidaying.
You document this by presenting your European Health Insurance Card. You have to be a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme and in addition a citizen of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland.
Family members who do not have EU/EEA citizenship may be entitled to a European Health Insurance Card. In addition, stateless persons and persons with refugee status may also be entitled to one. Find out more about the European Health Insurance Card here.
If you are not entitled to a European Health Insurance Card because you are a citizen of a non-EU/EEA country, you will still be entitled to public health services when traveling in another Nordic country, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Hungary or Austria. If you have had healthcare expenses in other EU/EEA countries, you can apply for a refund. Read more about this in step 4.
If you are a tourist in the Nordic Region, you do not need, as a matter of course, to present a European Health Insurance Card in order to be entitled to coverage for healthcare services. Be aware that you may still be asked to present the card.
Are you going on holiday outside the EU/EEA? Read about your rights.
Eksempel
Anja is a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme and is a Norwegian citizen. This entitles her to necessary medical assistance at the same level as the citizens of the country she will be holidaying in.
2
Ordering a European Health Insurance Card
You have to hold a European Health Insurance Card as a proof of your right to health care services.
The European Health Insurance Card is issued by Helfo. Each family member must have their own European Health Insurance Card.
When you have ordered the European Health Insurance Card, it will be sent to the address you are registered as living at in the Norwegian National Registry.
Eksempel
Anja is on holiday in Portugal. She has taken her European Health Insurance Card in case she needs medical assistance during her stay.
3
What can you be covered for?
A European Health Insurance Card only grants you the right to necessary medical treatment from a medical practitioner affiliated with the public health care system in the country in which you are staying.
What is regarded as "necessary" depends on the medical necessity of the treatment you receive. You are not required to cancel your stay abroad in order to travel back home for treatment. This means that you will be entitled to more comprehensive treatment if the stay was intended to be over an extended period.
The European Health Insurance Card entitles you to medical treatment on the same conditions as the residents of the country in which you are staying. This means that if there is a user fee for a type of treatment, you will have to pay the user fee. Be aware that in some countries the user fee can be much higher than in Norway and in the event of, for example, hospital admission, this could therefore be extremely expensive for you.
To be on the safe side, you should take out travel insurance before you travel on holiday. The return trip home will not, for example, be covered by the European Health Insurance Card. Some countries will also not cover all types of ambulance transport.
The European Health Insurance Card does not entitle you to coverage of expenses if you travel with the intention of receiving medical treatment.
If you do not have your European Health Insurance Card with you and need to seek treatment, you can contact Veiledning helsenorge.no to be issued with a temporary European Health Insurance Card. The number is: +47 23 32 70 00.
If you need to know more about giving birth, dialysis og oxygen during a temporary stay, you can read more about it om the following pages:
- Childbirth in the EU/EEA and Switzerland
- Dialysis abroad (in Norwegian)
- Oxygen treatment abroad (in Norwegian)
Eksempel
Anja gets an infection in her foot during her holiday. She visits a public hospital in Lisbon. She presents her European Health Insurance Card and receives treatment. Anja pays the same user fee as Portuguese citizens.
Veiledning helsenorge.no
If you have any questions, please call Veiledning helsenorge.no (user service): +47 23 32 70 00
4
If the European Health Insurance Card is not accepted
If you discover that the treatment provider does not recognise or accept your European Health Insurance Card, you will have to pay up-front for any consultation/treatment and take care to obtain proof of payment (bills, receipts) for the medical care provided.
This also applies if you have forgotten to use your European Health Insurance Card.
When you return home, you can apply for reimbursement from Helfo. Complete and send in
Send the form to: Helfo, Postboks 2415, 3104 Tønsberg. Applications must be submitted within six months of each individual treatment date.
Eksempel
Anja's infection requires multiple treatments. She is referred to another hospital in Lisbon. Here they do not accept the European Health Insurance Card. Anja must therefore pay for the treatment herself. She makes sure she gets a copy of the referral and the summary patient care record in English, in addition to an original itemised bill and an original receipt. When Anja returns to Norway, she applies for reimbursement from Helfo. She makes sure to submit the application within six months after the first treatment.
Veiledning helsenorge.no
If you have any questions, please call Veiledning helsenorge.no (user service): +47 23 32 70 00