Blue European health insurance card (2024)

If you need medical treatment during travels in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein (EEA), Switzerland or the United Kingdom you will have to use the Blue European health insurance card.

The blue European health insurance card is a free card that gives you access to medically necessary, state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in any of the 27 EU countries, EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The card is valid for 5 years. The validity can however be shorter, if you are planning on using the card for purposes other than holiday or living abroad. It is important that your card is valid for the entire period abroad.

The blue health insurance card does not give you access to the public health care in countries that are not mentioned above. If you wish to have a health insurance, while staying in in one of these countries, then you should take out a travel insurance with your private insurance provider.

You are required to have the European health insurance card when traveling within the EU, EEA (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), Switzerland or the United Kingdom.

The card is required when you:

• are going on holiday for up to a year.
• are doing an internship or going to work abroad as an au-pair.
• are studying at a university or college.
• are working temporarily abroad for a Danish employer and have an approved A1 form. which allows you to be covered by the Danish social security.

• Danish Patient Safety Authority

The blue European health insurance card covers essential doctor and hospital treatment and medicine during your stay in an EU country, EEA (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), Switzerland or the United Kingdom. It gives you access to same benefits and conditions as the citizens in the country, in which you are staying. That means you may have to pay for a part of the treatment yourself, if that applies to people insured there.

The card only covers, if the clinician (dentist, doctor or hospital) is affiliated with the national health service of the country, in which you are staying.

The blue European health insurance card does not cover treatments in private clinics and/or hospitals, nor does it cover expenses for repatriation. In some countries the card does not cover all expenses related to patient transport services. If you want insurance coverage for entire patient transport in connection with illness or death, you will have to take on a private travel insurance. Other regulations are valid for repatriation from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

The card will not cover your medical treatment if you are traveling abroad specifically to have medical treatment.

You can obtain the blue European health insurance card if you live in Denmark, are a citizen of an EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland or the United Kingdom and you are covered by national health insurance in Denmark.

In special cases, you may be entitled to the blue European health insurance card if you:

• live abroad and work in Denmark or
• are posted by a Danish employer to work in another country.

In addition, you may be entitled to the blue European health insurance card if you are a stateless person, a recognized refugee or a family member of a person covered by national health insurance in Denmark. A family member is your spouse or common-law partner and your children under 18 years of age. However, parents of children who are citizens of an EU/EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom are not entitled to the Blue European health insurance card.

If you are covered by the Danish health insurance, you can apply for the card for free online.

• Order the blue European health insurance card – with MitID

If you, in the case of special circ*mstances, are not able to apply for the blue card online, you can contact Udbetaling Danmark by phone +45 70 12 80 81.

Your blue European health insurance card is valid up to 5 years. You can renew it up to 6 months before the expiry date.

When you apply for the card you will automatically receive a temporary certificate, if you live in Denmark and you need the card for your holiday, study visit (under one year) or a family visit.

Usually it takes 2 to 3 weeks for Udbetaling Danmark to process your application and send you the card.

Before you travel please remember to make sure that your card is valid during your entire stay in the country you are visiting.

• Renew the blue European health insurance card (in Danish)

If you are going to study, work or live in an EU/EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom, in some cases, you can be entitled to a Blue European health insurance card issued in Denmark.

This might be a case, if you are:

• Traveling for short-term study abroad (up to a year)
• Living abroad and working in Denmark or
• Posted to work abroad by a Danish employer.

The card will, however, be valid less than 5 years.

In some cases, Udbetaling Danmark will need more information to be able to assess whether you are entitled to receive the card and will contact you, when they receive your application.

You can apply digitally by going to:

• Apply for the blue European health insurance card (in Danish)

If you are not a citizen in Denmark, EU, EEA, Switzerland or the United Kingdom, then you will not always be entitled to the blue European health insurance card, even though you live in Denmark and are entitled to receive Danish health benefits.

You might still need a private travel insurance when you travel to other EU/EEA countries, Switzerland included.

If you are stateless, convention refugee or a family member to a person, who is socially secured in Denmark, you might be entitled to the blue European health insurance card.

As a citizen from outside of EU/EEA, Switzerland or the United Kingdom who lives in Denmark, you are covered by a special health insurance rule, when you stay in other Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland). In these countries, you can receive necessary healthcare in same extent as a citizen who has a blue European health insurance card.

• Apply for the blue European health insurance card (in Danish)

If you work in Denmark, but live in another country, you will, as a rule, be entitled to Danish health insurance. You can apply for a special health insurance card, which gives you the right to get healthcare in Denmark.

• Apply for the special health insurance card (in Danish)

If you are going on a holiday to an EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom that is not Denmark or your residence country, you must apply for the blue European health insurance card.

• Apply for the blue European health insurance card (in Danish)

If you are not able to use the self-service portals above, please contact Udbetaling Danmark on +45 70 12 80 81.

• Apply for the blue European health insurance card as a pensioner living abroad

When you apply for the blue European health insurance card, you have a duty to let Udbetaling Danmark know about any changes. This means that you must immediately notify Udbetaling Danmark if the information you’ve already given change. It can be, if for example:

• you move to another country
• start working in another country
• change your name or CPR number.

If you move to a new address in the same country, you can still use your blue European health insurance card, as your address is not stated on the card. This means that you do not have to notify Udbetaling Danmark about moving, unless it is to another country.

You can send the information to Udbetaling Danmark by using Digital Post if you have MitID.

• Send Digital Post to 'International sygesikring'

If you do not have MitID please send the information by post to Udbetaling Danmark, Kongens Vænge 8, 3400 Hillerød.

• Retssikkerhedslovens §§ 10, 11, stk. 1, 11a, stk. 1-2 og 4-5, § 11b (in Danish)
• Udbetaling Danmark-lovens § 5-8, § 12h og 13 (in Danish)
• Persondatalovens kapitel 9 og 10 (in Danish – new window)
• EF-forordning 883/2004, artikel 76, stk. 4 (PDF – in Danish)
• Bekendtgørelse om valgfri indplacering i sikringsgrupper mv., nr. 1067 af 14. november 2012, § 1 og § 11 stk. 2 (in Danish)

When you contact Udbetaling Danmark, the administration is obliged as a public authority to register and save your personal data.

This Policy for protection of personal data provides information on how Udbetaling Danmark handles your personal data and your rights in relation to the same.

• Read how Udbetaling Danmark processes your personal data