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Health insurance is one of the most widely debated topics I’ve seen when researching requirements for the German Freelancer Visa. Most posts say, and rightly so, that each individual needs to find a plan that works for them and also meets the requirements. In this post, I will outline what I got and why, but make sure you do your own due diligence. Requirements or plans may change and the last thing I want is my post misdirecting you, so please please do more research beyond this.
Health Insurance Requirements
According to the visa requirements website:
Proof of a secure livelihood must also include sufficient health insurance. Those with statutory health insurance are sufficiently insured. Those with private health insurance must consider the type and extent of their health insurance. For more information, please read the leaflet “Information on adequate health insurance”.
What I Got
Health insurance was definitely the category I was most paranoid about. Because of this, I decided to rely on a friend’s previous experience rather than figure this out from scratch. Both he and I ended up with Care Concept’s Economy Plan. Apart from my friend’s recommendation, the part that made me feel comfortable proceeding with this option was (in the screenshot here ->) under benefits, it states “Complies with all the requirements for a Schengen visa.” It would have been better if it specifically called out the “German Freelancer Visa” but I’ll take it.
On top of that, Care Concept is a German company. From all the other posts I read about this topic, I think all plans provided by German health insurance companies are required to meet their basic requirements. Don’t quote me, but again, it made me feel better about this option.
The reason I started with this plan instead of a more comprehensive one is that you can buy it for as little as one day of coverage. Going with my theme of “I was paranoid I wouldn’t get the visa” I decided that purchasing only 90 days of coverage up front minimized the risk of paying for a long-term plan I couldn’t use (if I didn’t get the visa and had to leave Germany), but also getting enough coverage to get the visa itself. I paid for the 90-days all at once (rather than monthly) in case the 1 EUR/day raised some red flags.
Update: Quite some time has passed since I got my freelancer visa, which has given me the opportunity to meet lots of people with similar experiences. One team I met was Popsure. With their Expat health insurance, their team assured me that the coverage is good for your first visa appointment and it meets the legal requirements for health insurance coverage in Germany. However, this is meant to be temporary coverage for your first year. After, that it’s expected you would move to private or public insurance after the first year. I know the stress of “does this really count?” was the biggest one I experienced, so I thought hearing that confirmation directly from the company might lessen your stress!
Once my 90-days were up, I originally planned to “upgrade” to Concept Care’s Care Expatriate Comfort or Premium plan. However, after receiving feedback from you guys (thanks!!!) I realized this was not a good long term option, both for filling health insurance requirements and actual health care. Instead, I decided to go with Ottonova’s Expat coverage. What I’ve loved about Ottonova is that as a non-German speaker, their concierge service has been incredibly helpful in scheduling the appointments for me, and more importantly making sure they are with English speaking doctors. It’s definitely more expensive than something like CareConcept (200-300 EUR/month from my experience), but since I’m used to American prices, this still feels like a great deal, especially factoring in the convenience and peace of mind that comes with the concierge.
Again, do your own research! You need a plan that works for you and your health. I am not a health professional nor a health insurance broker. Back in the US, I basically made my mom pick plans for me. I haven’t even taken advantage of any benefits yet. All I can say is this is what I got and so far, I’m happy.
The Interview
At the interview, along with all my other documents, they asked to see documentation of my health insurance. I printed pretty much everything I received from Care Concept, but handed over the forms titled “Behandlungsschein fur Kunden der Care Concept AG zur Vorlage beim Arzt/Krankehnhaus” and “Angaben zur Versicherungssteuer” (the German versions of course, but you’ll get them in English too). After all the back and forth/drama with my Letters of Intent, health insurance mostly flew under the radar. After processing all my forms and returning back to the interview room, the only thing my interviewer mentioned when it came to health insurance was by handing me a copy of the leaflet and stating that my health insurance when I return to renew my visa (in 2 years) needs to meet all requirements. I’m not sure if this was a dig at the insurance I have, a reference to the fact that I only have 90 days of insurance right now, or just a “make sure you keep good health insurance the whole time” type warning. Either way, I walked out of there visa in hand 🙂
What Did You Get?
Did you find another option that worked for you? Comment below or join our Facebook Group so we can help those stressing out over this moving forward!
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