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Health Insurance

All students in Germany need to have health insurance. You must submit proof of health insurance coverage  when you are applying for visa and also when you extend your residence permit.

For students from the EU as well as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland, Israel, Lichtenstein, Morocco, Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, Switzerland, Serbia, Tunisia and Turkey, the insurance cover of their home country usually also applies in Germany. Have the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) issued, which you can obtain free of charge from your health insurance company in your home country. Then have a statutory health insurance company in Germany confirm in writing that you are exempt from compulsory insurance in Germany. Attach this confirmation to your enrollment documents.

A private health insurance can sometimes also be recognized in Germany. Please clarify this with your health insurance company in your home country. If your private insurance is recognized in Germany, you will need a confirmation from a statutory health insurance company stating that you are exempt from compulsory insurance in the statutory health insurance system in order to enroll.


If your insurance is not recognized in Germany, you must take out German health insurance. Most students in Germany are insured through a statutory health insurance. These often have cheaper rates for students than the private health insurances. The contributions are around 110 € per month. This amount is valid until the 14th semester or until the age of 30. After that, the statutory insurance can be continued with a higher contribution. If you are already older than 29 when you start your studies, you can only take out private insurance. It is not possible to change from private to statutory health insurance for the entire duration of your studies.

For more information on health insurance for international students, please visit the website of Krankenkassen Zentralle.

There is a wide range of statutory health insurance companies with which you can take out insurance. More information about the different health insurance companies can be found here.


The Studierendenwerk Düsseldorf offers private insurance for:

  • Participants of a language course for the preparation of studies or of a preparatory course for studies
  • Enrolled doctoral students
  • Interns and trainees

Further information can be found on the website of the Studierendenwerk Düsseldorf.

Studierendenwerk Düsseldorf
Culture/International
Kamila Chlebnikow

Gebäude 21.12
Tel. 0211 81-15083


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