Travel insurance
Travel insurance for Germany
Short-trip cover for visits to Germany: emergency medical, trip-cancellation, luggage, the usual travel-insurance stack. Designed for weeks-not-years stays.
Germany has no dedicated digital nomad visa, but its freelance "Freiberufler" residence permit makes Berlin a serious long-stay base for self-employed remote workers. The catch that trips people up is insurance: for the permit, foreign travel or "nomad" cover is not accepted, and you need German statutory or comparable private health insurance. Tourist visits from the US, UK, Canada and Australia stay visa-free for 90 days.
What travel insurance covers in Germany
Travel insurance is built for short trips (under 3 months), vacations, weekend trips, gig travel. The lines below are the base. Exact terms are carrier-specific, so always check the policy document for the Germany situation you care about.
What you get
- Emergency medical and dental
- Trip cancellation and interruption
- Lost or delayed baggage
- Travel-document theft
- Adventure-sport add-ons (some plans)
What it won't do
- Routine care, chronic-condition management
- Maternity, mental-health
- Trips longer than the policy's max (often 90 days)
Typical local costs in Germany
What insurance protects you from. Costs vary by region inside Germanyand between public and private facilities; these are the numbers we've seen most often in 2026.
| Private or self-pay GP consultation | €40 to €70 |
|---|---|
| Specialist consultation (self-pay) | €80 to €150+ |
| Ambulance call-out | roughly €300 to €600 |
| Private health insurance (PKV) for a freelancer | €230 to €900 per month depending on age and tariff |
| ETIAS travel authorisation (from late 2026) | €20, valid up to 3 years |
These are indicative figures in euros and move with your age, health, the specific clinic, and whether you walk in as a cash patient or bill through an insurer. PKV is the number to think hardest about: premiums look cheap when you're young and climb sharply with age, and after 55 switching back to public insurance is close to impossible. Treat the choice between GKV and PKV as a long-term decision, not a price comparison for this year.
Healthcare in Germany: what you're dealing with
Germany runs one of the strongest healthcare systems in Europe, built on two tracks: statutory public insurance (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung, GKV) and private insurance (private Krankenversicherung, PKV). Most residents are in GKV, where contributions are income-based and treatment is almost entirely covered. Self-employed people and freelancers usually have a choice between the two, and many nomads end up in PKV because GKV's voluntary contributions for the self-employed can be steep. Whichever you hold, the standard of care is high and hospitals are well equipped. What you don't get on the public side is much choice of doctor or a private room; PKV buys faster specialist access and better amenities.
Berlin has the highest concentration of English-speaking doctors in the country, clustered around Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Charlottenburg and Schöneberg, so day-to-day care rarely gets lost in translation. For serious cases, the Charité in Berlin is Germany's top-ranked hospital and runs a dedicated international patient service; major university hospitals in Munich, Heidelberg, Frankfurt and Hamburg also have English-capable staff and international departments. The emergency number is 112 for ambulance and fire; police is 110; and the non-emergency medical on-call service (for when you need a doctor after hours but it isn't life-threatening) is 116 117. Pharmacies (Apotheken) are everywhere, pharmacists are clinically trained, and an on-call rota keeps one open overnight in every area.
What to watch out for in Germany
- Your travel policy won't pass for the visa. The Ausländerbehörde wants German statutory or comparable private cover, and explicitly says foreign insurance is not enough; budget for real German health insurance from day one.
- PKV is a one-way door. Private premiums rise steeply with age and you generally cannot move back to public insurance after 55, so choose deliberately.
- Processing is slow. Freelance permit decisions can take anywhere from about 8 weeks to 7 months, so apply early and keep valid insurance running the whole time.
- The over-45 rule changed in mid-2025. Older applicants now face pension or asset thresholds that didn't exist before; check the current Berlin requirements rather than old guides.
- Bureaucracy is in German and unforgiving. Appointments, forms and the registration (Anmeldung) you need before almost anything else are notoriously hard to get; build in time and consider professional help.
- Watch the 90/180 Schengen clock. Days spent elsewhere in Schengen count too, and overstaying while a permit is pending can derail your application.
FAQ
Germany doesn't usually require visitors to carry travel insurance for short stays, but the moment something goes wrong it's cheaper to have it than to buy at the hospital. Check the visa-class requirements for your specific situation.
Premiums vary by age, plan and deductible far more than by country; the underwriting risk is priced, not the postal code. Use the "Typical local costs" table above to gauge what your insurance protects you from, then run a real quote to see your own number.
It depends on your situation: how long you're staying, your visa class, your age and health, and whether you want cashless treatment or are fine with reimbursement. Rather than push one plan, we match you against the options that actually fit a stay in Germany: answer a few honest questions and see only what's relevant.
No. There is no dedicated nomad visa. Self-employed remote workers use the freelance residence permit (Freiberufler), issued for up to three years and renewable, which requires proof that your work supports you and that you hold German health insurance.
Not reliably. The immigration office states that foreign health insurance is not sufficient; you need German statutory (GKV) or comparable private (PKV) cover. Expat policies are occasionally accepted for a first application but usually rejected on renewal.
No, if you hold a US, UK, Canadian or Australian passport you can stay visa-free for 90 days in any 180. From late 2026 you'll also need an ETIAS authorisation, a quick online step that costs about €20.
There's no official fixed figure. You must show your freelancing is viable and self-supporting. Berlin's practical benchmark is net income above your rent plus health insurance plus €563 a month, with extra requirements for applicants over 45.
Yes on both counts. The system is high quality, and Berlin has the largest pool of English-speaking doctors, with international patient services at the Charité and other major university hospitals.
Dial 112 for ambulance or fire and 110 for police. For non-life-threatening medical help after hours, call the on-call service on 116 117.
Other insurance for Germany
Different stages of nomad life need different cover. Here's the full set we've mapped for Germany.
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