A UK GHIC or UK EHIC gives you access to medically necessary state-provided healthcare in the country you’re visiting.
Medically necessary healthcare means healthcare that cannot reasonably wait until you come back to the UK. Whether treatment is necessary is decided by the healthcare provider in the country you're visiting.
Medically necessary healthcare includes things like:
- emergency treatment
- treatment for a long-term or pre-existing medical condition
- routine medical care for pre-existing conditions that need monitoring
- routine maternity care, if you're not going abroad to give birth
- oxygen therapy and kidney dialysis
You'll need to pre-arrange some treatments with the relevant healthcare provider in the country you're visiting, such as, kidney dialysis or chemotherapy.
Read more information about which countries are covered.
Read more information about how to access medical treatment on GOV.UK.
Not all state healthcare is free, and you may have to pay statutory healthcare charges that a resident of that country would pay, such as prescription costs. You cannot have these charges refunded.
A UK GHIC or UK EHIC does not cover the cost of transporting somebody back to the UK due to illness, injury, or death.
An A1 or S1 form is needed if you do any work in another member state.