EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) - Stay safe abroad for FREE

I'm hoping my one lasts at least 5 years from whenever I get it, so hopefully at least til April 2023. By which time we will be millionaires, Rodney.

From the website if you apply and travelling before receiving the card.......

"How long does the EHIC take to arrive and what should I do if I am leaving the UK before it arrives? Your EHIC card will normally arrive within 10 working days if you apply by phone or using the official EHIC website. If you apply by post, your card will normally arrive 10 working days after we receive your application. We are unable to send your card to you any sooner than this.

If you live outside the UK, the arrival time may vary depending on the postal service of the country you live in.

If you are travelling before your card is due to arrive, you would need to take the Department for Work and Pensions Overseas Healthcare Team (DWP OHT) telephone number with you.

Click here to view the EHIC leaflet available on the Department of Health and Social Care website which includes useful information for when you are abroad.

If you require treatment when you are overseas and you do not have your card to show, you or someone responsible for you can call the DWP OHT to advise of your situation, you will need to provide them with your NHS number or National Insurance number. If applicable, they will email a Provisional Replacement Certificate (PRC) directly to health care provider you are at, to prove that you are covered by the scheme.

If there is no email address provided for the hospital, the Provisional Replacement Certificate (PRC) will be sent via fax.

DWP OHT telephone number: 0044 191 218 1999 (Option 1)"

u6645413 m ago

If you apply and travelling before receiving the card.......

Thanks

Also, as pointed out by Martin Lewis, you must have the card on you if you need emergency treatment (or someone with you knows where it is) otherwise you may not be covered.

And another "also"......... this does not replace travel insurance and some travel insurance may not cover you if you don't have an EHIC

u66454129th Mar

Also, as pointed out by Martin Lewis, you must have the card on you if you …Also, as pointed out by Martin Lewis, you must have the card on you if you need emergency treatment (or someone with you knows where it is) otherwise you may not be covered.And another "also"......... this does not replace travel insurance and some travel insurance may not cover you if you don't have an EHICRead lessRead more

Also there is a phone app!

More importantly it covers you for state run hospitals only.A huge number of hotels direct you to private hospitals for which this card is then useless.

hotukdeals.com/com…629


well we won't know till the final Brexit deal but at least till 2020 is the status quo is maintained.

Why does this keep coming on here as a deal?

It is very useful. Usually covers a large percentage of a bill from a state hospital. We had to use one last year for my little boys broken arm and it cost us something like €28 for a consultation. Pot on his arm and other associated treatment for a simple fracture in France.
I believe it covered 80% of the cost.
Also I would use a company like red pennant especially for touring with a caravan or camping abroad. Their service is superb.

rickj42 m ago

More importantly it covers you for state run hospitals only.A huge number …More importantly it covers you for state run hospitals only.A huge number of hotels direct you to private hospitals for which this card is then useless.Read lessRead more

Absolutely correct. However when I went to a GP Surgery in Ireland (which has a Private healthcare system) they snapped it up. I didnt get any sort of bill on return so im guessing it was all covered. In Europe there will e a tendency to direct you to private Hospitals from what ive read so be careful.

There is a list of other Countries with reciprocal healthcare arrangements (including Australia) here :- nhs.uk/NHS…spx

polarone00131 m ago

https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/33539629well we won't know …https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/33539629well we won't know till the final Brexit deal but at least till 2020 is the status quo is maintained.Read lessRead more

Good point, cheers.

rickj1 h, 53 m ago

More importantly it covers you for state run hospitals only.A huge number …More importantly it covers you for state run hospitals only.A huge number of hotels direct you to private hospitals for which this card is then useless.Read lessRead more

Correct, it basically entitles you to the same medical treatment as a resident would get in the country you're visiting, It's definitely NOT a substitute for travel insurance so if you were to die abroad or need repatriating back to the UK you would be screwed without travel insurance.

Anybody who doesn't know about this doesn't deserve to be a HUKD member.

My mum had a bad chest pain in Sidari Corfu, we went to the local medical place, ambulance drove straight past the state hospital to private one, half hour them checking we had valid private medical insurance then she was treated. They weren't interested in her EHIC.

deleted139113929th Mar

It's one of the best Freebies going - it's in Freebies not DealsCould save …It's one of the best Freebies going - it's in Freebies not DealsCould save you many £££ thousands and easy to get one, only takes 10 mins to get one each for the whole family.I renewed ours in February after an eek moment when I realised we had cut it a bit fine, but they do come back promptly, under 10 daysRead lessRead more

It came up in Deals for me.

Anyhow, it gets posted every other week. I'm getting bored of seeing it now.

the__cat1 h, 49 m ago

Why does this keep coming on here as a deal?

Free upvotes.

I did a quick poll at work, scary how many didn't have or know about the EHIC. Even scarier the amount who never take out travel insurance, my own year round policy excluding USA and Canada £36 from Asda, Jet2wanted over £100, never checked what Thomas Crook were asking.

can you use this for vaccinations?

It’s always been for free btw

hajabi47 m ago

It’s always been for free btw

Yep, my concern is that it won’t be post Brexit.

trannyboy3 h, 20 m ago

I did a quick poll at work, scary how many didn't have or know about the …I did a quick poll at work, scary how many didn't have or know about the EHIC. Even scarier the amount who never take out travel insurance, my own year round policy excluding USA and Canada £36 from Asda, Jet2wanted over £100, never checked what Thomas Crook were asking.Read lessRead more

Yeah, it’s really amazing. Going by comments on here from some a lot of people know about it due to being posted so frequently. Which on the one hand is a bad thing but on the other I would rather know this than the free PlayStation games this month.

Does the card really give you the free medical assistance or does just being a citizen of the UK entitle you? I cant find anywhere if you really "need" the card or it is just a simple way to prove your entitlement. I had an accident in Belgium and showed the card and they were not in the slightest bit interested they wanted my passport to take the details down and I signed a form. I dont think the card itself really does anything. I cant imagine its the card itself that give you the entitlement its the fact you are an EU citizen. I could be wrong and you should get one but I can imagine if you dont and have passport and proof of address you would be fine. Seems you can get one faxed over if you dont have one at the time.


If you are in a European Economic Area country or Switzerland and need medical attention you will have to apply for a Provisional Replacement Certificate (PRC). Someone else can also do this on your behalf. This will give you the same cover as an EHIC until you return home.

Simply phone the Overseas Healthcare Team on +44 (0)191 218 1999, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. If you need to request a PRC outside these hours, call as soon you can on the next working day.

When calling for a PRC, you'll need to provide your:

• National Insurance number
• name
• address
• date of birth
• NHS number, if possible
• the email address or fax number for the specific department of the hospital or service where you are receiving treatment

Schwifty2 h, 17 m ago

Yep, my concern is that it won’t be post Brexit.

It's in the interest of both the EU and the UK to maintain such reciprocal arrangements. There is no reason to suggest that this will be discontinued or if so, an equivalent arrangement made.

Relax.

blugardian2 h, 10 m ago

Will now hopefully break my arm while in EU!

Unfortunately, most EU countries charge the NHS for any medical treatment whereas we dont charge them for treating their citizens !

news.sky.com/sto…381

Don't forget to keep them actually on you. My daughter got run over outside Barcelona airport in August and was rushed to hospital, we had literally just arrived. I had our passports on me but couldn't find our EHICs so had to pay. Found them later on in the suitcase!

the__cat11 h, 15 m ago

Why does this keep coming on here as a deal?

Very true. Seems to put on less than every 2 months.

Jan 30th hotukdeals.com/dea…298
Dec 9th hotukdeals.com/dea…236

These regular postings also serve as a reminder to check the date of expiry for those people already with cards, not just the ones without or not knowing of their existance. Without looking I couldn't say when mine expires, same as my passport but I always check before I book a holiday. Not everyone lives on here 24/7 so it is more than likely original postings can be missed, better to know about something twice than not know about it at all.

trannyboy4 m ago

These regular postings also serve as a reminder to check the date of …These regular postings also serve as a reminder to check the date of expiry for those people already with cards, not just the ones without or not knowing of their existance. Without looking I couldn't say when mine expires, same as my passport but I always check before I book a holiday. Not everyone lives on here 24/7 so it is more than likely original postings can be missed, better to know about something twice than not know about it at all.Read lessRead more

Perhaps we should post car tax reminders for the entire population too

Another day, another comment removed for breaking rules I had no idea existed. May as well just go back to lurking!

the__cat2 h, 8 m ago

Perhaps we should post car tax reminders for the entire population too …Perhaps we should post car tax reminders for the entire population too Read lessRead more

Terrible analogy

chocci49 m ago

Terrible analogy

No it's not. Thanks for your contribution though.

Thanks op. This deal will no doubt help some unlike the one off in store only supermarket deals that plague this site

itchyone10 h, 3 m ago

It's in the interest of both the EU and the UK to maintain such reciprocal …It's in the interest of both the EU and the UK to maintain such reciprocal arrangements. There is no reason to suggest that this will be discontinued or if so, an equivalent arrangement made.Relax.Read lessRead more

Of course, normally common sense prevails, thankfully. Occasionally it is the most prudent thing to exercise your rights whilst you have them, I hate kicking myself for complacency!

the__cat1 h, 12 m ago

No it's not. Thanks for your contribution though.

Perhaps you should sign up for the free reminders you can get for road tax. This service has no free reminder although perhaps if you have the app there is a notification about it, I wouldn't know.

dave_stuf6710 h, 14 m ago

Does the card really give you the free medical assistance or does just …Does the card really give you the free medical assistance or does just being a citizen of the UK entitle you?Read lessRead more

Incidentally it is hard to prove you are a citizen of the U.K for a lot of people. For instance, I believe people born in Northern Ireland are entitled to a Republic of Ireland passport and therefore a lot of people have that and not the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland passport (the one in the background of the pic in the thread header). Therefore, proving you are a British citizen to someone in Belgium (especially when you're in pain!) could be problematic - so it's a really good point that you've made about the card.

Also I think the card entitles you to the health provisions under the terms imposed on you in your home country, which for us is great obviously but I expect there are various systems around Europe.

Anyway your experience is totally valid and worth mentioning to people.

Holdol6 h, 57 m ago

Don't forget to keep them actually on you. My daughter got run over …Don't forget to keep them actually on you. My daughter got run over outside Barcelona airport in August and was rushed to hospital, we had literally just arrived. I had our passports on me but couldn't find our EHICs so had to pay. Found them later on in the suitcase!Read lessRead more

Oh my, that's awful, I'm sorry to hear it. Thanks for sharing your story. I planned on taping it inside my passport and now I'm doubly sure that's what I'll do.

itchyone10 h, 35 m ago

It's in the interest of both the EU and the UK to maintain such reciprocal …It's in the interest of both the EU and the UK to maintain such reciprocal arrangements. There is no reason to suggest that this will be discontinued or if so, an equivalent arrangement made.Relax.Read lessRead more

Schwifty12 h, 53 m ago

Yep, my concern is that it won’t be post Brexit.

The UK government will make sure to continue to tax you for this service, to keep this, " I treat yours, you treat ours".

Schwifty44 m ago

Perhaps you should sign up for the free reminders you can get for road …Perhaps you should sign up for the free reminders you can get for road tax. This service has no free reminder although perhaps if you have the app there is a notification about it, I wouldn't know. Read lessRead more

Perhaps you could just set a reminder in your diary to check the validity of your card... Or is it everyone else's responsibility to remind you?

xenophon7 h, 17 m ago

Very true. Seems to put on less than every 2 months. Jan 30th …Very true. Seems to put on less than every 2 months. Jan 30th https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/get-a-free-european-health-insurance-card-ehic-2886298Dec 9th https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/free-european-health-insurance-card-ehic-free-delivery-2851236Read lessRead more

Cheers for sharing, those other threads have lots of good information in them if anyone wants to browse! Really glad you pointed them out, good job Xenophon.

Main post on December one mentions what's covered and what's not covered

hotukdeals.com/dea…236

Main post in January one covers how to apply

hotukdeals.com/dea…298

Good job by those members sharing that extra info which I didn't think to share here because the information is readily available through the NHS website too - but if folk are used to reading and commenting here then perhaps they'd prefer that and the comments in those threads.