Health insurance is compulsory for students in Germany. You will therefore need to provide proof of health insurance cover before you enroll at htw saar.

The public health insurances (“Gesetzliche Krankenkassen”) are obliged to offer health insurance to students (up to age 30) at a discounted rate. This rate is fixed by law, and costs are the same irrespective of which public health insurance you chose. Equally, the scope of the coverage is fixed by law, and for 90% identical between the public health insurances. There are more than one hundred different public health insurance providers in Germany. You are free to choose any public health insurance that offers health insurance to international students in the state of Saarland. 

You can already get in contact with a health insurance provider before arriving in Germany. Like that, your documents will be ready when you arrive in Germany. 

Please also check with the Germany embassy in your home country if you already need health insurance coverage to apply for your visa. Until you have coverage from your public health insurance provider in Germany, you can sign a temporary travel insurance contract to close the gap.

You are from an EU member state and already have statutory health insurance?

If you are from an EU member state and already have statutory health insurance, you can use your EHIC card or a substitute certificate for enrollment.

If you are from a country with which the Federal Republic of Germany has a social security agreement, you have to bring a respective health insurance certificate from your home country.

In both cases, you are required to present the appropriate card or certificate from your health insurance provider at home to the office of a German public health insurance provider. There, you will be issued a certificate of validity for your health insurance, which you then have to hand in upon enrollment at htw saar.

You are from a country outside the EU?

If you are from a country outside the EU, you need to purchase your health insurance cover from a health insurance provider in Germany. This can either be a public health insurance (“Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung” – GKV) or a German private health insurance “Private Krankenversicherung” – PKV). 

Here is a sample (not a recommendation) of a few of the larger German health insurance providers and the links to their English websites.

 AOK 

Barmer GEK

DAK

IKK Südwest

Techniker Krankenkasse