When you apply for a visa to enter the Schengen Area, you must purchase Schengen visa insurance. Learn about insurance types, requirements, and how to get travel insurance for being granted a Schengen visa.
When applying for a Schengen visa at the embassy or consulate, you need to present, among other things, travel health insurance valid for the entire Schengen Area. It must be valid for your entire stay and have a minimum coverage of € 30,000.
All Schengen states follow the same visa code when issuing visas for transit or short stays in the Schengen area of no more than 90 days in a period of 180 days.
The low-cost, basic Schengen travel insurance will cost you between € 1 and € 7 per travel day, depending on your length of stay and age. However, you can extend your Schengen visa insurance to include, e. g., travel accident insurance, travel liability insurance, travel emergency insurance, and travel luggage insurance.
The basic coverage of Schengen travel insurance usually includes assistance with medical emergencies like accidents or sickness and repatriation of remains. Extended insurances often include options like the return of a minor or travel companion, trip cancellation or extension, baggage insurance, and other benefits, depending on the insurer.
Always take a look at the insurance details before purchasing your Schengen visa insurance. There may be extra requirements for applicants with preexisting conditions (e.g., asthma, diabetes), travelers who want to perform high-risk sports (e.g., skiing, scuba diving), or visitors of high-risk countries.
Finding the cheapest travel visa insurance that fits your needs requires some online research. Compare products and companies before choosing your Schengen insurance. Just keep in mind that, as a rule, your Schengen travel visa insurance must cover you for at least € 30,000.
When adding extra services (and thus, costs) to your insurance, keep an eye on:
In addition to covering at least € 30,000, your Schengen travel insurance must:
When applying for your Schengen visa, you must present a certificate proving you have obtained Schengen travel insurance.
Your Schengen visa covers entry to all Schengen states. Therefore, you need travel insurance for all countries that belong to the Schengen Area. These are:
| Schengen visa | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Belgium | Czech Republic | Denmark |
| Estonia | Finland | France | Germany |
| Greece | Hungary | Iceland | Italy |
| Latvia | Liechtenstein | Lithuania | Luxembourg |
| Malta | Netherlands | Norway | Poland |
| Portugal | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain |
| Sweden | Switzerland | ||
When purchasing your Schengen travel insurance, you can enter your travel duration (e.g., date of entry and exit). This way, you determine the validity period for your Schengen insurance and also keep the costs as low as possible.
Travelers exempt from the visa requirement do not need extra Schengen travel insurance when entering the Schengen Area. However, we recommend that every traveler within the EU and Schengen countries always has sufficient international health insurance.
Travelers from around 60 non-EU and non-Schengen countries will have to apply for ETIAS to travel to EU or Schengen countries from 2025 on.
To get your Schengen visa insurance online, enter your date of birth, travel period, and desired insurance extras. After an online payment, you will receive your insurance certificate to present to your embassy or consulate when applying for your Schengen visa.
Do you have more questions about travel insurance for Schengen visas? Then you will find what you’re looking for in our Schengen insurance FAQ:
Every Schengen visa applicant is required to present Schengen travel insurance upon application. If you are neither an EU nor Schengen country citizen nor have a passport from one of the visa-waiver countries, you will have to apply for a Schengen visa to travel to the Schengen Area. This applies to the citizens of the following countries:
Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic), Congo (Republic of Congo), Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia & Zimbabwe
Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China (PR)1, Hong Kong1, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea (Democratic People's Republic, North Korea), Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam & Yemen
Fiji, Nauru, Papua New Guinea & Vanuatu2
Belarus, Kosovo, Russian Federation & Turkey
Belize, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti & Jamaica
Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana & Suriname
1Holders of SAR passports (Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Region passports) are exempt from the visa requirement.
2Applies to holders of ordinary passports issued as of 25.05.2015. The listed states may change without prior notice from the European Union.
If you want to travel to the Schengen Area using a Schengen visa, Schengen travel insurance is a must. Only visa-waived travelers who are allowed to enter the Schengen Area only with their passports (or in the future, after an ETIAS application), can travel without Schengen visa insurance.
Schengen travel insurance is mandatory for all types of Schengen visas, regardless of the reason for travel. Thus, you will need Schengen visa insurance also for a business trip.