Visa-ready plans from $721 per adult, billed annually · see your exact price by age.
The rule in writing
“For Germany’s national visa, health insurance must include the benefits statutory-insured persons are entitled to under §11(1–3) SGB V, and the contract must be open-ended — no expiry or cancellation clauses tied to age, employment, or residence status. Travel insurance is insufficient.”
Official source: German Federal Foreign Office — health insurance in the national visa procedure — Last verified:
Germany's insurance rule, and why it's the hardest we cover
Germany's national visa insurance rule is the strictest of the destinations we work in. The Federal Foreign Office requires cover that matches §11(1-3) SGB V, the statutory benefits benchmark, inside an open-ended contract that cannot expire or be cancelled because of your age, your job, or your residence status. Travel insurance never satisfies this. A deductible is tolerated only up to about €300 a year, and anything higher fails the check.
Germany runs two parallel systems: GKV, the statutory scheme that is the real benchmark, and PKV, the private system. Most new arrivals cannot enrol in GKV straight away, since it usually needs a German address and an income history you do not have on day one. That is why an interim private policy matters, and why most residents later move into GKV or an approved German PKV plan once they are established. We walk through that shift in full at public versus private cover in Germany.
How we arrange Germany cover, and where it stops
We work with one insurer across all eight destinations we cover, offered across five tiers: Essential, Major Medical, Standard, Comprehensive and Fully Comprehensive, with annual limits between US$1,000,000 and US$2,000,000. Cover starts the same day with no medical exam, every plan carries a 14-day cooling-off period, and children aged 0 to 17 are charged one flat rate per plan. New applicants are accepted up to age 70, and up to 80 on the Essential tier.
We will not claim these plans meet §11 equivalence outright. A person verifies whether your case fits our partner's arrangement, confirmed July 2026, before you buy, and if a German incoming-style product suits your case better, we say so rather than force a fit. Pre-existing conditions are excluded and treatment in the United States is not covered on any tier, so we check those gaps against your situation directly rather than let a form assume them away.
Where every answer lives
If you are applying on Germany's freelance visa, the equivalence catch-22 is explained at freelance visa insurance, with the rule itself unpacked in full at the Germany freelance visa insurance guide.
For real numbers, see what Germany cover actually costs, or run your own figures on the pricing calculator. For how the statutory and private systems fit together, read public versus private in Germany. Nationality-specific detail lives at health insurance for Americans in Germany and health insurance for UK citizens in Germany. When you are ready, get a quote, run your current policy through the policy check, or work from the checklist.
Honest limits: Cover is worldwide but excludes treatment in the United States. Pre-existing conditions are excluded, including conditions you did not know about. We disclose this before you request a quote. Consulates keep discretion, and requirements can change. We show the published rule and its source; the final decision is the consulate’s.