Does Germany require a specific coverage amount for visas?

No euro minimum is published. Germany requires benefits equivalent to statutory insurance under §11(1–3) SGB V — a benefits standard, not a number.

Is travel insurance enough for a German national visa?

No. The German Federal Foreign Office states travel insurance is insufficient for the national visa procedure.

Guide

Germany’s visa insurance rule, explained: statutory-equivalent or nothing

Q: Why do fixed-term expat policies fail German visa checks?

The contract must be open-ended, with no expiry or cancellation clauses tied to age, employment, or residence status. Fixed-term products fail on the contract, not the benefits.

By Covered Abroad Research Desk · Last verified July 2026

Germany does not publish a euro minimum — it benchmarks your insurance against its own statutory system. For a national (D) visa, cover must include the benefits statutory-insured persons receive 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.

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: July 2026

Why Germany is different: no euro minimum, a statutory benchmark

Most Schengen countries publish a cover figure. Germany instead asks whether your policy delivers what its public system delivers — treatment, prevention, rehabilitation — under §11(1–3) of the Social Code Book V. That is a richer standard than any €30,000-style minimum, and it is why policies that pass elsewhere fail in Germany.

The open-ended contract trap

The second half of the rule catches more applicants than the first: the contract must be open-ended. A policy that expires after 12 months, or cancels when you turn a certain age, change jobs, or lose residence status, fails on the contract clause even if the benefits are rich. Check your renewal terms before the appointment — the certificate and the contract wording both get read.

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What this means for freelancers

The freelance visa runs on the same national-visa insurance standard. Expat-targeted products with fixed maximum durations are a common refusal story for exactly the open-ended reason. Cover arranged for residence — renewable at each anniversary rather than expiring — is the shape the rule wants. A person confirms whether your case fits our partner’s arrangement honestly before you buy.

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Run your policy through the free checker, or see real prices by age. Cover is worldwide excluding the United States, and pre-existing conditions are excluded — we say that up front, not at claim time.

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