FAQ

  • VZP ČR, the leader in the Czech public health insurance system with the largest number of insured persons and the broadest network of contracted medical facilities, is from January 1st  2024 prepared to provide public health insurance for children of foreigners (minors with authorized long-term residence in the Czech Republic).

    From January 1st 2024, as a consequence of the amendment of Act No. 326/1999 Coll. on the residence of foreigners, and the related laws, the conditions for insuring children of foreigners in the Czech Republic will change. New mandatory participants in public health insurance will include:

    • All foreigners under 18 years of age who have a valid long-term residence permit.
    • Children or minors born in the Czech Republic to mothers with authorized long-term residence, and whose application for a long-term residence permit has been filed within 60 days of the child's birth.

    Steps for Registering for Public Health Insurance at VZP ČR
    The responsibility and notification obligation for registering a child/minor for public health insurance lies with his or her legal representative, guardian, or custodian.

    1. Foreigners under 18 years of age with a valid long-term residence permit

    The obligation to register for public health insurance depends on whether the child/minor has a long-term residence permit and whether he or she has commercial health insurance for foreigners as of January 1st 2024:

    a) If the child/minor has a long-term residence permit and commercial health insurance for foreigners as of January 1st 2024, they become a participant in public health insurance the day after the commercial insurance ends. The child/minor must be registered at a VZP ČR branch at least 8 calendar days before the commercial insurance expires.

    b) If the child/minor has a long-term residence permit and is not commercially insured as of January 1st 2024, they become a participant in public health insurance from January 1st 2024. The child/minor must be registered at a VZP ČR branch in a period from January 1st 2024 to January 8th 2024.

    c) If the child/minor receives a long-term residence permit after January 1st 2024, he or she becomes automatically insured through public health insurance upon receiving the residence permit. In this case, the child/minor must be registered at a VZP ČR branch within 8 calendar days of receiving the permit.

    2. A child born in the Czech Republic to a mother who has a valid long-term residence permit remains a participant in public health insurance for the entire duration of the application process for long-term residence permit, provided that the application was filed within 60 days of the child's birth.

    When registering a child at the VZP ČR branch, the child's legal representative, guardian, or custodian must provide:

    • The child/minor's residence permit
    • The child/minor's birth certificate (and/or documentation of guardianship or custody arrangement, or a court decision appointing a guardian)
    • The legal representative's, guardian's, or custodian's own identity card or identity document
    • Document proving termination of commercial insurance (only for situation described above in point 1a),
    • The residence permit of a child's mother, who has been granted long-term residency in the Czech Republic, provided that the child/minor was born in the Czech Republic to a mother with authorized long-term residence and whose application for a long-term residence permit has been filed within 60 days of their birth(only for the situation described above in point 2).

    Validity of Public Health Insurance
    The child/minor will be a participant in public health insurance only until they will have reached 18 years of age or until the end of their long-term residence. Upon reaching 18 years of age, it is necessary to arrange commercial health insurance. In such case, we recommend contacting VZP Czech Republic subsidiary - “Pojišťovna VZP”, which offers commercial health insurance products for foreigners.

    Health Insurance Payments
    The payer of the insurance for a minor foreigner is their legal representative, guardian, or custodian. The amount to be paid is 13,5% of minimum wage for the given year and the amount is the same for persons without taxable income. For 2024, the minimum wage will be set by the Government of the Czech Republic by the end of 2023. For reference, in 2023, the minimum wage is CZK 17,300, and persons without taxable income thus pay a premium of CZK 2,336.

    Examples

    A father comes on January 2, 2024, to register his son (a minor) born on October 15th 2008, for public health insurance. He submits his son's long-term residence permit valid from September 27th 2023 to September 26th 2025, and his commercial insurance valid from January 10th 2023 to January 9th 2024. For what period of time can he be insured?

    Given the valid long-term residence permit and the commercial insurance, the son will be insured through public health insurance from January 10th 2024, to September 26th 2025, i.e. until the end of the validity of the residence permit. The insurance will be paid by the legal representative from the first full calendar month (in this case, the first insurance installment will be paid for the month of February with a due date on March 8th).

    A father comes on January 2nd, 2024 to register his son born on September 9th 2023 for public health insurance. The newborn was insured through public health insurance until November 30th 2023 because his mother had a valid long-term residence permit in the Czech Republic.  submits a birth certificate and her own long-term residence permit valid until December 31, 2024. She has already applied for a long-term residence permit for her son within 60 days of his birth, yet the application has not been processed. The newborn does not have commercial insurance. When is he eligible for public health insurance?

    Given the fact that all conditions for public health insurance were met, i.e. application for long-term residence was submitted within 60 days of the child's birth, and he does not have commercial insurance, the son will be insured by VZP from January 1st 2024 for a period of one month. After that, the child's legal guardian must extend the insurance period until the child's application for long-term residence will have been processed. 

  • As an EU/EEA/Swiss/UK student studying in the Czech Republic, you are entitled to medically necessary (not full) healthcare. Medically necessary healthcare includes everything that is medically required by the patient's medical condition and that is similarly provided under the Czech public health insurance system. The scope of care provided is based on the expected duration of stay in the Czech Republic. The scope of care is primarily determined by the attending physician.

  • If you are:

    • A foreigner from a Contracting State with entitlement to health services, you are entitled to health services in the Czech Republic to the extent necessary and urgent on the basis of registration via form .../CZ 111*
    • A foreigner from a Contracting State with no entitlement to health services must be covered by commercial insurance
    • A foreigner from a non-contracting state must take out commercial insurance for health services

    * the form is used only for Contracting States whose abbreviation appears in the name of the form, e.g. TR/CZ 111

  • If you are participating in the Czech public health insurance system as an employee, please visit any VZP Czech Republic client office and apply for an insurance card.