Health Insurance for Students

According to § 5 para. 1 No. 9 SGB V, students enrolled at state or state-recognized universities in the Federal Republic of Germany are required to be insured with a statutory health insurance carrier.

This also applies to students enrolled in Germany who have their domicile or normal place of residence abroad, if there is no entitlement to benefits in kind due to supranational or international law.

The insurance obligation exists until the end of the 14th semester, at the latest until the end of the semester in which the student reaches the age of 30. Beyond this time, the insurance obligation continues to exist if the exceeding of the age limit or the extension of the period of study is justified by

• the nature of the education
• family reasons
• personal reasons

in particular for the purpose of complying with the conditions for admission to a continuing education program. 

Students who work for pay in addition to their studies remain covered by compulsory student insurance if their profile is that of a student, i.e. if their time and energy are predominantly occupied by their studies. On the other hand, those who, by virtue of the scope of their activity, are employees are not subject to compulsory insurance as students, but as employees.

Each student applicant must contact their health insurance company prior to enrollment to initiate a digital insurance notification, known as an M10. The health insurance company will then digitally report to the university whether the student is

• insured or
• exempt from insurance, required to have insurance, or not required to have insurance

During enrollment, the only information needed is the insurance status and, in the case of compulsory insurance, the health insurance number and the company number (Betriebsnummer) of the health insurance company.

University applicants must request the digital insurance registration required for enrollment from the health insurance company with which they are, or will be, covered as a member or family member at the start of their studies. The health insurance company will then automatically forward this notification to the university.

Applicants who wish to be exempt from compulsory insurance must also apply to a statutory health insurance company for a digital registration (exemption or waiver).

Goethe University's company number (Betriebsnummer) is H0001406.

If you have private health insurance at the beginning of your studies and wish to remain with your private health insurance, you must be exempted from the statutory health insurance requirement. To do this, contact any statutory health insurance company, which will then issue an exemption after verification and also forward a digital insurance notification to the university afterwards. Paper or card documentation is not sufficient.

Even if you are a member of a health insurance provider within the EU, you must register with a German health insurance company, which will then in turn send a digital insurance notification to the university stating that you are not subject to compulsory insurance. Paper or card documentation is not sufficient.

If you are privately insured and want to change to the statutory health insurance, you must submit the application to a statutory health insurance within a period of 3 months after the start of your studies. After the expiration of this three-month period, a change to a statutory health insurance is no longer possible.

For more information, please contact any statutory health insurance company or substitute health insurance scheme.