The requirement is set by Article 15 of the Visa Code, and the standard refusal form has a separate ground for it: no proof of adequate and valid travel medical insurance. The rules are the same for every Schengen country, but each consulate reads them in its own way.
What the policy must cover
- At least €30,000; a policy in another currency must cover the equivalent.
- Urgent medical care and emergency hospital treatment.
- Repatriation for medical reasons and in case of death.
- The whole Schengen area, not only the country that issues the visa.
- The whole stay, from the day of entry to the day of exit.
As a rule the policy is bought in the country where you live; if that is not possible, anywhere else. Your host can buy it for you on the same terms. Insurance that comes with a bank card is accepted too, if its cover meets these rules and you have a certificate with your name and the dates.
The dates of the trip, not of the visa
The policy must cover the stay, not the validity of the visa. The 15 days that consulates often add to a single-entry visa do not need cover. If the policy is shorter than the trip in the application, the consulate either shortens the stay to the dates of the policy or asks you to extend it.
For a multiple-entry visa you only need insurance for the first trip and sign the line in the application form saying that you know you need it for every later trip. Each later trip needs its own policy.
Some consulates ask for more than the law requires. Greek visa centres in Russia want cover for the whole validity of the visa, the Hungarian embassy in Tashkent adds 15 days, some Spanish consulates want a policy without a deductible. Check the document list of your consulate before you buy.
Which insurers are accepted
The consulate checks that a claim can be paid in a Schengen country. Consulates exchange lists of insurers whose cover is adequate, but a policy that meets the rules cannot be rejected only because the insurer is not on such a list. A deductible is not banned either: the consulate looks at its size.
Applicants in Russia have a separate problem. Since September 2022 the European Commission has allowed consulates to treat policies of Russian insurers as inadequate because of the sanctions. The German visa centre in Russia accepts only policies issued in the EU, the Spanish one may ask for a policy issued outside Russia, the Greek one wants an insurer with a representative office in the EU.
At the border
Insurance is not on the list of entry conditions in the Schengen Borders Code, and border guards rarely ask for it. But a few countries check it selectively, and Italian consulates warn that the police may ask to see it — without it entry can be refused. Keep the policy for each trip with you, on paper or in your phone.
Who does not need it
- Holders of diplomatic passports.
- Family members of EU citizens who travel with them or join them under the EU free-movement rules.
- Applicants for an airport transit visa.
- Seafarers and others whose employer already insures them for the trip.
Where applicants get it wrong
- The policy covers one country or "Europe" instead of the whole Schengen area.
- The dates are shorter than the tickets: one day missing is enough for a question.
- The name is spelt differently from the passport.
- The cover is split into small limits that do not add up to €30,000 for treatment and repatriation.
- The policy is cancelled after the visa is issued. Some insurers allow it, but if the police ask at the border, the visa can be annulled.
- A chronic illness is not declared: insurers often refuse to pay for conditions excluded in the policy, and the hospital bill goes to the patient.
Vizir checks the policy against the document list of your consulate before you submit the application: amount, territory, dates, name and insurer.