Guidance: Healthcare for UK nationals living in Switzerland

If you started living in Switzerland before 1 January 2021, your rights to access healthcare in Switzerland will stay the same for as long as you remain resident.

This guidance explains what you need to do in Switzerland depending on your circumstances.

You must have health insurance cover to live in Switzerland. You may still have to pay to use some parts of the healthcare system.

UK nationals usually access the Swiss health system in one of these ways:

• buying mandatory health insurance
• registering a UK-issued S1 form with Switzerland’s central health insurance institution (‘Gemeinsame Einrichtung KVG’) (see ‘UK-funded healthcare: getting and using an S1 form in Switzerland’ below)

Healthcare if you live and work in Switzerland

If you are planning on moving to Switzerland, see the guidance on Living in Switzerland for more information about visa and residency requirements.

Everyone who lives in Switzerland must:

• register as a resident
• get health insurance

You choose your insurance provider from a list of government-approved providers. The Federal Office of Public Health has more detailed information, including the list of insurers.

You’ll receive a health insurance card once you register.

Once you’re a resident you may also be entitled to a Swiss European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) for travel.

If you were living in Switzerland before 1 January 2021

If you started living in Switzerland before 1 January 2021, your rights to access healthcare in Switzerland will stay the same for as long as you remain resident.

This means you may also be entitled to:

• a Swiss EHIC for travel, including visits to the UK
• a UK S1 if you start drawing a UK State Pension (see ‘UK-funded healthcare: getting and using an S1 form in Switzerland’ below)

How to access healthcare services

Find your nearest hospital or clinic on this GOV.UK webpage.

How much you’ll pay

Even with insurance, you’ll probably still have to pay some costs. For example, most people will have to pay:

• the first 300 Swiss francs towards your treatment per year ‒ this is the ‘deductible’ or ‘franchise’ and can be higher or lower depending on your insurance premium
• 10% of your treatment costs over the deductible, up to a maximum of 700 Swiss francs (or 350 Swiss francs if you’re under 18 years old)
• a daily fee if you stay in hospital ‒ this is around 15 Swiss francs

You do not have to pay a ‘deductible’ or daily hospital fees if you’re:

• under 18 years old
• under 25 years old and in education or training
• a woman receiving maternity services

If your UK employer has sent you to Switzerland temporarily (‘posted workers’)

A posted worker, also known as a ‘detached worker’, is someone employed or self-employed in the UK, but temporarily sent to a European Economic Area (EEA) country.

Healthcare for posted workers who started before 1 January 2021

You can access healthcare in Switzerland using an EHIC or registered S1 form.

Healthcare for posted workers moving to Switzerland

You may need to:

• join a local healthcare scheme
• cover the cost of your healthcare with private health insurance

HMRC has a helpline for National Insurance enquiries from non-UK residents. They can answer questions about posted worker status and explain which documents you will need to get healthcare while posted.

UK-funded healthcare: getting and using an S1 form in Switzerland

There’s different guidance if you have an S1 as a posted worker (see ‘If your UK employer has sent you to Switzerland temporarily (‘posted workers’)’ above).

If you started living in Switzerland before 1 January 2021, you may be entitled to state healthcare paid for by the UK if you’re a Swiss resident and receive either:

• a UK State Pension
• some other ‘exportable benefits’

You may also be entitled to an S1 form if you’re a frontier worker (someone who works in one state and lives in another). You must contact HMRC National Insurance enquiries to find out if you’re eligible.

Once you have an S1 form, you must register it on the Swiss system.

This will mean you and your dependants will be entitled to healthcare in Switzerland on the same basis as a Swiss citizen.

You’ll also get:

Dependants and family members may be classified differently in Switzerland than the UK.

Check with the local authorities when you register your S1 form.

If you’re entitled to an S1 form as a dependant of a State Pensioner, your health cover will be cancelled once you begin claiming your UK State Pension.

You will be sent a new S1 form to your registered address from NHS Overseas Healthcare Services. You must register this form to ensure continuation of healthcare cover.

You are responsible for informing NHS Overseas Healthcare Services if you change your address or your circumstances change.

How to get an S1 form

If you have a UK State Pension or another qualifying exportable benefit, and you started living in Switzerland before 1 January 2021, you must request an application form by phone from NHS Overseas Healthcare Services (see contact details above).

How to use an S1 form in Switzerland

You must register your S1 form with Switzerland’s central health insurance institution (‘Gemeinsame Einrichtung KVG’).

Find out more about registering your S1 form

Once you’ve registered, you’ll receive an insurance card. This will mean you’re entitled to healthcare on the same basis as a Swiss citizen.

Show this card when you visit a doctor to prove you are entitled to healthcare. Check that the doctor you visit treats S1 holders.

Studying in Switzerland

If you were already in Switzerland before 1 January 2021 because you study there, you need to apply for a new UK-issued EHIC.

Your EHIC entitles you to medically necessary healthcare until the end of your study period in Switzerland.

Students moving to Switzerland

You cannot use a UK-issued EHIC or Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) to get healthcare in Switzerland.

You should either:

• take out private travel insurance with healthcare coverage
• register as a resident to get state health insurance and pay a student rate

Speak to your university for further advice.

Getting treatment in the UK

Because the NHS is a residency-based system, under NHS rules UK nationals who move abroad on a permanent basis may lose their entitlement to free NHS healthcare.

If you are a UK national and move to the EU, you should not expect to be able to use NHS services for free when visiting the UK unless you have an EHIC, PRC or S2 to show your healthcare costs are funded by the EU country in which you now live, or another exemption applies.

Some former UK residents do not have to pay for NHS treatment when visiting England. This includes:

• UK war pensioners
• UK government employees
• UK nationals living in the EU on or before 31 December 2020, once they have a registered, UK-issued S1

Read more about using the NHS when you no longer live in the UK (see ‘UK nationals who no longer live in the UK’ in Healthcare for visitors to the UK from the EU).

If you return to live in the UK you’ll be able to use the NHS like any other UK resident.

Read more about using the NHS when you return to live in the UK.

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