Health Care and Insurance

Undergraduate, postgraduate students and doctoral candidates who have no other medical and hospital insurance are entitled to full medical and hospital care provided by the National Health System (NΗS – Greek acronym: ESY). Relevant costs are covered by the National Organization for the Provision of Health Services (Greek acronym: EOPYY). Uninsured students can receive healthcare services at public National Health System facilities, using only their Social Security Number (Greek acronym: AMKA).

The University of Patras is responsible for issuing the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC – Greek acronym: EKAA) for the above categories of students, in case they travel to European Union countries, as well as for the coverage of any expenses that may arise, in accordance with the applicable terms and conditions. In order to obtain the European Health Insurance Card interested students should submit to the Department of Welfare and Culture, prior to departure, the following supporting documents:

  • Application for the European Health Insurance Card (pdf file in greek)
  • Certificate of Studies (the student’s ID is required)
  • For students traveling within the frame of Erasmus+ program (SMS or SMP): Certificate of participation issued by the Department of International Affairs of the University of Patras
  • Photocopy of ID (or Passport)
  • Statement of Law 1599/1986 (pdf file in greek) or via the GOV.GR platform (external link)

European Health Insurance Card (EHIC – Greek acronym EKAA)

The European Health Insurance Card:

  • is not a replacement for travel insurance. It does not cover private healthcare, nor expenses such as a return ticket to your home country or the loss / theft of assets
  • does not cover your expenses if you travel specifically for medical treatment
  • does not guarantee free services. As each country’s NHS differ, healthcare services provided free of charge in your country may not be provided free of charge in another

The use of EHIC is strictly personal and the holder is entitled to receive sickness benefits in kind when medically necessary, during temporary residence in one of the countries of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Additional information on the European Health Insurance Card is provided by the University of Patras (pdf file in greek), EOPYY (external link) and the European Union (external link).

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