Registration for compulsory health insurance is obligatory for foreign citizens who have been granted a permanent stay in Croatia, citizens of other European Union (EU) Member States, European Economic Area Countries (EEA - Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway) and Switzerland and who have been granted temporary stay in Croatia provided that they are not covered by compulsory health insurance in their home country or citizens of a country that is not an EU/EEA/Switzerland with temporary stay in Croatia unless otherwise stated by European Union Regulations on the coordination of social security systems, international treaty on social security, or special bylaw.
When applying for temporary residence in Croatia (for the purpose of studying), international students are not required to register for compulsory health insurance if they can provide another proof of valid health insurance, such as:
- EHIC (for EU/EEA nationals)
- comprehensive private health insurance
- bolesnički list (based on Bilateral treaty on social insurance regulating the issue of utilizing healthcare in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey and North Macedonia).
During their temporary stay in Croatia, students with compulsory health insurance in EU/EEA State/Switzerland have access to health care through the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which is issued by their national health insurance providers.
For more information, please consult the web page of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO).