The European Health Insurance Card is issued free-of-cost to the citizens of the European Economic Association and Switzerland. This card is given by his or her hometown, but that individual medical care will be covered by any of the member nations. This has to be a great initiative in Europe to take tourism to another level of popularity, with holidaymakers getting the benefit of immediate medical assistance. In addition, to that, they can seek care for chronic diseases like the kidney dialysis. So, when on a holiday, if you or anyone in your family fall ill, you don’t have to fly back home for medical treatment. The treatment cost is either fully covered or at reduced prices, depending upon the medical condition of the patient. It is best to carry a photo ID document, as the officials there can ask for that since the EHIC card doesn’t have your photo. It would be great if the photo document is other than your passport.
The procedure to apply for the EHIC card is simplified; you have to submit the application. This takes not more than five to ten minutes. In case, if you still confront any sort of problem, then you can look for a third party agent to help you out. By spending a few dollars, you can have your EHIC card in no time. In some countries, to apply for the EHIC card, one needs to have to be already enrolled in the government healthcare scheme. Here, your agent will provide you with all the necessary information before applying for EHIC card. Or you can go online, and search for as many queries as you want.
The validity of the EHIC card depends on the issuer country; it can be of seven years, three or two years. After that, you need to go for EHIC renewal. You can apply for the renew European Health Insurance Card by filling out an online form, it just like apply for a new one. You got to provide all the information again, but it is not a tricky process.
The process of the EHIC card renewal
There is no EHIC renewal fee, so, you can submit the application with spending a dollar. However, one thing to note in here that when submitting the renewal application, read it twice as your one mistake can get your request rejected. Here, again your agent can be your guide in helping you submitting the form. Since they thoroughly know about every field of the form, they are most likely to get your renewal accepted in one go. But, if you still have any doubt or query, you can reach out for the local EHIC issuing authority, they will help you out with everything.
At the end of it all, if you are planning for a vacation in future, then it is best to apply for the EHIC card well in advance, this will save you from last minutes hassles, that many faces when their application is rejected.