Getting treatment around the world

In the European Union (EU) and some other European countries, you can get healthcare at reduced cost or, in some cases, free. However, you should still always take out private health insurance as an EHIC will not necessarily cover all the costs of your treatment and never covers the cost of repatriation.

There are different rules covering:

situations where treatment becomes necessary while you are abroad. 'The EHIC: free or reduced-cost treatment' section has more information.
situations where you want to go abroad in order to get treatment. The 'Non-emergency treatment' section covers the E112 scheme and other ways of getting healthcare abroad.
The EHIC: free or reduced cost treatment Going to an EEA country or Switzerland in order to get treatment The UK also has bilateral agreements with a number of other countries, including many Commonwealth countries and countries in the former Soviet Union.

When you travel to most of the rest of the world (including the US, Canada, the Middle East, Asia and Africa), you must make sure you have private health insurance. These countries have no healthcare agreements with the UK.

Other countries with reciprocal healthcare agreements with the