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The guide · Belgium

Healthcare

Registering, the European Health Insurance Card, the S1 form.

In Belgium

Checked on 23 October 2026

How do you join a health insurance fund (mutualité) when you settle in Belgium?

In Belgium, to have your care reimbursed, you must join a health insurance fund (mutualité) of your choice, or the CAAMI, the public fund. If you work, your contributions go through your salary; if you reside without professional income, you can be covered in return for personal contributions. Your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) covers only unforeseen care during a temporary stay: once you have settled, you need your Belgian health insurance fund.

Costs
Compulsory insurance: social contributions (on salary) or personal contributions for residents without professional income; the fund's supplementary insurance on top, except at the CAAMI
Timeframes
Variable; at the CAAMI, acknowledgement of receipt within 7 working days

Steps

  1. Before you leave: take your EHIC for the first weeks and ask your fund how long it covers you. If your home country remains responsible for your health (retiree who receives only a pension from that country, posted employee), ask for an S1 form and hand it to your Belgian health insurance fund when you arrive.
  2. Register with the municipality (fact sheet BE-SEJOUR-TOUS-001) to obtain your National Register number (fact sheet BE-NIF-TOUS-001).
  3. Choose your health insurance fund. The INAMI reminds us that, to be entitled to reimbursements and benefits, "you must join a mutuality". The CAAMI welcomes anyone, whatever their profile, and offers only compulsory insurance.
  4. Fill in the registration form of the chosen fund. For a first registration with a Belgian fund, one form is enough. At the CAAMI, the online procedure requires a Belgian electronic identity card and a card reader; otherwise, paper form.
  5. Have your family covered: the people dependent on you benefit from the services on the basis of your rights.

Documents

  • The fund's registration form.
  • Your National Register number (or BIS number).
  • Depending on your situation, the proof requested by the fund (activity, residence, form S1 if your home country remains responsible). The exact list is to be requested from the chosen fund.

Costs and timelines

  • Employee or self-employed: cover financed by your social contributions.
  • Resident without professional income: right to care in return for a quarterly personal contribution collected by the fund, which depends on your annual income (INAMI, 2026 scale): €931.12 per quarter at the normal rate; €465.55 if your annual income is under the ceiling (€46,716.82 since 1 September 2026); €78.93 under the ceiling for increased reimbursement; nothing under the integration income or if you are entitled to increased reimbursement. Your fund calculates the amount from your income.
  • Supplementary insurance: the CAAMI offers only compulsory insurance, with no supplementary contribution ("If you are in order with Belgian social security, you will pay nothing"); the other funds also offer supplementary insurance, the price of which is to be compared.
  • Timeline: at the CAAMI, acknowledgement of receipt within 7 working days. A change of fund takes effect at the start of a quarter.

Common pitfalls

  • Staying on the EHIC. It covers necessary care during a temporary stay, not scheduled care, nor private care, nor repatriation. Once settled in Belgium, you need a Belgian affiliation (or a registered S1).
  • Forgetting your identity card. The INAMI states that it is requested in particular at the hospital and, from 1 October 2026, at the dentist.
  • Not paying the personal contributions when you are a resident without professional income: reimbursements depend on payment of sufficient contributions.
  • Thinking all funds are equal. Compulsory insurance is the same everywhere; what changes are the services and the supplementary insurance offered on top.

What changes by country of origin

  • EU and EEA citizens: European coordination: EHIC for temporary stays, S1 if your home country remains responsible, otherwise affiliation to a Belgian health insurance fund.
  • Swiss citizens: European coordination also applies to Switzerland (EHIC, S1).
  • British citizens (Scots included): the British GHIC card replaces the EHIC for temporary stays. To join, you must first be lawfully resident in Belgium (fact sheet BE-SEJOUR-TOUS-001). Then, like any resident, you register with a health insurance fund (UK Government, page "Living in Belgium", updated on 11 December 2025). If you receive a British State pension, the United Kingdom may pay for your care: ask for an S1 by telephone from the NHS Overseas Healthcare Services (+44 191 218 1999) and register it with your fund (page "Healthcare in Belgium", updated in October 2021).
Official sources (8) ›
  • INAMI, "Assurabilité"
  • INAMI, "Cotisation personnelle pour être assuré si vous ne payez pas de cotisations sociales" (2026 amounts, ceilings at 1 September 2026)
  • UK Government (GOV.UK), "Living in Belgium" (updated on 11 December 2025)
  • UK Government (GOV.UK), "Healthcare in Belgium" (updated on 19 October 2021)
  • CAAMI (Caisse auxiliaire d'assurance maladie-invalidité), "Devenir membre"
  • Portail de la sécurité sociale, Dimona, "NISS"
  • Your Europe (French version), "Votre couverture médicale" in the host country (last checked 19/08/2026)
  • Your Europe (French version), "Couverture médicale lors de séjours temporaires" (last checked 16/09/2026)
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The European framework

These European rules also apply in Belgium.

Checked on 23 October 2026

Health insurance required for visas and permits: what EU rules ask (short and long stays)

For a Schengen short-stay visa, you must show travel medical insurance covering urgent medical care, emergency hospital treatment and repatriation (including in case of death), valid in all Schengen countries, with at least €30,000 of cover (Visa Code, Article 15). For long stays, the EU directives ask for sickness insurance covering the risks normally covered for nationals of the destination, for example for students, family members, Blue Card holders and long-term residents. The exact proof, and whether you must buy private insurance or can join the public system, depend on the destination.

Who decides
Consulates (Schengen visas); the immigration authority of the destination (long stays)
Costs
Set by insurers; Schengen visa insurance must cover at least €30,000 (Visa Code, Article 15)

Before you act

  • No promise. The consulate or immigration authority decides whether your insurance is acceptable. This page is general information, not legal advice.
  • Scams. Buy insurance only from a real, identifiable insurer, and check the policy before paying. A fake or inadequate insurance certificate can lead to refusal of your application.
  • Ask a professional (the insurer, the consulate or a lawyer) if you have a chronic illness, are pregnant, or are over the age limits of standard policies.
  • Be honest in insurance forms about your health and your plans.

Steps

  1. Short stay with a visa: buy travel medical insurance that meets Article 15 of the Visa Code (below) for the whole trip; for a multiple-entry visa, it must cover the first trip, and you sign a statement that you know you need insurance for later trips. Exceptions: the requirement may be considered met where adequate cover can be presumed from the applicant's professional situation (for example seafarers, Article 15(6)), and holders of diplomatic passports are exempt (Article 15(7)).
  2. Visa-exempt short stay: insurance is not among the entry conditions listed in the Schengen Borders Code (Article 6), but medical care abroad can be expensive: travel insurance is your choice.
  3. Long stay: read the destination's list for your route. Denmark and Ireland did not take part in the five directives below and are not bound by them (see the recitals of each text), so their rules are purely national. In the other EU countries, the directives ask for insurance "for all risks normally covered for nationals" for:
    • students and researchers, valid for the whole planned stay (Directive (EU) 2016/801, Article 7(1)(c));
    • family reunification, for the sponsor and the family, if the country requires it (Directive 2003/86/EC, Article 7(1)(b));
    • Blue Card and seasonal workers, for periods not already covered through the job (Directive (EU) 2021/1883, Article 5(1)(e); Directive 2014/36/EU, Article 5(1)(b) for stays up to 90 days and Article 6(1)(b) for stays over 90 days);
    • EU long-term residents, for themselves and for dependent family members (Directive 2003/109/EC, Article 5(1)(b)).
  4. After arrival: ask whether your permit gives access to the public health system, and from when (see the destination's health fiche).

Documents

  • An insurance certificate in the name of each person, with dates, cover, amount and territory.
  • For a Schengen visa: proof that the cover is valid in all Schengen countries and is at least €30,000 (Article 15(3)); for a visa with limited territorial validity covering several Member States, the cover must be valid at least in the Member States concerned.

Costs and timelines

  • Price: set by insurers. The Visa Code asks you to take insurance, in principle, in your country of residence, or in another country if that is not possible (Article 15(4)).
  • Check: consulates verify that claims against the insurer can be recovered in an EU country (Article 15(5)).

Common pitfalls

  • Cover too low or not valid everywhere. For a Schengen visa: at least €30,000 and valid in all Schengen countries.
  • Wrong dates. The insurance must cover the whole stay or transit (Article 15(3)).
  • Travel insurance for a long stay. A short-trip policy may not meet the "all risks normally covered for nationals" standard required for long-stay permits, and what each country actually accepts varies: ask the immigration authority directly before you buy.
  • Gaps between the visa and the permit. Keep cover until you are registered in the public system or have the insurance the permit requires.

What changes by profile

  • Workers may be covered through their job; the Blue Card and seasonal directives ask for insurance only for periods not covered by, or resulting from, the work contract.
  • Retirees and people living on passive income follow national rules for national visas (for Portugal, see PT-VISA-TIERS-050).

Official links

  • Visa Code (consolidated), Article 15: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02009R0810-20240628
  • Commission, applying for a Schengen visa: https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen/visa-policy/applying-schengen-visa_en
Official sources (9) ›
  • European Commission, « Applying for a Schengen visa » (medical insurance covering emergency medical care, hospitalisation and repatriation, including in the event of death), page dated 2 December 2025
  • Regulation (EU) 2016/399 (Schengen Borders Code), consolidated text of 12 October 2025 (latest consolidated version in the Publications Office database on 23 October 2026), Article 6(1) (entry conditions for short stays: no insurance condition)
  • Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 (Visa Code), consolidated text of 28 June 2024 (latest consolidated version in the Publications Office database on 23 October 2026), Article 15 (travel medical insurance)
  • Directive (EU) 2021/1883 (EU Blue Card), Article 5(1)(e) (sickness insurance) and the recitals on the position of Denmark and Ireland
  • Directive (EU) 2016/801 (students and researchers), Article 7(1)(c) (sickness insurance, valid for the duration of the planned stay; same text in the consolidated version of 17 November 2021) and the recitals on the position of Denmark and Ireland
  • Council Directive 2003/86/EC (family reunification), Article 7(1)(b) (sickness insurance for the sponsor and his or her family) and the recitals on the position of Ireland and Denmark
  • Directive 2014/36/EU (seasonal workers), Article 5(1)(b) (stays up to 90 days) and Article 6(1)(b) (stays over 90 days) (sickness insurance), and the recitals on the position of Ireland and Denmark
  • Council Directive 2003/109/EC (long-term residents), consolidated text of 12 June 2026 (latest amendment: Regulation (EU) 2024/1347, which leaves Article 5(1)(b) unchanged), Article 5(1)(b) (sickness insurance, for the person and dependent family members)
  • Council Directive 2003/109/EC (long-term residents), text as adopted, recitals 25 and 26 (position of Ireland and Denmark)

These guides give the general rules. Your situation can change the answer: Moovy looks at it with you and tells you when you need a professional.

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