e-card Austria for foreigners: who gets one, and what covers you until then
e-card Austria: the e-card is the social insurance chip card, issued to everyone insured and their co-insured family (oesterreich.gv.at, 2026). You get one when insured through a job subject to compulsory insurance (a marginal job up to €551.10 a month in 2026 gives accident insurance only), as a co-insured relative, or via ÖGK self-insurance (€565.25/month, 2026). Until then, a first residence permit needs all-risk cover that pays in Austria, as a rule private (students: OeAD option below).
These are Care Austria’s 2026 prices for private permit cover, which is not the social insurance and not an e-card. On the unlimited tariffs, ordinary cancellation is possible only after 1 year and then only to the end of a calendar year (AVB § 3), and the unlimited Standard tariff rises from 2028 per the policy terms. Cover cannot start before entry into Austria.
Which route gets you an e-card?
The e-card comes only once you are insured with the social insurance, and your route to that insurance depends on why you are here (oesterreich.gv.at). Pick yours below.
I have a job in Austria
If the job is subject to compulsory health insurance, your employer registers you with the ÖGK; you are insured from the first working day and receive an e-card. A marginal job paying no more than €551.10 a month (2026) gives accident insurance only, not health cover.
Continue with who gets one.
My spouse or my child is insured here
Spouses can be co-insured once you live in Austria and have no statutory health insurance of your own, as a rule with a 3.4 % extra contribution (§ 51d ASVG); you get your own card. Parents qualify only under extra conditions, for example ten months in the same household and running it (co-insurance). Before that you need your own cover for the permit.
See the worked example below.
I study or have no job
Once you are resident (and, as a non-EU citizen, hold a valid permit), there is the ÖGK student rate (with conditions) or adult self-insurance (6-month waiting period unless waived). The first permit, as a rule, needs private cover; students may instead attach an ÖGK statement of intent plus travel insurance until ÖGK cover starts (OeAD; ask your residence authority).
The options are under cover until then.
The e-card in 8 official facts
| Fact | What the source says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets it | “issued to all insured persons and their dependants” (our translation) | oesterreich.gv.at: e-card |
| What it does | Proves your health insurance, gives access to the e-card system and ELGA; no medical data on the card | oesterreich.gv.at |
| Front | Name, title and social insurance number | oesterreich.gv.at |
| Back | European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) | oesterreich.gv.at |
| Photo | Required from age 14 on cards issued since 1 January 2020 | oesterreich.gv.at |
| Service fee | €25 for 2026; co-insured dependants exempt | oesterreich.gv.at |
| Insurance number | 10 digits; digits 5–10 are based on the date of birth (exceptions are possible) | sozialversicherung.at |
| Self-insurance cost | €565.25 a month (2026); benefits after a 6-month waiting period unless waived | oegk.at |
The e-card service fee is €25 for 2026 (oesterreich.gv.at, 2026); ÖGK self-insurance costs €565.25 a month (oegk.at, 2026); and the Austrian insurance number on the front of the card has 10 digits (sozialversicherung.at, checked 2026). Who pays the fee and who is exempt is in the photo and fee table; the full cost comparison is on Austria health insurance cost.
What is the ÖGK e-card?
The ÖGK e-card is your proof of public health insurance in Austria. You show it at the doctor, in hospital and at the pharmacy, and it links to ELGA, the electronic health record (oesterreich.gv.at). For people insured with the ÖGK (Österreichische Gesundheitskasse, the Austrian health insurance fund) and their co-insured families, “ÖGK e-card” and “e-card” mean the same card; the e-card is issued to everyone insured in the Austrian social insurance, whichever institution insures them. For the wider picture, read health care in Austria. If you see a private doctor without an ÖGK contract, Wahlarzt costs in Austria shows what that costs, and emergency number in Austria has the number to call when it is urgent.
Who gets an e-card in Austria as a foreigner?
Foreigners get an Austrian e-card when they are insured with the Austrian social insurance, not when they receive a residence permit. The table compares routes available to non-EU newcomers, their costs, and whether they can support a first permit.
| Route | Cost | e-card | Good for a first permit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee in a job subject to compulsory insurance (Red-White-Red Card, Blue Card); a marginal job up to €551.10 a month gives accident insurance only | Contributions through your salary | Yes | Once insured, yes — employment insurance is “jedenfalls ausreichend” (in any case sufficient, BMI). A first application filed abroad before work starts needs other all-risk proof; for the Red-White-Red Card, migration.gv.at accepts travel cover well above €30,000 that includes rescue and return costs, at the time of application |
| Co-insured spouse or child | Children free; spouse 3.4 % of the insured person’s contribution base (§ 51d ASVG) unless exempt | Yes, own card | Only once living in Austria (habitual residence) |
| ÖGK self-insurance | €565.25 a month | Yes | No — needs a residence in Austria and a valid permit; 6-month waiting period unless waived |
| ÖGK student self-insurance | €78.84 a month | Yes | Starts only once resident; for a first student permit OeAD says a written statement of intent, plus travel insurance until ÖGK cover starts, can be attached — ask your residence authority (OeAD; ask your residence authority whether it accepts it) |
| Private permit cover, e.g. Care Austria | Education (ages 12–35) €56, Standard under 50 €155 (unlimited, min. 1 year) | Not from the social insurance; we found no statement on cards for Care Austria customers | Private all-risk cover that pays in Austria; Vienna’s MA 35 lists Care Concept AG |
Sources: ÖGK self-insurance, oesterreich.gv.at self-insurance, BMI general requirements, wien.gv.at insurance for permits, Care Concept tariff page. More detail is on ÖGK self-insurance vs private, ÖGK co-insurance and ÖGK student insurance.
E-card Austria: how to get one, step by step
We found no separate e-card application on the official pages. The card is issued to insured persons (oesterreich.gv.at). For a newcomer from outside the EU, the order is insurance proof for the permit, then the permit, entry and address registration, statutory insurance (a job subject to compulsory insurance, not a marginal job, or self-insurance), and finally the e-card. Vienna’s immigration office says plainly that a waiting period in public insurance “must be bridged with private insurance” for the permit (wien.gv.at, our translation).
- 1Arrange insurance proof and apply for your residence permit
Non-EU newcomers need a permit, and the permit needs all-risk health insurance that pays in Austria before you have an e-card.
- 2Register your address
Register where you live in Austria; ÖGK self-insurance and co-insurance both need a residence in Austria.
- 3Become insured with the social insurance
Start a job subject to compulsory insurance (your employer registers you with the ÖGK; a marginal job at or below the 2026 marginal earnings limit gives accident insurance only), be co-insured on a family member, or apply for ÖGK self-insurance or the student rate.
- 4Get your insurance number
The social insurance assigns a ten-digit number when you are first registered; it is printed on your e-card.
- 5Photo: check the registers
Aged 14 or over: the photo is taken from official registers if possible, otherwise you bring one to a registration office.
- 6Use the card
Show it at the doctor, hospital or pharmacy; the back is your EHIC for trips within the EU.
e-card Austria online: can you apply for one?
The Austrian e-card has no separate online application on the official pages we checked (October 2026); the card follows from your insurance. What you can do online is apply for ÖGK self-insurance through Meine ÖGK, which needs an ID Austria, or download the paper form (oegk.at). The photo can also come automatically from an official register. As oesterreich.gv.at puts it, the switch to the photo card happens “für die meisten Versicherten automatisch” (automatically for most insured people), because the social insurance receives photos from existing registers (oesterreich.gv.at).
Do you need an e-card Austria appointment (Termin)?
Photo registration is the e-card step that can need an appointment (Termin), according to the official pages we checked. If no photo of you is in an official register, you bring one in person to a photo registration office, and that visit may need an appointment. For foreigners, the register of foreign nationals counts as a source, so a permit holder’s photo may already be on file (oesterreich.gv.at). The current list of registration offices is on chipkarte.at, the social insurance’s e-card site. We did not find a single official booking system for all offices, so check the office you choose. After you are told to register a photo, there is a five-month grace period. For questions, call the e-card service line on 050 124 33 11.
| Rule | What applies |
|---|---|
| Who needs a photo | Aged 14 and over, cards issued since 1 January 2020 |
| Where the photo comes from | Austrian passport, ID card, driving licence, or the register of foreign nationals; otherwise in person at a registration office |
| When to bring one | Ideally three to four months before your card expires |
| Exempt from the photo | Some older people and recipients of care allowance from level 4 |
| Service fee | €25 for 2026, collected via the employer; co-insured family members and people exempt from the prescription fee do not pay; pensioners (ASVG/GSVG) paid nothing for 2026, but under a transitional rule their first fee, for 2027, is due on 15 November 2026 and is deducted from the pension |
How long does it take to get an Austrian e-card?
The delivery time of a new Austrian e-card is not published, and we found no official figure (searched October 2026: oesterreich.gv.at, ÖGK, chipkarte.at). What matters more is when your insurance starts. Employees in a job subject to compulsory insurance are insured from the first working day; a marginal job paying no more than €551.10 a month (2026) gives accident insurance only, not health cover. ÖGK self-insurance, by contrast, pays benefits in kind only after a six-month waiting period unless you had enough prior statutory cover in Austria, the EU/EEA or a state whose social security agreement adds up insurance periods (oegk.at). If your card has not arrived yet, ask your insurance institution what to show the doctor until the card arrives.
Does an e-card count as health insurance for your residence permit?
Statutory insurance, the insurance behind an e-card, counts for a permit when benefits start right away. The Interior Ministry calls employment-based insurance in any case sufficient, and voluntary social insurance counts only if benefits can be used immediately after it starts (bmi.gv.at). The law asks for all-risk cover that pays in Austria (§ 11 NAG). The catch for newcomers is timing. You need that proof before you live here, while ÖGK self-insurance needs a residence in Austria and, for non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens, a valid permit. That is why a first permit can need private cover; the full rule is on health insurance for a residence permit (prices by age are on Austria health insurance cost) and Vienna’s procedure on MA 35 Vienna.
Worked example: a wife waiting for co-insurance
Illustrative example: Rahul, 34, works in Linz on a Red-White-Red Card. His job is subject to compulsory health insurance, so he is ÖGK-insured from his first working day and receives his own e-card (a marginal job up to €551.10 a month in 2026 would give accident insurance only). His wife Meera, 31, applies for a Red-White-Red Card plus from abroad. For her file she needs her own all-risk health insurance, because co-insurance on Rahul’s ÖGK cover needs her habitual residence in Austria (ÖGK co-insurance). They compare two costs in the table below.
| Option | Per month | First 12 months | Usable for the first permit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Care Austria Standard unlimited (under 50) | €155 | at least €1,860 (1-year minimum term; cancellation only to the end of a calendar year, AVB § 3) | Private all-risk cover paying in Austria; starts on entry |
| ÖGK self-insurance | €565.25 | €6,783 | No — needs residence and, if non-EU/EEA/Swiss, a valid permit; 6-month waiting period unless waived |
Once Meera lives in Linz, Rahul asks the ÖGK about co-insuring her (3.4 % of his contribution base, § 51d ASVG, unless an exemption applies), and she then receives her own e-card. Because the Care Austria contract can be cancelled ordinarily only after one year and then only to 31 December with one month’s notice (AVB § 3), they budget at least €1,860 (12 months; more if cover does not start on 1 January). Whether an earlier exit is possible when co-insurance starts was not confirmed to us, so they ask Care Concept AG before signing. Their monthly budget is on cost of living in Austria.
Health insurance until your e-card arrives
- Students 12–35: Care Austria Education unlimited €56 a month (2026)
- Spouses waiting for co-insurance and others under 50 without job insurance: Care Austria Standard unlimited €155 a month (2026 price; rises from 2028 per the policy terms)
- Minimum term 1 year (AVB § 3); cover cannot start before entry; it is private cover, not an e-card
- Care Concept AG is on Vienna's MA 35 list: unlimited Care Austria tariffs need no extra declaration, 364-day ones do (checked 30 October 2026)
Sold by Care Concept AG; insurer HanseMerkur Versicherungsgruppe (Advigon Versicherung AG). Read the full plan and limits first; ask about pre-existing conditions in writing before you apply. Policy terms (AVB).
Go to Care Concept’s application
Referral link: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you (how we are paid).
Frequently asked questions
What is the social security number in Austria?
The social security number in Austria is the ten-digit insurance number (Versicherungsnummer or Sozialversicherungsnummer) of the Austrian social insurance. The umbrella association of the social insurance institutions explains that the first three digits are a running number, the fourth is a check digit, and digits five to ten are usually your date of birth (sozialversicherung.at). Numbers are only assigned when they are needed for social insurance purposes, for example when an employer registers you with the ÖGK (oegk.at). The number is printed on the front of your e-card (oesterreich.gv.at).
Do I have to pay for the e-card?
Insured employees pay a yearly service fee unless an exemption applies: oesterreich.gv.at gives €25 for 2026, collected through the employer in November of the year before (oesterreich.gv.at, page updated 16 February 2026). Co-insured family members pay no fee. People exempt from the prescription fee do not pay. Pensioners (ASVG/GSVG) paid nothing for 2026, but under a transitional rule their first fee, for 2027, is due on 15 November 2026 and is deducted from the pension (oesterreich.gv.at). In social hardship you can ask your insurance institution for an exemption.
Who needs a photo on the Austrian e-card?
Everyone aged 14 and over needs a photo on the Austrian e-card if the card is issued or replaced from 1 January 2020 (oesterreich.gv.at). The social insurance takes the photo automatically from official registers where one exists — the Austrian passport, identity card or driving licence, and for foreigners the register of foreign nationals. If no photo is on file, you bring one to a photo registration office; the list of offices is on chipkarte.at, and the e-card service line is 050 124 33 11. Older people and recipients of care allowance from level 4 can be exempt.
Can I use my Austrian e-card in other EU countries?
Yes, the Austrian e-card works in other EU countries as far as the EHIC goes: its back is the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) — “Auf der Rückseite der e-card findet sich die Europäische Krankenversicherungskarte” (oesterreich.gv.at). The EHIC is not the same as travel insurance.
Do co-insured family members get their own e-card?
Yes, co-insured family members get their own Austrian e-card. The e-card is issued “to all insured persons and their dependants” (oesterreich.gv.at, our translation), and co-insured dependants pay no service fee. Co-insurance itself has conditions — your spouse or child must have habitual residence in Austria and no own statutory cover, and a spouse, as a rule (ÖGK), costs a contribution unless exempt; see ÖGK co-insurance.
Official sources
- oesterreich.gv.at: e-card on who gets it, the photo, the service fee and the EHIC (updated 16 February 2026; checked 30 October 2026)
- chipkarte.at, the e-card site of the Austrian social insurance, for photo registration offices and the service line 050 124 33 11
- sozialversicherung.at, “Was ist die Versicherungsnummer?”, on how the insurance number is built
- ÖGK: self-insurance and oesterreich.gv.at: self-insurance on the €565.25 monthly rate (2026), the waiting period and the conditions
- ÖGK: insurance number
- City of Vienna: health insurance for residence permits, BMI: general requirements, § 11 NAG
- Care Austria policy terms (AVB) and tariff page, the insurer’s own documents (read 30 October 2026)
Our editorial standards, about this site and contact pages explain how we work. Related guides cover health insurance in Austria, moving to Austria, Austrian residence permits and Austria visa D. This page is general information, not legal or insurance advice; the ÖGK and the residence authority decide. Referral links may earn us a commission from Care Concept AG at no extra cost to you (affiliate disclosure).
No e-card yet?
If no job or family insurance covers you yet, your first residence permit needs all-risk cover that pays in Austria. Check Care Austria’s prices and its 1-year minimum term.
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age 12–35: €56/month in 2026 · unlimited, min. 1 year (AVB § 3)
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