Student health insurance in Austria 2026: what your permit needs and what it costs

Where are you right now? Pick your stage

Health insurance for international students in Austria: 8 key facts

Which health insurance for an Austria student visa and first permit?

For your Austria student visa health insurance and the first “Residence Permit – Student”, you need health insurance that covers all risks and pays in Austria (§ 11 NAG). ÖGK student self-insurance cannot start before you arrive, because it needs habitual residence in Austria, and the ÖGK asks for a Meldezettel and a current Studienblatt (ÖGK). OeAD says that “a written statement that the student insurance will be taken out with the Österreichische Gesundheitskasse after entry to Austria” can be attached to the application form; travel insurance then covers only the time until you take it out, and you later show the ÖGK confirmation to the residence authority (OeAD). Vienna’s page asks for proof of insurance and does not mention such a statement, so ask your residence authority first. The other route is private all-risk cover from the day you enter. Travel insurance on its own “is in any case not sufficient” (BMI).

Care Austria cover does not start before you enter Austria, and its general 31-day waiting period does not apply if you buy it before travelling (AVB). Visa steps, funds and documents are on Austria student visa. The permit itself is covered on Austria student residence permit, and the general insurance rule on health insurance for a residence permit.

How do the options for students compare?

The four student health insurance routes in Austria compared below differ in price, and even more in timing and rules: ÖGK student self-insurance, Care Austria Education, ÖGK cover through a job with compulsory insurance, and co-insurance through a parent insured in Austria. Austria health insurance for international students works in two stages. For the first permit you need either private cover from entry or a written statement, attached to the application, that you will take out ÖGK student insurance after arrival. OeAD describes that second route; travel insurance then covers only the period until ÖGK cover begins, so ask your residence authority whether it accepts this route. Once you are registered and enrolled, you get a real choice. The table compares the statutory and private routes on the same criteria. It is not a ranking.

The full ÖGK rules (start date, documents, study-duration limits) are on ÖGK student insurance vs private. For all prices side by side, see Austria health insurance cost.

What does private student health insurance in Austria cover?

Private student health insurance in Austria for a permit has to work like statutory cover: doctors, hospital and medicines for all risks, paid in Austria. Care Austria Education is the Care Concept insurance for students, sold by Care Concept AG. Under the policy terms, its Education group also takes interns, volunteers and trainees, not only students. It has no deductible for normal treatment. The general waiting period of 31 days is waived if you buy before travelling, but the 8 months for childbirth and dental prosthetics still apply. Home-country visits of up to 28 days per insurance year are covered (only 14 days if your first insurance year, which ends on 31 December, is shorter than 4 months, so an October start gives 14 days until New Year) if each trip is reported in writing before departure; otherwise only 50 % of the maximum reimbursable costs are paid (AVB). The insurer is HanseMerkur Versicherungsgruppe (Advigon Versicherung AG). 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).

Two details matter for students. The unlimited tariff can be cancelled ordinarily only after one year, then only to 31 December with one month’s notice (AVB § 3), so it is not a three-month bridge. And if you start a job with compulsory health insurance (a marginal job up to €551.10 a month in 2026 gives accident insurance only) you become ÖGK-insured, but no source we can cite says how the private premium then stops, so ask Care Concept AG first. The product details and limits are on Care Austria.

What about UNIQA student insurance and FeelSafe?

UNIQA student insurance is the cover behind FeelSafe’s student plans, which state that “the insurance is provided by UNIQA”. On Vienna’s MA 35 list, UNIQA’s listed tariffs carry the note that an extra declaration is required in each case (wien.gv.at); we could not confirm whether FeelSafe’s tariff version is the same as the listed one, so ask FeelSafe. We show competitor plans for information only; the neutral side-by-side is on Care Austria vs FeelSafe.

Does a student job give you health insurance in Austria?

A student job gives you ÖGK health insurance only if it is subject to compulsory health insurance, normally because monthly earnings exceed the 2026 marginal-earnings limit of €551.10, and that cover starts on the first working day (ÖGK). At or below that threshold, a marginal job provides only accident insurance. Non-EU students need an employment permit (for up to 20 hours a week) even for marginal jobs (migration.gv.at). Work rules for students are on study in Austria.

Worked example: a bachelor student from Nepal, first two years

Illustrative example: Sita, 20, starts a bachelor’s degree in Linz in October. For her permit application at the embassy she wants all-risk cover in her file from arrival rather than the OeAD written statement about later ÖGK cover (travel insurance only until ÖGK begins, and her authority would have to accept that route), so she takes Care Austria Education unlimited at €56 a month and pays €672 for the first year. Ordinary cancellation is possible only after 1 year and only to 31 December with one month’s notice (AVB § 3), so with an October start her contract runs at least until 31 December of the next year. The City of Linz lists Care Concept AG among accepted private health insurers; Care Austria needs no extra declaration, Care Austria 364 an addendum (Magistrat Linz, list dated 12.12.2025, checked 30 October 2026).

In year two she could switch to ÖGK student self-insurance at €78.84 a month (2026), which would cost €946.08 a year. That is €274.08 a year more than her €672, and the ÖGK option needs six months at least. If she instead takes a café job with compulsory health insurance, she is ÖGK-insured through the job, as long as it is above the €551.10 marginal limit (2026). Each option must still be in place when she renews her permit (see residence permit renewal).

Bringing your spouse, children or parents?

Relatives of an international student need their own permit and their own cover. For a student’s spouse or registered partner and unmarried minor children, that permit is the “Residence Permit – Family Community”. If you hold ÖGK student self-insurance, the ÖGK says you can co-insure your spouse, registered partner and children (the ÖGK does not state the cost, so ask it; see ÖGK student insurance). Before that, Care Austria Standard unlimited costs €155 a month per person under 50 (minimum 1 year), a 2026 price that rises from 2028 per the policy terms. For the first price, age is the calendar year in which cover starts minus the year of birth; after that, the next band applies from 1 January of the year a person turns 50 or 65. Routes and income rules are on family reunification in Austria. Parents are not family members under the NAG; their options are on can I bring my parents to Austria?

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• § 11 NAG and § 123 ASVG (RIS); BMI: travel insurance not sufficient by itself
• ÖGK: student self-insurance, ÖGK: co-insured children, ÖGK: marginal-earnings limit 2026
• City of Vienna: residence permit – student and City of Vienna: accepted health insurers (checked 30 October 2026)
• migration.gv.at: students on the employment permit; OeAD: Residence Permit – Student on health insurance for the application
• Care Austria policy terms (AVB) and tariff page (the insurer documents behind the student prices, read 30 October 2026)

Our editorial standards and about this site pages explain how we work, and questions reach the team via contact. You may also want health insurance in Austria and au pair in Austria. This page is general information, not legal or immigration advice; the residence authority decides. Referral links may earn us a commission from Care Concept AG at no extra cost to you (affiliate disclosure).