First Steps - Universität Regensburg

3. FORMALITIES
Health Insurance
Why do you have to obtain health insurance?
There is no medical facility for students that is free of charge. If you need
medical attention, you have to go to a doctor in the city or to a hospital
(see chapter 4). PhD students must have medical insurance; otherwise,
the university will not accept your enrolment or "Rückmeldung". To apply
for the "Aufenthaltserlaubnis" (residence permit), you also have to show
proof of sufficient health insurance for the duration of your stay. If you
are initially registering yourself as a non-degree student with the plan of
transferring to a PhD track later, you must be under 30 years of age.
Otherwise you will need a special insurance for students over the age of
30. (See Private Health Insurance). In special cases, the TK in the Biopark
of the University of Regensburg (Herr Michael Reinhold) can provide you
with information whether a state insurance is possible or
recommendable.
Social Insurance Agreement
Some countries have a social insurance agreement with Germany (all EU
member states, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Liechtenstein,
Macedonia, Norway, Switzerland, Serbia and Montenegro, Tunisia,
Turkey). PhD students from these countries are exempt from the social
insurance requirement if they are not earning money. Nevertheless,
they need to go to a German public insurance company to have their
exemption from the insurance requirement certified.
Important: PhD candidates from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,
Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Tunisia, and Turkey theoretically
have the right to receive medical services but these services include only
life saving services. It is very strongly recommended that PhD candidates
from these countries obtain German health insurance coverage.
42