Insurance obligation

In principle, persons leaving Switzerland to live abroad are no longer subject to the compulsory health insurance requirement. People in certain categories must however maintain their Swiss health cover, while others have the option of doing so by means of a private contract.

Leaving Switzerland to live abroad

When a person takes up domicile abroad, their obligation to maintain Swiss compulsory health insurance ends when they leave Switzerland. Exceptions apply for certain groups of people (pensioners, cross-border commuters, posted workers, etc.) by virtue of the bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU, the EFTA Convention and other international social-security agreements.

Voluntary health insurance

When a person previously covered under a compulsory healthcare policy leaves Switzerland to live in a non-EU/EFTA country, his or her insurers can continue to provide cover under a private contract governed by Swiss insurance law. In practice, only a few insurers offer this option to their policyholders.

EU member states

Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Croatia*, Latvia, Lituania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary, Cyprus.

* The AFMP has been extended to Croatia on 1 January 2017. The Regulations (CE) No 883/2004 and 987/2009 are therefore applicable to the relations between Switzerland and Croatia.