Contents (8 sections)
- Health insurance in Germany for Indians: the basics
- Blue Card and health insurance: why many Indian professionals start in public insurance
- The Indo-German social security agreement: pensions only
- Spouse and children joining you
- Parents visiting from India
- Above the threshold: public or private?
- Going back to India: plan your exit
- Checklist for Indian professionals
- Indian citizens follow the same health insurance rules as everyone: employees are publicly insured below €77,400 (2026) or €84,150 (2027, draft); above it they may choose private insurance.
- The Blue Card minimum salary – €50,700, or €45,934.20 for ICT professionals and other shortage occupations (2026) – is far below the threshold, so many Blue Card holders from India are publicly insured.
- The Indo-German social security agreement only covers pensions; insurance periods in India don't count for German public insurance.
- A spouse without own income and children living in Germany are insured free of charge in public insurance; parents are not – visiting parents need their own travel cover.
- Moving back to India usually ends a German private policy; your ageing reserves stay in Germany.
Health insurance in Germany for Indians follows the same rules as for everyone: employees earning up to €77,400 (2026) or €84,150 (2027, draft) are publicly insured by law – which includes many Blue Card holders, because the Blue Card minimum is far lower. Public insurance covers a spouse without income and children in Germany free of charge, but not visiting parents. The Indo-German social security agreement only covers pensions (as of October 2026).
Health insurance in Germany for Indians: the basics
Indian professionals are one of the largest groups of newcomers to Germany: India accounted for more than a quarter of all EU Blue Cards issued in 2023 (BAMF). Your nationality, however, plays no role in German health insurance. Your status and – as an employee – your regular salary decide.
| Who | Health insurance (usually) |
|---|---|
| You, employee up to the threshold | Public by law – employer pays about half |
| You, employee above the threshold | Choice: public or private (first job: public within three months) |
| Spouse without own income, living in Germany | Free family insurance – if you are publicly insured |
| Spouse with own job | Own insurance through the job |
| Children living in Germany | Free family insurance in public; own premium in private |
| Parents visiting from India | Own travel medical insurance for the visa |
Not immigration advice.This is not immigration or legal advice. Whether your health insurance is sufficient for a visa or residence permit is decided by the German mission abroad or your local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde). Official information: Federal Foreign Office, BAMF and Make it in Germany.
Blue Card and health insurance: why many Indian professionals start in public insurance
The Blue Card minimum salary is €50,700 in 2026. For shortage occupations – including ICT professionals (ISCO-08 group 25), engineers and medical doctors – and for recent graduates it is €45,934.20 (§ 18g AufenthG). The health insurance threshold is much higher: €77,400 in 2026 and €84,150 in 2027 (draft). A Blue Card salary of €60,000 is therefore public insurance by law – nothing to decide.
Before your job starts, things are different: German missions point out that public insurance only begins once you live in Germany and start work. If you arrive earlier, you need private cover as a bridge. Details: health insurance with a Blue Card. Still looking for a job? See health insurance with the Opportunity Card. Working in IT? What counts towards the threshold in tech jobs.
The Indo-German social security agreement: pensions only
Germany and India have a social security agreement, but it is limited. The German pension insurance explains that the German–Indian agreement only contains rules on pension insurance; all other branches of social insurance are not covered (DRV, retrieved 10 October 2026). For postings by a German employer to India, it limits the posting to 48 months – for pensions. For health insurance this means:
- Indian insurance doesn't count: periods with an Indian insurer are not prior public insurance periods in Germany. They don't open voluntary public insurance later.
- German law decides: whether you are publicly or privately insured in Germany follows German rules only.
- Self-employed newcomers: without prior public insurance in Germany or the EU, freelancers from India usually have no route into public insurance and need private cover – the fund decides.
Spouse and children joining you
Many professionals bring their family once the job has started. Family insurance (Familienversicherung) is one of the strongest arguments for public insurance:
- Spouse: covered free of charge if they live in Germany, have no own insurance and earn at most €565 a month (2026; €590 in 2027, draft). From 2028 a surcharge of 2.5 percentage points applies for family-insured spouses – unless, for example, a child under 12 lives in the household.
- Spouse with a job: insured through their own employment – public below the threshold.
- Children: free in public insurance. In private insurance, each child needs a policy – typically €120 to €250 a month (broker analysis, September 2026). Newborns can be added to a parent's private policy without health questions or waiting periods if registered within two months of birth (§ 198 VVG).
Family of four on one salary (€90,000) – own share per month in 2027, in €
Spouse without income, two children · public: family insured free of charge · private: two adults at €649 plus two children at €120, employer pays up to €557.81 for health and €114.75 for long-term care, assuming about €60 long-term care per adult (high end of the range: about €2,156)
Own calculation, as of 10 October 2026 (§ 10 and § 257 SGB V; Finanztest 3/2025; children's tariffs typically €120–250, transparent-beraten.de 04.09.2026). From 2028 a 2.5-point surcharge applies to family-insured spouses unless, for example, a child is under 12.
More examples in private health insurance with a family.
Parents visiting from India
Parents are not included in German family insurance, neither in public nor in private insurance. For a visit on a Schengen visa, a travel medical insurance with at least €30,000 cover, valid in the Schengen area for the whole trip, is generally required (EU Visa Code, Art. 15). Read the policy terms carefully – travel policies have limits and exclusions. The German mission decides whether a policy is sufficient for the visa.
Above the threshold: public or private?
If your salary is above the threshold, compare honestly. In 2027 an employee above the contribution ceiling pays up to €729.94 a month for public insurance (childless, scenario) – and that covers a non-working spouse and children too. Full-cover private tariffs cost €649 to €1,137 a month at age 35 (Finanztest 3/2025) – per person. The employer pays half, but only up to separate caps for health (about €557.81) and long-term care (about €114.75) in 2027 (scenario), and these caps apply to you and your dependants together, not per person. With a family on one income, public is often the better deal; single and planning to stay long, private can make sense.
Timing matters too. If your first job in Germany pays above the threshold, you can still join public insurance voluntarily within three months of starting (§ 9 (1) no. 3 SGB V). After that window the way into public insurance usually closes, because your insurance periods in India don't count. In an existing job, a pay rise above the threshold only lets you leave public insurance at the turn of the year – check your dates with the income threshold checker.
Going back to India: plan your exit
Many professionals keep the option of returning to India. Plan for it before you choose:
Public insurance
Membership usually ends when you move away. Nothing to cancel long term, no reserves left behind.
Private insurance
A German policy usually ends when you move outside the EU/EEA, unless agreed otherwise. A dormant policy can keep your health status for a return. Ageing reserves stay in Germany.
Read what happens to your health insurance when you leave Germany and plan the steps with the leaving-Germany planner.
Checklist for Indian professionals
- Read your mission's information sheet before booking bridge cover.
- Compare your contract salary with €77,400 (2026) and €84,150 (2027, draft).
- Plan your family's arrival: family insurance starts only when they live in Germany.
- Arrange separate travel cover for visiting parents.
- Decide with your exit plan in mind – India, another EU country or staying in Germany.
The free 60-second decider takes your family and planned stay into account and tells you honestly whether to stay public – no health questions.
Frequently asked questions
Which health insurance do Indian professionals need in Germany?
The same as everyone else: as an employee you are publicly insured by law below the income threshold (€77,400 in 2026, €84,150 in 2027, draft). Above it, or as a freelancer, private insurance is an option. Before your job starts, your mission may require private cover as a bridge.
Can my wife or husband be covered by my German health insurance?
In public insurance, yes – free of charge, if your spouse lives in Germany, has no own insurance and earns at most €565 a month (2026). If your spouse works, they are usually insured through their own job. In private insurance, every family member pays a separate premium.
What health insurance do my parents need to visit me in Germany?
Parents are not covered by German family insurance. For a Schengen visa, a travel medical policy with at least €30,000 cover for the whole trip is generally required (EU Visa Code, Art. 15). The German mission decides whether a policy is sufficient.
Does the India–Germany social security agreement cover health insurance?
No. According to the German pension insurance (DRV), the German–Indian agreement only contains rules on pension insurance; all other branches of social insurance are not covered. Insurance periods in India don't count for German public insurance.
What happens to my German private health insurance if I move back to India?
Under the model terms, a German private policy ends when you move your residence outside the EU/EEA, unless your insurer agrees to continue it. For a temporary move you can ask for a dormant policy (§ 15 (3) MB/KK 2009). Ageing reserves are not paid out or transferred abroad.
Sources
- BAMF: figures on the EU Blue Card – as of 4 July 2024
- Deutsche Rentenversicherung: working in Germany and India (scope of the agreement) – retrieved 10 October 2026
- § 18g AufenthG – EU Blue Card
- Federal Ministry of the Interior: minimum salaries for the EU Blue Card 2026 (BAnz AT 18.12.2025 B3)
- § 10 SGB V – family insurance
- § 198 VVG – newborns in private insurance
- Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 (Visa Code), Art. 15 – travel medical insurance
- PKV association: model terms MB/KK 2009 (§ 15 (3)) – as of June 2024
This article provides general information on health insurance in Germany (as of 10 October 2026). It does not replace individual advice. Which solution suits you depends on your personal situation, e.g. age, health, income, family and length of stay. Despite careful review we cannot guarantee completeness and accuracy; laws and tariffs change. It is not immigration advice: whether your insurance is sufficient for a visa or residence permit is decided by the German mission abroad or your immigration office. Publisher: German-PKV.de. German-PKV.de is not an insurance broker and does not provide insurance, legal or tax advice; individual advice is provided exclusively by specialised cooperation partners licensed under § 34d GewO.