Using the EHIC in Bulgaria
The European Health Insurance Card lets someone insured in another EU country access medically necessary care during a temporary stay in Bulgaria on the same terms as a locally insured person. It is a coordination instrument, not an insurance policy.
Healthcare · Last reviewed: 2026-08-16
What the card opens
The EHIC works only inside the public system, meaning providers contracted with НЗОК. A private clinic without a contract is not obliged to accept it, and will not. The "medically necessary" test is judged against the length of your stay: on a two-week holiday a treatment that cannot wait is covered, while on a six-month stay the same procedure may count as planned. That judgement is the doctor's.
What the card does not cover
- Travel undertaken in order to get treatment: that runs under the prior-authorisation route, not the card.
- Private hospitals and clinics, and doctors without an НЗОК contract.
- Medical repatriation and transport of remains — the territory of travel insurance.
- User fees payable by everyone: the card does not waive them, it puts you on the same footing as a local insured person.
- Settling permanently: once you live and work here, local insurance replaces the card.
Getting a Bulgarian EHIC
Make sure your status is active
No card is issued while rights are interrupted; contributions have to be settled first.Apply to НЗОК
The application goes through the regional office or through the fund's e-services.Choose how to receive it
Production takes time, so a provisional replacement certificate can be issued for an urgent trip.Check the validity date
The card is time-limited; expiry does not end your insurance, it only means the document needs renewing.
If the card is refused
First verify that the facility genuinely holds an НЗОК contract — in many centres the public and private arms share one building and patients easily land in the wrong one. If you had to pay, keep the itemised invoice and the medical documentation: a reimbursement claim goes either to НЗОК here or, after you return, to your own insurance institution. Which route is faster depends on the amount and on how complete your paperwork is.
The clinical call belongs to the doctor
This is not legal or financial advice
Frequently asked questions
I am a UK national with a GHIC. Does it work here?
Cards issued under the post-withdrawal arrangements are designed to give equivalent access for medically necessary care during temporary stays, but the exact coverage depends on your own status and issuer. Check with the issuing authority before travelling rather than at the reception desk.
Does the card replace my ID?
No. A valid identity document is requested alongside it; there is no procedure where the card alone suffices.
I retired here on a pension from another EU state. Which document applies?
Not the card but the cross-border form route: the institution paying your pension issues a document, you register it with НЗОК, and you then use the local system.
Sources
The information on this page is based on the official sources listed below. Legislation changes — open the links and verify the current position.
- Национална здравноосигурителна каса (НЗОК) — https://www.nhif.bg/ · 2026-08-16
- Your Europe — Health care in the EU — https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/index_en.htm · 2026-08-16
- Министерство на здравеопазването — https://www.mh.government.bg/ · 2026-08-16
Related topics
Bulgaria's compulsory health insurance: who is covered
Who must be insured, when the obligation starts for a foreign resident, what the basic package means and how to verify your status — explained institution by institution.
Interrupted health insurance rights and how to restore them
What an interrupted status means in practice, why emergency care still happens, how the debt is settled and from which date cover reopens.