Health insurance, healthcare, EHIC

Hi again.

A UK EHIC is of no use to you if you are a resident in any other EU country.  An EHIC is only for emergency medical treatment while you are visiting another EU country while on holiday.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Then does a person coming to live in Bulgaria from England need a UK EHIC card? or are they asked to bring one with them from England?

Hi again.

No, a UK EHIC is of no use to "a person coming to live in Bulgaria from England"; assuming you are not in receipt of a UK State Pension, you will need to sort out Health Insurance in Bulgaria.

The UK NHS website (link) has some information you may find useful, plus contact details for you to contact the Bulgarian National Health Insurance Fund.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Would travel insurance bought in the UK or Bulgaria be of any use for someone living in Bulgaria, in terms of covering medical/health costs?

Or is travel insurance like the EHIC card only intended for people visiting the country temporarily / on holiday?

Hi again.

Travel Insurance is aimed at people travelling temporarily outside their own country, i.e. holidays, short business trips; it should cover the things that an EHIC doesn't cover, most importantly repatriation if you become seriously ill, or hurt yourself and can't travel by conventional means.  An EHIC only provides emergency cover for the same things that a citizen of the country you are visiting would receive from the same local health system, it is not like having the NHS in your pocket.

Travel Insurance bought in the UK would in general, not be of any use to you living in Bulgaria; if you leave the UK with the intention of living in another country (doesn't matter which), then you need to join the Healthcare system of that country, in most countries that means local health insurance.

The EHIC card is indeed only intended for people visiting an EU country temporarily, or on holiday.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Should Brexit happen the EHIC would be no use anyway.

If you LIVE in Bulgaria, you really should get their state medical insurance - and then you can obtain Bulgarian EHIC card which will cover you while traveling to other EU countries.

From the documentaries i've seen, In bulgaria some people live in extreme poverty.

I expect that there are a lot of poor bulgarian people, especially among the roma gypsies, who do not pay for bulgarian state medical insurance as they cannot afford it.
Therefore when they need to go to the hospital for treatment, do they get treated, and do they get a big bill to pay due to not having bulgarian state medical insurance?
I'd expect they cant afford to pay a big bill anyway, so what happens?

Thanks.

When my Bulgarian neighbour collapsed and almost died from perforated ulcer attack, he was even refused an ambulance as he never paid health contributions. We have brought him to the hospital, where he received some first aid, but was refused further treatments until his son paid 5 years worth of insurance.

Lee4 wrote:

From the documentaries i've seen, In bulgaria some people live in extreme poverty.

I expect that there are a lot of poor bulgarian people, especially among the roma gypsies, who do not pay for bulgarian state medical insurance as they cannot afford it.
Therefore when they need to go to the hospital for treatment, do they get treated, and do they get a big bill to pay due to not having bulgarian state medical insurance?
I'd expect they cant afford to pay a big bill anyway, so what happens?

Thanks.

If you can't afford insurance Lee you will not be allowed to stay in the country permanently.

If you are staying more than 3 months, you must apply to your nearest police department for residency.

You will need to provide documentation proving that:

you have a work contract or are self-employed in Bulgaria, or that you can support yourself through independent means
you hold personal health insurance or a UK social security form, such as an S1 form
you are enrolled in an educational programme

or

you are an immediate family member joining an EU citizen who fulfils one of the above criteria. If you are an immediate family member joining an EU citizen, you will have to present documentary evidence that you are a family member or live together with the EU citizen (for example a marriage certificate or a birth certificate)
You will also need to show your passport.

OK, Lee. I think we got off on the wrong foot with me asking if you were trolling? I am not an admin, but I am entrusted in helping to police the site.

The questions you are asking do come across as trolling material I must say. You are not asking them rightly.

I suggest you write down them first with priority ...

1)
2)
3)
etc......

Then come back here and ask them.

Include, are you retiring to Bulgaria or plan to work a bit? Will you have a family joining you?
Maybe you can also say what attracts you to Bulgaria?

You are from Coventry (I know it well), Yes I can I understand why you want to escape.

dimwolf wrote:

When my Bulgarian neighbour collapsed and almost died from perforated ulcer attack, he was even refused an ambulance as he never paid health contributions. We have brought him to the hospital, where he received some first aid, but was refused further treatments until his son paid 5 years worth of insurance.

That is shocking but not surprising, thanks for confirming it.

You have to wonder if its really worth all the effort. An application form for this an application form for that, money for this money for that. Did we really sign up for all this bureaucracy when we came to this earth?

Wouldn't the earth be a much simpler happier and more harmonious place without the man made fictional constructs of - money and political borders.
All other species on earth seem to manage ok without them, why not humans.

I've heard similar stories in a couple of other EU countries; ambulances in Holland run around with credit card machines on them.  In the press relatively recently, 2 hospitals there went bankrupt.

The EU healthcare arrangements these days are meant for temporary visitors (up to 90 days stay), but you still need insurance to cover the extra bits; with only pensioners getting further assistance.

Cynic wrote:

I've heard similar stories in a couple of other EU countries; ambulances in Holland run around with credit card machines on them.  In the press relatively recently, 2 hospitals there went bankrupt.

The EU healthcare arrangements these days are meant for temporary visitors (up to 90 days stay), but you still need insurance to cover the extra bits; with only pensioners getting further assistance.

I wonder how ambulances in such countries deal with public situations like - road accidents, a person collapsing or falling in the street, someone having an epileptic fit in a shopping centre etc.
Presumably someone would call for an ambulance.
Then what happens - oh sorry, we can't help this person they have no medical insurance.
What a situation that would be.
Its disturbing that they check a persons finances before treating them.

The Dutch were fed up with Brits behaving like they do at home on a night night out and pitching up at A&E expecting treatment for alcohol related injuries.

SimCityAT wrote:

OK, Lee. I think we got off on the wrong foot with me asking if you were trolling? I am not an admin, but I am entrusted in helping to police the site.

The questions you are asking do come across as trolling material I must say. You are not asking them rightly.

I suggest you write down them first with priority ...

1)
2)
3)
etc......

Then come back here and ask them.

Include, are you retiring to Bulgaria or plan to work a bit? Will you have a family joining you?
Maybe you can also say what attracts you to Bulgaria?

You are from Coventry (I know it well), Yes I can I understand why you want to escape.

Hi SCAT

on your profile it says you live in Austria.

Have you ever holidayed or settled in Bulgaria?
If yes, what did you like and dislike about the country/regions of it that you experienced?

Do you presently have any intention of settling in Bulgaria in the future?

And most importantly for this thread, what have been your experiences of the Bulgarian health care system?

Thanks

"As soon as the UK is out of the EU, that door will be shut, locked and barricaded so to speak, right? Does it take long to go through all formalities in Bulgaria? I mean securing the right to stay."

I don't think that is the case.

Also, brexit may never happen, TPTB dont want it. Watch out for a 2nd referendum, and if that dont work, a third.

I'm from the US, and I'm a retiree, so my experience will not be exactly what you're looking for, but for whatever it's worth,  I would strongly suggest that you contact an immigration lawyer in Bulgaria to advise you. There is a lot of misinformation (and incomplete information, which can be misleading) on the 'net. I would suggest that you start the process as soon as  you can. You could always stop the process if you change your mind, but it seems likely to me that whenever Brexit goes through, that there will be a lot of other people applying from the UK, and that there will likely be some uncertainty as to the procedures. If you want to send me a private message, I'd be happy to give you my immigration lawyer's details. He is based in Sofia, but also has an office in Plovdiv. Ginny

Nomadetta wrote:

May I ask a question pertaining to a more pressing matter?  For Brits who wish to escape expensive rent, car insurance, high population density etc. and move to Bulgaria (or any other EU country for that matter) the clock is ticking. As soon as the UK is out of the EU, that door will be shut, locked and barricaded so to speak, right? Does it take long to go through all formalities in Bulgaria? I mean securing the right to stay.

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Top left-hand corner of this page is a link to our Discover section; mouse over that and you'll see a link to our Bulgaria Guide, this contains a lot of information that may answer many of your questions.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Lee4 wrote:

"As soon as the UK is out of the EU, that door will be shut, locked and barricaded so to speak, right? Does it take long to go through all formalities in Bulgaria? I mean securing the right to stay."

I don't think that is the case.

Also, brexit may never happen, TPTB dont want it. Watch out for a 2nd referendum, and if that dont work, a third.

You guys are out if your politicians don't have made any plans for leaving the E.U. or signing the existing agreement. Well they still have no clue what to do, so don't count on much leniency from the E.U.

You should expect that the UK is going to leave the E.U. at the 31 of October.