Year abroad and language stay: keep or suspend your health insurance?

Language stay and health insurance: it depends on your residence

Whether you remain insured in Switzerland during a language stay, an exchange year or a semester abroad depends on one single point: your residence. The requirement to take out insurance is linked to residence in Switzerland (Art. 3 para. 1 of the Federal Health Insurance Act, KVG). If you go travelling or study abroad and do not take up residence there, you remain subject to compulsory insurance in Switzerland. According to the FOPH, basic health insurance can neither be cancelled nor suspended for a stay abroad or a trip around the world.

Two rules from the Civil Code explain why this also applies for a whole year. A stay for the purpose of education does not in itself establish a residence (Art. 23 para. 1 ZGB). And once established, a residence remains until you acquire a new one (Art. 24 para. 1 ZGB). Deregistering with your municipality alone therefore does not end your residence in Switzerland.

Most language stays and exchange years fall into the first row. The answer to the question in the title is then: you keep your health insurance. Basic health insurance can only be suspended for military service of more than 60 consecutive days (Art. 3 para. 4 KVG).

Step by step: sorting out health insurance before your year abroad

1. Clarify the question of residence. If you stay registered in Switzerland or keep the centre of your life here, you remain insured. If you move away completely, read the section on moving away below.
2. Check your European Health Insurance Card. For the EU, EFTA and the UK, you need the European Health Insurance Card. It is usually printed on the back of your health insurance card. Check the expiry date.
3. Clarify cover outside Europe. For countries with high treatment and transport costs such as the USA, Canada or Japan, the FOPH recommends supplementary travel insurance. Check whether your supplementary insurance covers treatment abroad and repatriation, or take out travel insurance.
4. Check the school’s and visa requirements. Some schools or immigration authorities require proof of insurance in a specific form. Ask the school or the host country’s embassy or consulate.
5. Read the model rules. In the GP, HMO or telemedicine model, rules apply for the first point of contact. Which of them apply to emergencies abroad is set out in your insurer’s model conditions.
6. Make sure premiums are paid. Set up a standing order or direct debit. Unpaid premiums lead to reminders and debt enforcement even while you are away.
7. Adjust insurer or deductible before you leave. You can switch at the end of the year if your notice reaches the insurer by 30 November (Art. 7 para. 2 KVG). The deadline calculator works out the dates.

What basic health insurance pays abroad

In principle, basic health insurance only pays for services in Switzerland. Cover abroad is an exception for emergencies: an emergency exists if you need treatment during a temporary stay abroad and returning to Switzerland is not appropriate. If you travel abroad specifically for treatment, that is not an emergency (Art. 36 para. 2 KVV).

Country of stay	What basic health insurance pays	Basis
27 EU states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, United Kingdom	medically necessary services as for people insured there, with the local co-payment; on presentation of the European Health Insurance Card	FOPH, Common Institution under the Federal Health Insurance Act
other countries, outpatient	no more than twice the costs that would be reimbursed in Switzerland	Art. 36 para. 4 KVV
other countries, hospital	no more than 90 % of what the hospital stay would cost in Switzerland	FOPH
rescue and repatriation	nothing; contributions are only paid for rescues in Switzerland	Art. 27 KLV

There is a reason for the 90 % in hospital: for hospital treatment in Switzerland, the canton covers at least 55 % of the costs, so the insurer pays at most 45 %. Abroad, the canton’s share does not apply (FOPH). Deductible and retention fee also apply to emergencies abroad. The insurer only reimburses medicines you buy abroad if you need them because of an illness during the temporary stay (FOPH, Priminfo).

Your insurer’s accident cover applies abroad in the same way as cover for illness. You can only suspend it if you are fully insured under the UVG (Art. 8 KVG), so not during a pure language stay without employment.

Sample calculation: emergency during a language stay in Canada

Example with fictitious people. Lea, born in 2007, lives in Bern and attends a language school in Canada for six months. She keeps her residence in Switzerland. She has a CHF 300 deductible and no travel insurance. After food poisoning, she is treated as an outpatient in an emergency department.

The amounts are assumed, the rules are not. The example shows the gap the FOPH has in mind with its recommendation of supplementary travel insurance for stays outside the EU. For a hospital stay or repatriation, it can be many times higher.

What the premium costs during the year abroad

The premium continues in full, even though you are only insured for emergencies abroad. Premiums 2026, municipality of Bern (region 1), young adults born in 2007, with accident cover; source FOPH:

A year with the median offer and a CHF 300 deductible costs CHF 5,541.60, with a CHF 2,500 deductible CHF 4,027.20. You can choose a higher deductible from 1 January; going back to a lower one is only possible at the end of the year, with your notice received by 30 November (Art. 94 KVV). Remember that after your return you will again bear the normal costs in Switzerland. Which premium applies from age 19 and from age 26 is explained in the article Premium at 19 and 26. You can compare the premiums in your municipality in the premium calculator. The FOPH publishes next year’s premiums at the end of September; until they are released, we calculate with the 2026 premiums.

If you really move your residence abroad

Things are different if you establish a new residence abroad, for example because you start a permanent job there and move the centre of your life there. You are then no longer subject to compulsory insurance, and basic health insurance ends (Art. 5 para. 3 KVG). According to the FOPH, it generally ends at the time you leave. There is no notice period when moving abroad; as proof, the insurer usually asks for the municipality’s confirmation of deregistration. Exceptions apply to some groups, for example posted workers, cross-border commuters or pensioners in the EU and EFTA; they play no role for a language stay. What applies when you move away for good is explained in the article Moving abroad.

If you come back, you must take out insurance again within 3 months (Art. 3 para. 1 KVG). If you register in time, insurance starts when you take up residence, i.e. retroactively (Art. 5 para. 1 KVG). Every insurer must accept you for basic health insurance, without health questions (Art. 5 let. i KVAG). If you are late, you are only insured from the date you join and, if the delay is inexcusable, owe a premium surcharge (Art. 5 para. 2 KVG).

Supplementary insurance during the year abroad

Supplementary insurance policies are private contracts under the Insurance Contract Act (ICA). They do not end automatically when you leave or move away. Only the policyholder may give ordinary notice (Art. 35a para. 4 ICA); for young adults, this is often still the parents. Some supplementary insurance policies include modules for travel, for example treatment costs abroad above the Swiss tariff, repatriation or assistance. Which benefits, maximum amounts and length of stay apply is set out in the general terms and conditions. Whether a supplementary insurance can be suspended during a longer stay abroad is also governed by the general terms and conditions; there is no statutory rule on this. If you cancel supplementary insurance before you leave, an insurer may ask you health questions after your return and turn you down. What counts are the general terms and conditions and the information from the insurer. You can find key figures on the insurers in the health insurer profiles.

Special cases for a year abroad

• Going abroad after an apprenticeship: The training company’s accident insurance ends on the 31st day after your entitlement to salary ends. With extended cover by agreement, you can extend it by up to six months (Art. 3 para. 2 and 3 UVG). If you have suspended your insurer’s accident cover, tell the insurer that the job has ended. More on this in the article Apprenticeship and first job.
• Semester abroad during your studies: Studying abroad is a stay for the purpose of education; your residence usually remains in Switzerland. What else applies during your studies is explained in the article Studies and health insurance.
• Basic military training before or after the year abroad: For military service of more than 60 consecutive days, the requirement to take out insurance is suspended (Art. 3 para. 4 KVG). This only applies to the service, not to the trip.
• Planned treatment abroad: Basic health insurance does not pay abroad for check-ups or treatment you already plan before leaving. Have them done in Switzerland beforehand or clarify with your insurer what it covers.

Common mistakes

• Cancelling basic health insurance because you are away for a year. Without a new residence abroad, the requirement to take out insurance continues, even after deregistering with your municipality.
• Relying on basic health insurance outside Europe. It pays no more than twice the Swiss amount, in hospital no more than 90 % of the Swiss costs, and no repatriation.
• Forgetting the European Health Insurance Card. In the EU, EFTA and the UK, it is your proof that you are entitled to the same benefits as people insured there.
• Cancelling supplementary insurance before you leave. After your return, an insurer may ask health questions and turn you down.
• Not reporting your return. If you had moved your residence, you must take out insurance again within 3 months of your return.

You can find all articles for this stage of life in the topic Young adults. If you fall ill during a short stay, you can find the rules for travel in the article Ill abroad.