European Union

The International Payments Centre is notifying all Czech citizens working or intending to work in another EU member state of a stricter approach being taken towards the failure of announcing the beginning of pursuit of gainful activity in another EU state from 1 May 2005.

For a year the European legal regulations applicable in the CR have stipulated that Czech citizens are subject to legal regulations on health insurance in one state only, this state being the state where they perform their gainful activity. For failure to meet the reporting duty the insurant can be appropriately penalised.

Consequently, when you know you are going to start pursuing a gainful activity in the near future in another EU state, please notify your existing health insurance company of this fact before travelling to this state. Cancel your registration with the Czech health insurance system from the day you start your gainful activity in another country. If you have already started your gainful activity in another EU state, please notify your Czech health insurance company of this fact without delay (within 8 days). As you cancel your registration please return (send) your Czech health insurance company the European health insurance certificate issued by this insurance company. In addition, please notify your insurance company whether you have dependent family member in the CR.

A dependent family member is understood as a husband/wife who does not have his/her own income from gainful activity in the CR or does not draw a pension here, or does not draw financial benefits of a job seeker in the CR, or does not draw maternity benefits from his/her employer in the CR according to the applicable regulations on health insurance. In addition, the category "dependent family member" includes a child who is attending mandatory education or is systematically preparing for the pursuit of a future vocation, or cannot systematically prepare for future vocation or cannot perform gainful activity for reasons of illness or injury, or is unable to perform gainful activity for reasona of long-term unfavourable health conditions or is, after the completion of mandatory education until the age of 18 filed in the registry of job seekers at the Employment Office without being entitled to the financial benefits for job seekers. A dependant child cannot mean a child who is a beneficiary of a full disability pension drawn from a pension insurance. A child can be registered as a foreign insurant only when his/her parent or another person caring for the child is understood as dependent.

The conditions for engaging in health insurance differ from state to state. In some situations (for example, while self-employed in Germany) your insurance is not compulsorily required by the law and you will only have the option of voluntary private insurance. For detailed information on the conditions of public insurance systems, see http://europa.eu.int/eures/, or http://www.cmu.cz/.

When performing gainful activity in another EU state only you cannot be simultaneously insured in the public system in the CR. This could only be possible if your were granted an exemption.

Right to health care

Right to full health care in the CR:

If you are a Czech citizen working in another member state and you still live the CR,  you can ask your foreign insurance company (institution) for form E106. This institution is competent to determine if you are still living in the CR. Should this institution determine that you are still living in the CR, it will supply you form E106. Submit this form to the last Czech health insurance company where you were insured.

You will obtain from the Czech health insurance company a registration certificate that will serve as a document to be produced to doctors of medicine in the Czech Republic.

The same procedure (form E106) applies even when you are a cross-border worker. However, your dependent family member will onlyhave the right for essential health care in the country of your job.

Right to essential health care in the CR:

If you are a Czech citizen working and living in another member state you are entitled only to essential health care in the CR . Your foreign insurance company is entitled to determine if you live in the country in which you work.
To be able to enjoy health care when staying in the CR you can ask your foreign insurance company (institution) for a European health insurance certificate or a certificate temporarily substituting the former certificate. In countries that did not introduce the European certificate during 2005 you will acquire form E111 that serves the same purpose.

Right to full health care in the CR for dependent family members:

If you work in another EU or EEA country and you are insured in the public health insurance system of this country, your dependent family members living in the CR must be covered by the health system of the country in which you work. In all events, they have the right to full health care in the CR.

If your foreign health insurance company (institution) recognised your residence in the CR and issued a certificate confirming your right to full health care in the CR (E106), notify the Czech health insurance company to which you present form E106 of the existence of a dependent family member.

If you do not live in the CR or your foreign health insurance company (institution) did not recognise your residence in the CR, ask this institution for a certificate confirming that your dependent family members have the right to full health care (E109). Submit this certificate to the Czech health insurance company that manages the insurance of your family members.

To verify your family relationship the Czech health insurance company may ask you to produce your marriage certificate or the birth certificate of your child. If your husband/wife had to pay the insurance as a self-payer he/she will be relieved of this duty. At the same time, you may claim your right to draw family benefits provided in the country of your insurance.

Source:
International Payment Centre nám. W. Churchilla 2, 113 59 Praha 3, tel. 234 462 041, fax: 222 734 951, email: info(a)cmu.cz, http://www.cmu.cz/