Yes, we know! Trying to figure out what options you have regarding health insurance and making an educated decision instead of a wild guess is a real head-banger for foreigners. If it eases your pain: it is the same for Germans and many of them have made costly mistakes in the past - which is one reason why currently around 300.000 people in Germany are without any health insurance coverage, a real shame for a rich modern country like this.

Some basics
Here are some basics so that you know which parts of the subsections you need to read further. What kind of health insurance you can or should choose, if you can choose at all, is determined by several factors:

• if you are in employment in Germany ( see Employee options)  or working as a freelancer/self-employed (compare either Freelancer options or Self-employed options)
• for defining your choices as employee: your current gross salary and the average gross salary of the preceeeding three years
• for defining your choices as freelancer/self-employed: how you have been pre-insured during the last 5 years
  
• your age
• your family status or family planning
• how long you do intend to stay in Germany
• pre-existing health conditions

If you want to have a quick overview about your choices and recommendable options, check the simple descriptive comparison at the "Option/Choice table". If you find that you have a choice between public and private health insurance solutions and you are not sure which way to lean to, check for a comparison of pros and cons between both insurance system here.

Generally speaking: to find the right health insurance solution for you should neither be left to luck or any insurance-salesperson you encounter. You do need truly independent advice in order to make sure that you do not pay dearly for the wrong solution, either now or later.....

And if you don't want to collect/read all the information provided here and elsewhere, you can either contact us through using the contact form, send us an email at info@crcie.com or call us directly at 0700-226525688. We'll be happy to lead you through the jungle of information, rules and choices and thus avoid you getting a major headache before you even have an insurance to pay for the prescriptions to cure the ache....