Self-supporting students
EEA students and EEA exchange students in the LLP/Erasmus framework
Students who are EEA nationals should obtain a so-called European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) proving you already have insurance coverage in your home country. Nationals from Algeria, Australia, Tunisia, Turkey and the Former Yugoslavia can also obtain documents under the terms of the agreement between Belgium and their country. Any medical costs you may incur will be reimbursed by a Belgian health-insurance company if you show them the EHIC. This also applies to the cost of drugs and medication: ask for a 704N form at the pharmacy.
If you have no EHIC, you are required to follow the same procedure as non-EEA students and take out health-insurance coverage in Belgium.
Non-EEA students (or students whose scholarship does not include health-care insurance)
Self-supporting students, or those with a scholarship that does not include health insurance, should take out a health-insurance policy. If you arrive before July 1st, you will have to obtain temporary private health insurance (see below). The cost of private insurance is € 41.15 per month for men and up to € 60.49 per month for women and children. If you arrive after July 1st, you can wait until the start of the university's registration period. With your proof of registration, you can take out a health-insurance policy at the insurance company of your choice. However, it may be useful to know that K.U.Leuven has excellent relations with 'CM - Leuven' (a major health-insurance company).
Pangaea, the meeting centre for international students, regularly holds information and sign-up sessions for health insurance. For more information concerning the exact dates of the sessions, you can contact the Social Service for Students. The dates of these sign-up sessions can also be found here. www.cmleuven.be/students. At this website you can register for the health insurance. After registration you will receive the necessary forms to subscribe by e-mail.
The documents to submit:
• passport
• Belgian identity card (if you have it already)
• the certificate of ‘family composition’ (which you can obtain at City Hall) if you have family members to be insured
• bank account number
• the certificate of enrolment which you will obtain automatically upon enrolment at the K.U.Leuven Registrar’s Office (this is not the same as your student card).
The fee consists of a quarterly payment, which entitles you to all benefits from the first day of that quarter. There are four payment periods: from the beginning of October to the end of December, from the beginning of January to the end of March, from the beginning of April to the end of June and from July until September.
During the first quarter of your stay as a student in Belgium you will be eligible for health insurance as a 'student'. For 2010 this costs € 67.74. Once you have received your identity card at the City Hall you will be eligible for health insurance as a 'resident'. This means a cost of € 14.85 per quarter.
If your family needs to be insured as well, your partner has to report to the health-insurance company in person because she/he must sign the insurance documents personally. She/he can be covered from the moment she/he has a Belgian residence permit or identity card (white card).
If a child is born during your stay in Belgium you must report to the health-insurance company and submit the birth certificate, which you can obtain at City Hall.
