Healthcare in Berlin: the Krankenkasse, the S1 and finding an English-speaking doctor

Germany's healthcare is excellent, but it isn't free at the point of joining: every resident must have health insurance, and sorting yours out is one of your first jobs.

The short version

• Health insurance is compulsory for everyone living in Germany, and most people join a statutory insurer (gesetzliche Krankenkasse), often through their employer [1][2].
• In 2026 the statutory contribution is 14.6% of earnings plus an average extra contribution of 2.9%, split half and half with your employer, on earnings up to EUR 5,812.50 a month (about £4,840) [3].
• Employees earning more than EUR 77,400 a year (about £64,500) in 2026 can choose private insurance instead [3].
• UK State Pensioners may be able to have their German healthcare funded by the UK with an S1, registered with a Krankenkasse [2].
• The GHIC is for temporary stays such as visits and study, not for residents [2].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = EUR 1.2002).

How the German system works

Back home, you register with a GP and the NHS is paid for through tax and National Insurance. In Germany, healthcare is paid for by insurance. The FCDO is blunt: health insurance is compulsory for residents, and you must join a German health insurer, often arranged through your employer [1]. In some cases you can choose private insurance instead of the statutory scheme [1].

About 90% of residents are in a statutory Krankenkasse and about 10% are privately insured [2]. Once you join, you get a health insurance card (the elektronische Gesundheitskarte) that you show at every appointment [2]. You can usually pick any doctor who takes statutory patients, without registering with a single GP surgery first, though a family doctor (Hausarzt) who knows you is still worth having.

Your visa or residence permit also depends on proof of health cover, so get it sorted before your appointment at the immigration office.

Statutory or private?

What statutory cover costs in 2026

The Federal Ministry of Health sets out the numbers for 2026 [3]:

• General rate: 14.6% of your earnings, or 14.0% if you have no right to sick pay [3].
• Extra contribution (Zusatzbeitrag): each Krankenkasse sets its own; the average for 2026 is 2.9% [3]. If your insurer raises it, you have a special right to switch [3].
• Ceiling (Beitragsbemessungsgrenze): contributions are worked out on income up to EUR 5,812.50 a month or EUR 69,750 a year (about £58,100) [3].
• Who pays: employees and employers each pay half, including the extra contribution, and the same split applies to pensioners and the pension fund [3].
• Family members: a partner and children with no earnings of their own, covered under your policy, pay nothing [3].

Long-term care insurance (Pflegeversicherung) is a separate contribution collected alongside your health insurance.

If you're self-employed or otherwise voluntarily insured, you pay the whole contribution yourself. With the average extra contribution, the 2026 minimum for self-employed people with sick pay is EUR 230.71 a month (about £192), and the maximum is EUR 1,017.19 a month (about £848) [3]. Freelancers should read our guide to freelancing in Berlin, because artists and writers may be able to join through the Künstlersozialkasse.

Going private

Employees earning more than EUR 77,400 a year (about £64,500) in 2026 can leave the statutory system [3]. Private cover can look cheap when you're young and healthy, but premiums rise with age and family members each need a policy. Switching back to the statutory system later in life is very difficult. Think hard, and get independent advice, before you go private.

UK State Pensioners and the S1

If you're retiring to Berlin on a UK State Pension, the UK may pay for your German healthcare through an S1 form.

1. Check you qualify. UK State Pensioners living in Germany may be entitled to UK-funded healthcare [2].
2. Request the S1 by phone from NHS Overseas Healthcare Services [2].
3. Register it with a Krankenkasse. Choose a statutory insurer and ask which documents it needs: usually your passport, proof of residence in Germany and proof of income or pensioner status [2].
4. Get your card. The insurer sends you a health insurance card, and you're treated like any other statutory patient [2].

If you're a dependant of a State Pensioner, check your own position: GOV.UK notes that a dependant's S1 cover ends once the pensioner starts claiming the UK State Pension themselves [2]. If your S1 registration is delayed and you need urgent treatment, Overseas Healthcare Services can help on +44 (0)191 218 1999 [2]. If you move back to the UK, contact the Overseas Healthcare Team to cancel your S1 [1].

If you also receive a German pension, or you work in Germany, different rules may decide which country pays. Our guide to the NHS when you live abroad and the S1 explains the UK side, including what happens to your NHS access on trips home.

The GHIC: for visits, not for living

A UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) covers state-provided, medically necessary care during temporary stays in the EU, so it's what you carry on a visit to Berlin. It isn't for residents: once you live in Germany, you need German health insurance [2].

There are two exceptions where a GHIC or EHIC can work for longer stays:

• Students from the UK can apply for a Student GHIC to cover necessary state care during their studies, and a valid Student EHIC can be used until it expires [2]. If you take a job in Germany alongside your studies, you must join a German insurer, which GOV.UK puts at around EUR 100 a month (about £83) [2].
• Posted workers sent to Germany temporarily by a UK employer may also be covered. See our guide to working abroad for a UK employer.

Seeing a doctor in Berlin

Charges you'll still pay

Statutory patients pay very little at the point of use, but it isn't nothing. Hospital stays cost EUR 10 a day (about £8), and prescription medicines cost up to EUR 10 (about £8) per item [2]. Dental care and glasses can mean bigger bills, so check what your Krankenkasse covers.

Finding an English-speaking doctor

Plenty of Berlin doctors speak English, especially in Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Charlottenburg and Kreuzberg.

• The 116117 doctor search (Arztsuche) lists practices that treat statutory patients across Germany, and the site works in English [4].
• The British Embassy's list of English-speaking medical facilities in Germany is still online, but it was last updated in December 2020, so ring ahead to check [5].
• Ask your Krankenkasse. Many have English-language service lines and help finding specialists.
• Ask other Brits. Personal recommendations are the most reliable route to a good GP.

Out of hours and emergencies

• 116117 is the doctors' on-call service (ärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst) for urgent problems that can't wait until your doctor's surgery opens, free for statutory patients [4]. Think of it as Berlin's NHS 111.
• 112 is the emergency number for an ambulance or the fire brigade [4].
• Hospitals. Berlin's big public hospitals include the Charité, Germany's best-known university hospital, and the city-owned Vivantes group, both with emergency departments (Notaufnahme).

Pharmacies (Apotheken) take turns to stay open at night and on Sundays; a sign in every pharmacy window shows the nearest one on duty.

Before you leave the UK

Tell your GP surgery you're moving abroad, ask for a copy of your records, and bring a supply of any regular medicine while you set up your German cover. The FCDO's Living in Germany guide covers healthcare alongside residence and registration [1]. The Germany travel advice was still current at 5 November 2026 when we checked on 7 November 2026 [6].

Got a recommendation for an English-speaking dentist in Friedrichshain? Share it in our community group for Brits in Germany.

Sources

1. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in Germany (checked 7 November 2026)
2. GOV.UK: Healthcare in Germany (last updated 19 September 2024; still current at 11 November 2026)
3. Bundesgesundheitsministerium: Beiträge der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung (figures for 2026)
4. 116117.de: Arzt- und Psychotherapeutensuche
5. GOV.UK: List of medical facilities in Germany (updated 9 December 2020)
6. GOV.UK (FCDO): Germany travel advice (still current at 5 November 2026, updated 11 August 2026)

Keep reading

• Moving to Berlin as a Brit: visa and residence routes
• Freelancing in Berlin: tax numbers and the Künstlersozialkasse
• The NHS when you live abroad and the S1 for pensioners in the EU
• Retiring abroad: the main retirement visas for Brits