Dla Pacjenta

At your new place of residence, you can receive treatment funded by the National Health Fund, provided you are entitled to healthcare benefits in Poland.

When are you entitled to healthcare benefits in Poland?

You have this right if:

• you are insured, e.g. you are employed, you are a pensioner, you are registered for insurance as a family member of a working person, etc.
• you are not insured but are entitled to treatment based on special rights, such as children under 18 who cannot be registered for insurance by a parent or grandparent, or a student within 6 months of completing or discontinuing his/her studies, etc.

You can also register your family members for health insurance. The contribution payer will do this on your behalf. He/she will register your family member with the Social Insurance Institution and pay health insurance contributions on your behalf.

The party responsible for paying your contributions is, for example:

• Your employer – if you have a job,
• Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) – if you receive a disability or retirement pension,
• You or the person managing your HR and accounting matters – if you are running a business.

Please note! If you will relocate (change your place of residence), the legislation applicable to your social security may also change.

What entitlements do you have when you move to another country permanently?

If you will move to another country permanently, you will be entitled to healthcare according to the rules in force in your new country of residence. This covers a much wider range of services than under the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

It means, for example, that a doctor will not assess whether treatment is necessary before your return to Poland or whether it can take place after your return. You will also be able to access planned treatment, which is not covered by the EHIC.  

However, you must be prepared to pay for some or all of the treatment if such rules apply in that country. You can find more information on this topic under the ‘Country-specific rules’ tab.

You will not lose your right to medical treatment in Poland after changing your place of residence.  During each stay in the country, you will receive any necessary treatment.

To receive medical treatment under the rules applicable in your country of residence, submit an application to us for the issuance of the portable S1 document ‘Registration for healthcare coverage’. This document confirms that you are covered by the National Health Fund (NFZ) health insurance abroad.

Remember! If you will start working or running a business abroad, you will no longer be able to use Polish health insurance. The exceptions are posted workers and civil servants or diplomatic staff.

Who is entitled to the S1 document

We will give you an S1 document if you meet the following conditions:

• you are entitled to healthcare benefits in Poland and will not lose this entitlement when you move abroad,
• you will officially change your address of residence.

After changing your place of residence, you may lose your entitlement to healthcare benefits in Poland, for example because:

• you are employed or running a business in your new country of residence,

• your health insurance in Poland depends on whether you live here, e.g. a voluntary health insurance policy, entitlement to treatment in connection with pregnancy,
• you are registered with the Polish employment office as unemployed.

You should report a change of your place of residence to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) via your contribution payer. This may be, for example:

• Your employer – if you are an employee,
• Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) – if it pays you a disability or retirement pension,
• You or a person responsible for HR and accounting matters – if you run a business.

Change in the applicable legislation

The applicable legislation determines in which country you will pay social security contributions. Under the rules, you can be subject to only one system, usually that of the country where you are actually working.

When you change your place of residence, your applicable social security legislation may also change. You do not choose this yourself. Which legislation you are subject to is strictly defined by the regulations. Please also note that when determining the applicable legislation, you are required to provide only one residential address. This should be the place where the centre of your vital/life interests is located. Therefore, before issuing the S1/S072 document, we must confirm that you are still subject to Polish legislation. The document confirming the applicable legislation is the A1 certificate issued by ZUS.

We will ask you to provide this document:

• if you are resident in a Member State other than Poland and carry out professional activities registered in Poland,
• if you are employed by a Polish employer.

Additional information on the applicable legislation in the case of teleworking can be found on the ZUS website.

How to apply for an S1 document

To obtain an S1 document, follow these steps:

• download and complete the application form for an S1 document for a person residing in another EU/EFTA/United Kingdom country 
• send the application to the relevant regional/provincial branch of the National Health Fund (NFZ).

Contact details for NFZ regional branches

An authorised person may also submit the application on your behalf.

On the back of the application form, you will find information on how to complete the form and the required documents. Please read this carefully before submitting your application.  

Check the status of your application

How long is S1 document valid for?

We can issue S1 document:

• for an indefinite period – from the date on which you will officially report a change of your place of residence,
• for a fixed period – only if the date on which your entitlement will expire is known,
• for the period specified on the A1 certificate.

Remember! If you come back to Poland permanently, please inform your local National Health Fund (NFZ) branch.

If you receive notification that an S1 has been issued but the document itself is not enclosed. What does this mean?

You have received a letter stating that we have granted you an S1, but the document itself is not in the envelope. This means that we have sent it electronically to the institution you specified in your application.

In this situation, please contact that institution and obtain the document confirming your entitlement to benefits directly from them.

To obtain treatment, you must first register your S1 document.

If we have already issued a paper document or sent it electronically to an institution of the country concerned, contact that institution to determine how your S1 document is to be registered. Once you have registered, you will receive a country specific document to produce at the healthcare facility.

If you want to change the institution in your country of residence where you register your S1 document, apply for a new document. At the same time as issuing the paper S1 document, the provincial branch of the National Health Fund informs the institution of your place of residence, which you indicate in the application for the S1 document, about your entitlement.

Each Member State determines the procedure for registration of the S1 document independently. The institution may refuse to register the document if it finds that you are not entitled to the benefit in question. This will happen, for example, when:

• you are working or conducting an economic activity in that country,
• you are not proven to be a permanent resident of that country,
• the person named as a family member does not fulfil the conditions to be entitled to health insurance.

You can only obtain treatment in a public healthcare facility. If you are confused about where to apply, please see the details of treatment in the countries of residence. You will also find contact details for the local authority that will help you.

How to obtain health insurance under the S1 document for your family members who change their place of residence with you

The institution registering the S1 document issued to you as the main insured person decides who will be entitled to treatment in the country of residence as a family member.

Each EU/EFTA Member State  / United Kingdom determines the definition of a family member independently. It may therefore turn out that in your country of residence, health insurance is not available to a person who, according to Polish law, may be insured as a family member, e.g. parents or children over 18 years of age who continue their education.

How to obtain an S1 document for family members

You do not have to make an additional application for S1 documents for the family members you are moving with. To ensure that they have access to healthcare, report to your country of residence, when registering your S1 document, that you also want to register entitlements for your family members. Provide their details including their PESEL.

The institution of the place of residence will check which of the persons you have indicated meets the conditions to be reported as a family member. It will then apply to the National Health Fund to issue documents that will confirm the health insurance of these persons.

If the institution refuses to apply to the National Health Fund, contact us as soon as possible.

Please note. We can only confirm the entitlement of your family members if they are reported to your insurance. You report them to the Social Insurance Institution through your contribution payer, who pays the health insurance contributions on your behalf. This is either:

• your employer – if you are an employee,
• the Social Insurance Institution – if it pays you a pension,
• you or your accountant – if you are self-employed.

How to obtain health insurance under the S1 document for your family members who change their place of residence without you

If a person who is reported by you for insurance in Poland moves to another EU or EFTA Member State  / United Kingdom, they must apply for the S1 themselves (see ‘How to obtain the S1 document’ for details).

The institution registering the S1 document issued to the main insured person decides who will be entitled to treatment in the country of residence as a family member.

Each EU/EFTA Member State determines the definition of a family member independently. It may therefore turn out that in the country of residence, health insurance is not available to a person who, according to Polish law, may be insured as a family member, e.g. parents or children over 18 years of age who continue their education.

Please note. We can only confirm the entitlement of your family members if they are reported to your insurance. You report them to the Social Insurance Institution through your contribution payer, who pays the health insurance contributions on your behalf. This is either:

• your employer – if you are an employee,
• the Social Insurance Institution – if it pays you a pension,
• you or your accountant – if you are self-employed.

Please note.  If parents live in different EU/EFTA countries  / United Kingdom and have their own insurance titles, they cannot independently choose their child's country of insurance. Child should be reported for health insurance by the parent with which their child lives. We will issue an S1 document for a child living in another EU/EFTA country  / United Kingdom only if neither parent has their own title of insurance in that country.  If they have such a title, we will refuse to issue an S1 document.  Then it will be necessary to report the child for insurance in the country where the child lives.

You will lose your entitlement to benefits funded by the National Health Fund (NFZ) under an S1 certificate if:

• you will not be subject to Polish legislation any longer because you have taken up employment or started a business in your new country of residence,
• you are receiving a Polish retirement or disability pension and become entitled to a retirement or disability pension in your new country of residence,
• you will lose your entitlement to healthcare benefits in Poland because, for example, you will terminate your employment or suspend your business activity, take unpaid leave or lose your status as a farmer,
• you will notify your contributor, who pays your contributions in Poland (e.g., your employer or the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS)), of a change of your place of residence and provide your address in Poland.

This right will expire 30 days after the end of your entitlement to compulsory insurance. This applies in the following situations: It applies in the following situations:

• your employment contract, contract of mandate or appointment will be terminated,
• you will end your service as a soldier or officer,
• you will be granted unpaid leave for more than 30 days,
• you will terminate or deregister your business,
• you will lose your status as a farmer,
• you will lose your entitlement to a Polish retirement or disability pension,
• you will lose your entitlement to a social benefit other than unemployment benefit or a retirement or disability pension, e.g. pre-retirement allowance, pre-retirement benefit, care allowance.

Please note! As soon as you lose your entitlement to healthcare benefits funded by the National Health Fund (NFZ), your family members whom you have registered for insurance will also lose their entitlement.

If we have issued you with an S1 document and you have also registered your family members in your country of residence, please inform us of any changes to your insurance situation and that of your family members.

Once you lose your entitlement to benefits in Poland, your S1 document will no longer be valid from that moment on and will no longer constitute grounds for treatment at the cost of the National Health Fund.

Examples of such material changes that may affect your entitlement include:

• changing country of residence,
• taking up work in another EU or EFTA Member State or United Kingdom ,
• obtaining a pension from an EU/EFTA Member State  / United Kingdom other than Poland,
• losing the status of family member according to the legislation of the country of residence.

If you have changed your place of residence and have not applied for an S1 document before you leave, you can use your EHIC until the formalities are completed.

Please note. The EHIC entitles you only to essential and unplanned healthcare benefits. The scope of healthcare benefits will be limited compared to entitlements under the S1 document.

It may also happen that the institutions in your country of residence do not want to recognise the EHIC because you are only entitled to use the card when you are temporarily in that country.