Brits can still use their unexpired EHIC cards when holidaying in the Canary Islands

A large number of Brits can still use their European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) when travelling to the majority of EU and Schengen Area countries, despite the UK’s complete departure from the EU on December 31st 2020. In a Twitter statement, the FCO reminded British citizens that their EHIC cards may still be valid despite Brexit.

The statement said: “Travel to Europe is different. Your EHIC remains valid in the EU, only needing to be replaced with a GHIC (UK Global Health Insurance Card) when it expires. You should still get travel insurance that covers you for healthcare.”

The EHIC is a type of insurance that enables EU citizens to receive state-provided healthcare in other EU countries, and non-EU Schengen Area countries, i.e. Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

However, due to the UK’s departure from the EU, new EHIC cards are now only issued to UK nationals that are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement.

It is estimated that around 5.6 million EHIC cards will have expired by the end of this year, but a lot of them will remain valid in 2023, in particular those that were issued in 2020, just before Brexit, since an EHIC card can be issued for up to five years.

The British Government advises those travelling in the EU: “If you have a UK European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), it will be valid until the expiry date on the card, and not before. However, once it expires, you will need to apply for a GHIC to replace it.”

The GHIC is a type of insurance that has been created by the UK authorities to replace EHIC, and is available for all British nationals and those born to parent(s) who were settled in the UK before December 31st 2020.

The GHIC can be obtained completely free of charge:
A report by Direct Line Travel at the end of April revealed that a concerning number of people in the UK either claim they do not hold an EHIC or GHIC or are unsure about it. Approximately 32 million Brits, which is seven million people more than in 2021, either don’t have such a health insurance card or are unsure whether they have it or not.

According to the report, one of the main reasons why such a low share of people in the UK hold such health insurance cards is that they are still not aware that EHIC has now been replaced by GHIC.

Another reason is also the fact that 76% of those surveyed don’t fully understand what health insurance cards cover when travelling.