2. The procedure for issuing the EHIC
How to apply for a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
An application for the issuance of an EHIC can be submitted:
- via the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (CHIF) web portal;
- through the e-Citizens (e-Građani) system, or
- at a CHIF branch office.
You may collect your EHIC in person at the CHIF location you selected when submitting your request, as a rule, within 8 working days from the date on which your request is received.
Alternatively, when applying for the EHIC at a CHIF branch office, you may request that the EHIC be delivered to your home address. In that case, the delivery time depends on the postal service. Please note that the EHIC will be sent to the official address of permanent or temporary residence registered with the competent authorities. If you are unable to receive the EHIC at that address, you should choose collection at a CHIF branch office.
The EHIC can also be requested at the queue management kiosk, by entering your personal identification number (OIB) or MBO. These machines are located at the CHIF Branch Office in Zagreb (locations: Klovićeva 1 and Jukićeva 12), at the CHIF Branch Office in Split (location: Obala kneza Branimira 14), at the CHIF Branch Office in Rijeka (location: Slogin Kula 1), and at the CHIF Branch Office in Osijek (location: Kapucinska 33). You will be able to receive your EHIC immediately at the kiosk.
The contact details of CHIF branch offices are available at the following link:
http://www.hzzo.hr/kontaktirajte-nas/
The EHIC may be issued only to persons with valid compulsory health insurance coverage through CHIF.
Validity period of the EHIC
The EHIC is issued:
• to employed persons and pensioners for a period of three years;
• to unemployed persons for a period of one year; and
• to full-time university students and primary and secondary school pupils for the duration of the relevant academic or school year.
You may apply for a new EHIC within 30 calendar days prior to the expiry of your current EHIC.
If your compulsory health insurance coverage in the Republic of Croatia has terminated, you may no longer use the EHIC and must return it to the nearest CHIF branch office.
If the EHIC is used after the termination of your health insurance coverage, you will be required to reimburse any healthcare costs incurred in another EU Member State, a European Economic Area (EEA) country, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK).
Pensioners
The EHIC should always be issued by the competent health insurance institution with which you are compulsorily insured. Accordingly, you should submit your application for the EHIC to that institution.
• If you receive a Croatian pension, the EHIC will be issued by CHIF upon your request.
• If you reside in Croatia but receive a pension from another Member State of the EU/EEA/Switzerland/UK and your entitlement to healthcare in Croatia is provided at the expense of the state paying your pension, the EHIC will be issued by the competent institution for health insurance of that state.
• If you reside in Croatia and receive pensions from more than one Member State of the EU/EEA/Switzerland/UK, but not from Croatia, the EHIC will be issued by the competent institution for health insurance of the state in which you have completed the longest period of pensionable service.
The EHIC will be issued in the same manner to persons who are registered under compulsory health insurance as members of your family.
Family members of an active insured person employed in another Member State of the EU/EEA/Switzerland/UK
If you reside in Croatia and are covered by compulsory health insurance as a family member of a person employed in another Member State of the EU/EEA/Switzerland/UK, you are entitled to receive healthcare services in Croatia using your Croatian health insurance card, in the same manner as persons insured in Croatia.
The cost of your healthcare shall be borne by the competent institution for health insurance in the country in which your family member is employed. The same institution shall issue the EHIC to you.
Cross-border workers
A cross-border worker is a person employed or self-employed in one Member State of the EU/EEA/Switzerland/UK and residing in another Member State, returning to their country of residence daily or at least once a week. The EHIC shall be issued to a cross-border worker by the competent institution for health insurance of the state of employment or self-employment.
Provisional Replacement Certificate for the EHIC
If, for some reason, you do not have your EHIC with you while staying in another Member State of the EU/EEA/Switzerland/UK, you may contact the competent CHIF branch office to request a Provisional Replacement Certificate.
A valid status in the compulsory health insurance system in the CHIF is a prerequisite for the issuance of the Certificate.
Instead of you, the request for the Certificate may also be submitted by the institution for health insurance in the place of your stay in another Member State or by a contracted healthcare provider that is providing healthcare services to you.
The Certificate shall be issued in the following cases:
• If your EHIC has been lost or stolen, or if you do not have it with you for any other reason;
• In the event of a sudden need to travel abroad;
• If your status as a person insured with the CHIF has been established for a period of 90 days or less.
The Certificate is issued by the competent CHIF branch office immediately upon receipt of the request and is valid for a maximum period of 90 days.
It may also be issued upon a request submitted by e-mail to the competent CHIF branch office. The contact details of all CHIF branch offices are available at the following link: https://hzzo.hr/kontakt
Date of update: 13.08.2026.
