Short answer
Parents over 60 who come to live with you in Slovakia on temporary residence and do not work here are usually not in Slovak public health insurance, so each of them needs commercial health insurance for foreigners. From age 60, Union insures them after a short health questionnaire, and they must be insured no later than 3 working days after collecting the residence card.
Why public insurance does not cover them
Slovak public health insurance covers, for example, permanent residents and employees of an employer based in Slovakia who earn at least the minimum wage. Everyone is insured in their own right, so your public insurance does not cover your parents. A parent on temporary residence who does not work needs commercial insurance; once they get permanent residence, they can move to public insurance.
What changes at 60
Under 60, Simple is bought online with no health questions. From 60, for both Simple and Safety:
- ·Each parent answers a short health questionnaire.
- ·Union assesses it and either insures without restrictions, insures with a specific condition excluded, or postpones or declines the insurance.
- ·If Union excludes a condition, klido shows you the exclusion first, and the contract is concluded only with your consent.
- ·Union sets the price after the questionnaire, so from 60 there is no instant online price.
What the insurance covers and what it does not
Both plans cover new, sudden problems: an acute illness, an injury, hospitalisation, prescribed medicines, rescue transport and repatriation, and urgent care anywhere in the Schengen area. Safety adds preventive check-ups (with a policy of 6 months or more), rehabilitation, care for conditions that start during the insurance and dental treatment up to €300 a year.
Two rules matter most at this age:
- ·Illnesses that began before the insurance are excluded in both plans, so a long-term condition your parent already has is not covered.
- ·Union may also exclude a specific condition after the questionnaire.
Both plans have a total limit of €70,000 per insurance period and repatriation up to €20,000.
Deadlines on family reunification
- ·Insurance is not attached to the first application for temporary residence.
- ·Each parent must be insured within 3 working days of collecting the residence card (Act No. 404/2011, §111(1)(d)).
- ·On family reunification the proof of insurance is also handed to the police within 30 days of collecting the card (§32(9)). If your parents are already insured when applying, it can be attached to the application.
- ·A renewal needs a document not older than 90 days proving insurance during the stay (§34(3)(c)).
- ·The law sets no minimum cover (§123), so the Foreign Police accepts both Simple and Safety. Not being insured can be fined up to €1,600 (§118).
Because Union first assesses the questionnaire, apply in good time, ideally before your parents collect their residence cards.
How to apply for your parents
- ·Apply for them from your own klido.sk account. Each parent gets their own policy. The site is in English, Slovak, Ukrainian, Spanish and Russian.
- ·Choose the plan, the start date (today at the earliest) and the length; Safety runs from 2 months to 2 years.
- ·Each parent answers the health questionnaire, and the application is signed online.
- ·Union assesses it. If it excludes a condition, you see the exclusion and decide.
- ·Once the contract is concluded, you pay by card through the link in Union's e-mail. Union e-mails the confirmation for the Foreign Police after payment, and it is also in your klido account.
Frequently asked questions
Can my parents be covered by my Slovak public health insurance? No. In Slovakia everyone is insured in their own right, and a parent on temporary residence who does not work is not in public health insurance.
Does the insurance cover my mother's diabetes or my father's high blood pressure? Not if the condition began before the insurance: both plans exclude illnesses that began before it. The insurance is for new, sudden problems such as an acute illness, an injury or a hospital stay.
How much does it cost for someone over 60? Union sets the price after the health questionnaire, so there is no fixed online price from 60. For comparison, Simple costs €327 a year for people aged 6 to 59.
What happens if Union declines? Union may postpone or decline the insurance after the questionnaire. Then no contract is concluded and nothing is paid.
More on family reunification: moving to Slovakia for family reunification. The whole procedure: residence permit guide.
