The short answer
As a student from India on temporary residence for study you are not in the Slovak public health insurance, so you need commercial health insurance. You must have it no later than 3 working days after collecting your residence card (Act No. 404/2011, §111(1)(d)). Urgent-care insurance is enough: the law sets no minimum cover (§123), and the Foreign Police accepts Union's Simple, from €160 for a semester. The same rules apply to students from Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, China or any other country outside the EU.
What the residence permit needs
- ·First application: health insurance is not an attachment to your first application for temporary residence, and the police do not need it to accept the application (§32(1), §32(2)).
- ·After you collect the card: be insured within 3 working days and show the insurance if the police check (§111(1)(d)). Students do not hand the proof in to the police; the 30-day rule in §32(9) does not cover study.
- ·Renewal: a renewal for study needs no proof of health insurance (§34(3)(c)), but you must stay insured for the whole stay.
- ·Without insurance: the Foreign Police can fine you up to €1,600 (§118).
- ·On arrival: report the beginning of your stay within 3 working days of arriving (§111(2)).
Is emergency-only insurance enough?
Yes. The law asks only for a confirmation in your name that you are health insured in Slovakia, or that the cost of your medical care in Slovakia is insured, and sets no minimum cover, sum insured or insurer (§123). Advice that a student "must" have comprehensive insurance is about how much care you want paid for, not about what the police require.
Simple covers urgent and acute care, accidents, hospital stays, prescribed medicines, rescue transport and repatriation (up to €20,000), with a total limit of €70,000 per insurance period, and urgent care anywhere in the Schengen area. It does not cover illnesses that began before the insurance, preventive check-ups, or pregnancy and childbirth. There is no health questionnaire under 60.
What it costs a student
Prices of Union poisťovňa as of October 2026, paid once for the whole period, the same for everyone aged 6 to 59. klido adds no fee of its own. Studying medicine for six years? Insure up to 24 months at once and renew from your klido account; a reminder comes 21 days before the policy ends.
Safety, with preventive check-ups and care for conditions that start during the insurance, starts from €569.40 a year after a short health questionnaire. Choose it if you want regular doctor visits covered, not because the police require it.
Government scholarship holders
Holders of a Slovak government scholarship are in the Slovak public health insurance (Act No. 580/2004, §3(3)(l)) and do not need commercial insurance. Ask the office that granted your scholarship to confirm your case.
How to buy it online
- ·Choose Simple and the start date, today at the earliest. Starting on the day you collect your card is fine.
- ·Fill in the application in English, about 5 minutes.
- ·Sign on your phone and pay by card through the link in the e-mail you get after concluding the contract.
- ·Union e-mails the confirmation, and it stays in your klido account to show at a check.
Find your university, its Foreign Police office and the semester price on our student pages. More in our guide to health insurance for a residence permit and the answer to whether emergency-only insurance is enough.
Sources: Act No. 404/2011 Coll. (Slov-Lex, version in force from 1 October 2026), Act No. 580/2004 Coll. on health insurance, Union poisťovňa's product documents. General information, not legal advice; the decision on your residence always rests with the police.
