If you fall ill abroad

European Health Insurance Card

If you are covered by health insurance in Finland, you can receive necessary medical care with a European Health Insurance Card(Link to another website.) while staying temporarily in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or Northern Ireland. You can order the card from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela)(Link to another website.) free of charge.

The Health Insurance Card does not cover the costs arising from the patient’s repatriation to Finland.

Remember travel insurance

Always take out sufficiently extensive and long-term travel insurance. If you have an illness, are pregnant, are travelling to dangerous areas or plan to engage in high-risk sports, check the coverage and validity of your insurance policy in advance with your own insurance company.

It is expensive and difficult to arrange the repatriation of a patient without comprehensive travel insurance. Ambulance flights to Finland from abroad cost tens of thousands of euros. Access to treatment may require a payment commitment or advance payment.

General information on travel insurance(Link to another website.)

If you do not have travel insurance, you or your family must cover all medical and repatriation costs. The mission cannot guarantee or pay bills for you.

Contact your insurance company

If you fall ill, contact your insurance company’s emergency services. They can provide instructions, contact the physician treating you and, if necessary, make arrangements to get you home. If the physician abroad does not accept payment agreements from foreign insurance companies, you must be prepared to pay the fee yourself and have it reimbursed later.

Mental health issues abroad

It is important to take the medicines used regularly to manage mental health problems. Travellers should remember to bring with them their own prescriptions and medicines that are to be taken on a regular basis. Before travelling, remember to check the import regulations for medicines with the mission or customs authorities of the country of destination. The import of some strong medications may be prohibited.  If necessary, you can ask a local physician in your destination country for a new prescription.

In the event of a sudden illness, you can seek first aid at a hospital, or someone close to you can call an ambulance. The mission can provide contact information for local physicians or hospitals. It is always a physician’s task to diagnose an illness and decide on treatment and medication. However, obtaining help in unfamiliar conditions may be more difficult than in Finland and medical costs may be high, in which case it might be better to shorten your trip. 

Mental health can also be strained by sudden, traumatic crisis situations, such as an accident, a case of robbery or violent crime, or a death of a person close to you. You can contact the national Social Emergency and Crisis Centre of Vantaa(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window) 24/7, tel. +358 9 839 24 005.

Matters concerning private individuals are confidential. You decide who can be informed of your illness. If a person who has fallen ill is unable to communicate, their information will be disclosed only to family members.