Visa and Travel Preparations
Travel arrangements should only be made once an appointment has been confirmed and a payment has been made. This means you first have to complete the Treatment Inquiry & Appointment form online and wait on a response from our department about the appointment date and cost estimate.
To begin making travel arrangements the patient and/or accompanying individual(s) must obtain:
Visa
Nationals of many countries must have a visa to enter Germany. Heidelberg University Hospital provides support to foreign patients in obtaining a medical visa to travel to Germany. As soon as the payment indicated in the cost estimate has been received, we will issue an official letter of invitation to be presented to the German embassy in your home country. In order to issue a letter of Invitation, please provide us with a copy of the patient's and the accompanying person's passport.
Please note that a letter of invitation can only be issued for the time period of the scheduled medical treatment. Long term visas are only issued in exceptional cases where the condition of a patient requires regular medical treatment.
You will find further information about applying for a visa on the web pages of the German Embassy in your home country.
Medical travel insurance
People who are travelling to Germany to receive medical treatment and accompanying persons are required by law to take out medical travel insurance. The insurance must therefore be taken out in the patient and/or accompanying person's home country, e.g. through the travel agency.
Payment Method
Please make sure that you have prepared your payment method and have your credit card, bank card, and/or cash ready. Contact your bank to let them know about your travel plans to Germany to avoid having your account blocked. International purchases on your account may appear as suspicious activity if not reported to your bank.
If you are planning to pay in cash and plan to travel with €10.000 or more, don't forget to declare it. Please visit the European Commission website for more information about control and declaration provisions. Click here to read the leaflet on cash control rules.
Medical Findings
We ask our patients to bring their current medical results with them to spare them additional examinations. Apart from medical documents, such results include X-rays, CT or MRI images or tissue specimens. The X-Ray, CT and/or MRI images should be issued in a digital format (DICOM format) on a CD-ROM or USB.
List of Medications
Patients who regularly take medication at home should bring their medication with them or bring a complete list of their medication.
