Public VZP or commercial PVZP: which health insurance a foreigner in Czechia needs
Updated: 12 November 2026
In Czechia there are two worlds of health insurance: public (veřejné zdravotní pojištění — VZP, OZP, ČPZP and other insurers) and commercial (for example, comprehensive insurance for foreigners from Pojišťovna VZP — PVZP). Which one you need depends not on your preference but on your status.
- Public insurance covers: foreigners with permanent residence, employees of a Czech employer, people with temporary protection or asylum, and minors with a long-term residence permit.
- Other foreigners without permanent residence (including most self-employed, students and non-working family members) must have commercial health insurance.
- Pojišťovna VZP (PVZP) is a VZP subsidiary that sells commercial insurance.
- Babies born in Czechia — special rules and a 60-day period.
Who has public insurance
- Foreigners with permanent residence (trvalý pobyt) — from the day it is granted.
- Employees of an employer based in Czechia — even without permanent residence.
- People with temporary protection, asylum or subsidiary protection.
- Minors with a long-term residence permit.
- Holders of a long-term permit for scientific research.
- Citizens of countries that have a treaty with Czechia, if they work or run a business here.
Who needs commercial insurance
If you do not belong to any of the categories above — for example, you are self-employed (OSVČ) without permanent residence, a student or a non-working family member — you have no public insurance. You must then have commercial health insurance, and without it the Ministry of the Interior will not extend your stay.
Important: if you worked for a Czech company and left, public insurance ends together with the job. Arrange a commercial policy right away so there is no gap.
Babies born in Czechia
- The child is publicly insured until the end of the month in which it turns 60 days old, if the mother has long-term residence (or the parents have permanent residence).
- If an application for the child’s residence is filed within those 60 days, insurance continues while it is processed.
- The birth must be reported to the insurer within 8 days.
- Parents pay the child’s premiums monthly by the 8th of the following month; the base is the minimum wage (in 2026 the premium is 13.5 % of CZK 22,400, i.e. CZK 3,024 a month).
Public or commercial: the difference
- Public insurance covers treatment by doctors who have a contract with the insurer, with no cap on the amount.
- Commercial insurance covers what is in the contract: limits, exclusions, waiting periods. Pregnancy and childbirth only in specific products.
- Compare commercial policies by limits, exclusions and network of doctors, not only by price.
Need help?
We will check whether you are entitled to public insurance, find comprehensive insurance for foreigners (including for pregnant women and children) and arrange it within one day.
Sources
This article is for general information only and is not legal or tax advice. Check the current rules before making a decision, or contact us.