Schengen Visa Insurance Requirements Explained

The five mandatory requirements

Your Schengen visa insurance certificate must clearly state each insured traveler's identity, exactly as on the passport. It shows start and end coverage dates that must span your entire intended stay. The minimum amount of 30,000 euros in medical expenses must appear explicitly, as must validity across the entire Schengen area, not a single country only.

The document also confirms coverage for emergency hospitalization and medical repatriation, two non-negotiable benefits for consulates. Finally, it must be issued by a licensed insurance company, identifiable by name and contact details. Missing any of these items risks rejection at TLScontact, VFS Global or BLS counters.

What Article 15 of the Visa Code says

Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 requires adequate travel medical insurance covering repatriation, urgent medical attention and emergency hospital treatment.

How to get your certificate online

Getting a compliant certificate online takes less than five minutes. Start by entering your Schengen destination and travel dates in the Schengen Cover comparison tool: it instantly shows Article 15 compliant offers ranked by price. Choose the plan that fits your profile, then pay by card on a secure checkout page.

As soon as payment is confirmed, the PDF certificate is generated automatically and sent to your email address. Print the document and add it to your visa file, no stamp or physical signature is required. You can buy from any country, including the day before your visa center appointment.

Common reasons applications get rejected

Rejections at the counter are rarely about insurance price, but often about a non-compliant certificate. The most common mistakes: coverage dates shorter than the stay, an amount below 30,000 euros, validity limited to one country instead of the full Schengen area, a traveler name that does not match the passport, or a certificate from an unlicensed provider. Check these points on the PDF before printing.