Health Insurance for Nepali Students in Germany (2026 Rates)

Health insurance comes up twice on the way to a German degree. First the Embassy in Kathmandu wants proof of cover once it has approved your visa. Then your university will not enrol you until an insurer has confirmed your status. For most Nepali students under 30 the answer to the second step is public student insurance at about EUR 146 a month in 2026. The details, and the exceptions that catch people out, follow.

Public or private: the rule that decides

German law makes the choice for most students. If you are enrolled at a state or state-recognised university, you are compulsorily insured in the public system, at most until age 30 (Section 5 SGB V). In practice the student rate runs until the end of the semester in which you turn 30 (TK).

You can opt out. The deadline is tight: three months from the day compulsory cover would begin, with proof of an alternative policy, and an exemption once granted is permanent (Section 8 SGB V). That last part deserves a slow read. Once exempt, you stay outside the public system for your whole degree, even if your private premium rises or you fall ill.

What public student insurance costs in 2026

The student contribution has two parts: health insurance and long-term care insurance. The statutory health share is the same at every public insurer; only the insurer's own add-on differs. These are TK's 2026 figures (TK student rate):

Converted with NRB's 9 October 2026 euro selling rate (NPR 173.50), EUR 146.29 comes to about NPR 25,400 a month, or roughly NPR 3.05 lakh over twelve months. Your bank's rate will differ a little. We have not checked other insurers' add-ons, so compare them yourself; the gap between public insurers is only in that add-on line. For how this fits into a full monthly budget, see our cost breakdown in NPR.

Cover for the visa and your first weeks

At the Embassy in Kathmandu, health insurance is not part of the first file. You submit it, together with the flight reservation, only after the visa has been approved. The process is in our student visa guide.

Public student insurance begins with your studies, so there is usually a gap between landing and enrolment. Arrange private cover for those first weeks before you fly; do not assume you can sort it out at the airport.

The bigger gap affects anyone starting at a Studienkolleg or a study-preparatory language course. Participants in those are excluded from the student insurance scheme (TK), although they still have to be insured, because everyone living in Germany must be (DAAD). That usually means a private policy for the whole preparatory year. If that is your route, our Studienkolleg guide covers the rest.

The insurance confirmation your university needs

Your insurer confirms your insurance status to the university electronically, through what is known as the M10 notification, and enrolment waits until it arrives. With TK you can trigger it yourself in the app or online (TK, M10 notification). Privately insured students go through a public insurer too: at TK, for example, you upload your private policy and TK sends the confirmation to the university electronically.

Do this as soon as you hold your admission letter. A missing confirmation can delay enrolment past orientation week.

What you still pay at the pharmacy

Public insurance covers doctor visits and hospital treatment, but prescriptions carry a co-payment: 10 percent of the price, at least EUR 5 and at most EUR 10 per item, never more than the medicine itself costs. Once your co-payments in a calendar year reach 2 percent of your gross income, or 1 percent if you are chronically ill, you are exempt for the rest of the year (Federal Ministry of Health).

Keep the receipts. Students with little income reach that cap faster than they expect.

When private insurance makes sense

There are three situations in which a Nepali student should seriously look at private cover:

• You are 30 or older. The student rate ends, and DAAD notes that the standard public contribution can then cost more than a private student plan.
• You start at a Studienkolleg or language course. As above, the student scheme does not apply.
• You are under 30, healthy and have compared carefully. A cheaper private offer can look tempting, but the irrevocable exemption means you carry the risk for the full degree.

Whatever you choose, read the exclusions before you sign, especially for pre-existing conditions and dental treatment.

Insurance is one of the fixed monthly costs in your proof of funds. If you are still building that budget, our blocked account guide and cost of studying guide put it in context.