Entering the German System: Tourists, Expats & GKV

Germany's healthcare system is powerful once you're inside it — but getting in requires navigating a specific sequence. For sexual health specifically, the Checkpoint centres and Gesundheitsämter are accessible to everyone regardless of insurance or registration. For PrEP via the GKV system — and for ongoing specialist care — you'll need to work through the administrative steps below.

🛡️ Checkpoints, Aidshilfe & Gesundheitsämter: Open to All

Checkpoint BLN (Berlin, checkpoint-bln.de), CheckPoint Cologne (checkpointkoeln.de), Sub München (Munich, sub-muenchen.de), and most regional Aidshilfe testing services do not require German health insurance, an Anmeldebestätigung, or an eGK to access community HIV and STI testing services. A tourist, a new arrival, or anyone without German registration can attend these services for rapid HIV testing, syphilis testing, full STI panels, and referral support.

The Gesundheitsamt (public health office) in every German district also offers free, anonymous HIV testing — no insurance required.

You do not need insurance or German registration to use Checkpoint centres or the Gesundheitsamt for testing. These are your entry point regardless of your administrative status.

For PrEP on the GKV system — free since 2019 — you will eventually need GKV insurance and a registered Schwerpunktarzt. But community services are where you start.

🇪🇺 Tourists: Your EHIC at German Hospitals

If you need hospital care as a visitor — for PEP, for example — and you are from the EU or EEA, your EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) entitles you to medically necessary treatment at the same terms as a GKV-insured patient.

Present your EHIC at the Notaufnahme (emergency department). PEP is classified as medically necessary emergency care and is covered. Standard hospital copayments apply. If you don't have your EHIC in an emergency, go anyway — sort the paperwork afterwards.

Your EHIC covers emergency and urgent medical care, including PEP. It does not cover routine PrEP prescriptions — for free PrEP on the German system, you must be contributing to GKV. Non-EU visitors without EHIC will be billed for hospital treatment; travel insurance covering emergency medical care should cover PEP costs.

📋 New Residents: The GKV Registration Sequence

If you are legally living or working in Germany, joining the statutory health insurance system (GKV — Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung) is mandatory and should be a priority from day one.

Step 1 — Anmeldung (City Registration): Register your address at the local Bürgeramt (citizens' office) in your municipality. You receive an Anmeldebestätigung (registration certificate). Without this, you cannot complete subsequent steps.

Step 2 — Steuer-ID (Tax Number): Arrives by post approximately two weeks after Anmeldung. You need this for GKV registration.

Step 3 — Register for GKV: Choose a statutory insurer (Krankenkasse). All cover the same standard benefits package. Major providers with good English support include TK (Techniker Krankenkasse), AOK, DAK, and Barmer. If you are employed, your employer registers you; freelancers and students register directly.

Step 4 — Receive your eGK (Gesundheitskarte): Your electronic health insurance chip card. This is what you present at every medical appointment and pharmacy. Keep it with you — without it, you may be billed at Privatpatient rates.

🩺 Registering with a Hausarzt (GP)

Your Hausarzt (GP) handles primary care and issues Überweisungen (referrals) to specialists. Register with a GP near your home — you don't need one for Checkpoint testing or emergency PEP, but you do need one to get a referral to a Schwerpunktarzt for PrEP.

Your Hausarzt cannot prescribe PrEP directly — that requires a Schwerpunktarzt. For sexual health testing and PrEP navigation, Checkpoint centres are better first contacts than your GP. You do not need a GP referral to access a Checkpoint or the Gesundheitsamt.

To find a GKV-registered Hausarzt accepting new patients, search on your Krankenkasse's website or at arztsuche.de.

🏥 Finding a Schwerpunktarzt

The Schwerpunktarzt is the specialist in HIV medicine who manages PrEP, HIV treatment, and complex STI care in Germany. They are the cornerstone of gay men's sexual healthcare in the GKV system.

Find one at dagnä.de — the national directory of HIV-specialised practices, searchable by postcode. Many practices in major cities have long waiting lists — see the access guide for strategies.

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