Cross Border Directive - How to get healthcare abroad

The Cross Border Directive (CBD) is a scheme to get planned healthcare in another European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) country.

Countries in the EU and EEA

EU countries are:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden

EEA countries are:

Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway

Other schemes to get healthcare abroad

The CBD scheme is different to other schemes to access healthcare outside of Ireland, such as:

Treatment Abroad Scheme - applies to treatments that are not available in Ireland
European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) - only applies to necessary or emergency healthcare while abroad

If the treatment you need is publicly available in Ireland, you can access it through the:

Northern Ireland Planned Healthcare Scheme (NIPHS) – if you plan to have your treatment with a private healthcare provider in Northern Ireland
Cross Border Directive Scheme - if you plan to have your treatment in an EU or EEA member state

You can access this healthcare in the same way you'd get public healthcare in Ireland.

You can no longer use the CBD to access healthcare in the UK. This is because the UK left the EU on 31 December 2020.

Under the CBD scheme, you must pay the provider for your healthcare. After you have the healthcare, you can apply to the HSE for payment towards the cost of the healthcare. The scheme does not cover other costs such as travel, accommodation or translation costs.

How much you can claim under the CBD

Who can apply

To apply for the CBD scheme in Ireland you must:

be living in Ireland for 1 year or intend to live in Ireland for at least 1 year
be eligible for the healthcare you want in the public health system in Ireland
have an outpatient consultation before inpatient or day case treatment

Having private health insurance does not exclude you but you cannot use it for a referral under the CBD. You can only use a referral from a GP or a consultant you see as a public patient.

If you are unsure if you qualify, contact us for help.

Apply for Cross Border Directive healthcare costs

Your outpatient consultation

Your outpatient consultation can be:

abroad, with your treating consultant
in Ireland, with a consultant treating you as a public patient

If you need inpatient treatment, the consultation must be in-person.

If you need day case treatment, the consultation can be:

in-person
a phone call
a video call

Having an outpatient consultation on a day before your admission may give you more time to decide if you:

are comfortable with the consultant and the hospital abroad
want to go ahead with healthcare at a date in the future
have any questions before you get the healthcare

Prior notification

If you plan to have inpatient or day case treatment, you can apply for prior notification before you travel abroad for treatment. You still need to apply for healthcare costs after you have your healthcare abroad.

If you apply for prior notification, we can:

confirm if you are eligible to apply for healthcare costs
give you an indication of how much you might get

Apply for prior notification

Income or pension from another country

In some cases, you may not be able to apply for the CBD scheme in Ireland through the HSE.

You may need to apply for the scheme in another country if you:

get income or a public or state pension from another EU or EEA country
are a dependant of someone who gets their income from another EU or EEA country

You may not be eligible for the scheme if you:

get an income or pension from Switzerland or the UK
pay your social security contributions in 1 of those countries

If any of these apply to you, contact us for help. We will let you know if you are eligible. We can give you contact details if you need to apply for the scheme in another country.