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Medical card, GP visit card and the HSE – how healthcare in Ireland works when you arrive

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Ireland's public health system is open to anyone who lives here, or plans to for a year, but what you pay depends on which card you hold. The medical card and the GP visit card have different means tests, hospital charges have changed, and the plastic cards themselves are on hold. Here is the map.

Smiling woman patient talking with a nurse in blue scrubs in a clinic room
Photo: Monkey Business/Adobe Stock

The Health Service Executive (HSE) runs every public health service in Ireland, while the Department of Health sets policy and funding. Two things matter in 2026: public in-patient and day charges were abolished on 17 April 2023, and the HSE has temporarily paused printing plastic medical cards, GP visit cards and European Health Insurance Cards, so a letter of eligibility and a digital card in the HSE Health App take their place.

Who is entitled to public healthcare in Ireland?

Entitlement is about residence, not nationality. You are 'ordinarily resident' if you have lived in Ireland for at least a year or intend to for at least one year, and everyone the HSE accepts as ordinarily resident has either full eligibility, with a medical card, or limited eligibility, which is everyone else. The HSE may ask for proof dated within the last 12 months – a lease, bank statement, utility bill, insurance policy or official document – and dependants of non-EU nationals must satisfy the test separately.

Who you arePublic healthcare position
EEA, Swiss or UK national, or anyone ordinarily residentThe same level of care as Irish citizens
Non-EU studentOrdinarily resident if registered for a course of at least one academic year; shorter courses count as visitors
Non-EEA student, researcher or working holiday makerMust show private medical or travel insurance covering hospital stays at immigration registration
Visitor with an EHIC from the EU, EEA or SwitzerlandNecessary public care free, prescriptions at €1.50 an item up to €15 a month
Visitor from outside the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UKNo entitlement; full cost

Source: Citizens Information, the HSE and Immigration Service Delivery, read 24 September 2026.

Ireland is not in the Schengen Area, but the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) works here as anywhere in the EU, and UK residents get necessary care under the Common Travel Area on proof of UK residence. Residents can apply for an Irish EHIC; during the printing pause a Provisional Replacement Certificate valid for three months is issued instead. An Irish EHIC cannot be used in the UK.

Medical card or GP visit card – what is the difference?

The medical card is the full package; the GP visit card only removes the GP's fee. Both come from the HSE and, for most adults, depend on a means test.

ServiceMedical cardGP visit card
GP visits, including out-of-hoursFreeFree
Prescribed medicinesCovered, with a charge of €1.50 an item up to €15 a month (€1 and €10 over 70)Not covered
Public hospital in-patient and out-patient servicesFreeNot covered by the card
Some dental, optical and aural servicesCoveredNot covered
Maternity and infant care, community careCoveredNot covered

Source: Citizens Information and the HSE, read 24 September 2026.

Some people skip the means test. Children under 8, everyone aged 70 or over and people on Carer's Benefit or Carer's Allowance get a GP visit card by registering. Asylum seekers in direct provision and people from Ukraine under temporary protection hold a medical card. Pensioners and posted workers insured in another EU or EEA state or Switzerland get one on an S1 or E-form from home without a financial assessment – but not if they work in Ireland and pay PRSI (Pay Related Social Insurance).

How does the means test work?

The test looks at net weekly income after tax, USC (Universal Social Charge) and PRSI. Your threshold is the basic rate plus allowances for dependants plus allowable expenses: rent or mortgage, childcare, maintenance and travel to work at 18c a kilometre. The HSE's own example is a single person paying €800 a month in rent and driving to work, who qualifies with net weekly income up to €395.62. Savings up to €36,000 single or €72,000 for a couple are disregarded, and the family home is never counted. The limits below were unchanged on the pages read in September 2026.

Basic weekly net income limitMedical card (under 66)GP visit card (under 70)
Single, living alone€184€418
Single, living with family€164€373
Couple, or lone parent with dependants€266.50€607
Each of the first two children under 16+€38+€57
Each further child under 16+€41+€61.50
Dependant over 16 in full-time third-level education, not grant-aided+€78+€117

Source: the HSE and Citizens Information, read 24 September 2026.

Over 70 the test switches to gross income: €550 a week single or €1,050 for a couple gives a medical card, and a couple between €1,050 and €1,400 gets a GP visit card. Apply online, the quickest route, or by post on form MC1 to the National Medical Card Unit, PO Box 11745, Dublin 11; the HSE aims to decide within 15 working days, and queries go to 0818 22 44 78. If three GPs refuse you, the HSE assigns one.

What do you pay without a card?

GP fees are not regulated. Citizens Information, on a page last updated in 2024, puts a private visit at around €45 to €65, more in some urban areas. You cannot see a consultant for the first time without a GP referral.

Public hospital chargeAmount
Emergency department without a GP referral€100
Emergency department with a GP referral letter, with a medical card, for a child under six weeks, or if you are admittedNo charge
Injury unit (free with a medical card or GP referral)€75
In-patient and day-case charges, public patientsAbolished on 17 April 2023
Out-patient clinic on GP referral, as a public patientNo charge
Prescribed medicines under the Drugs Payment SchemeAt most €80 per family per calendar month

Source: Citizens Information and the HSE, read 24 September 2026.

The Drugs Payment Scheme has no means test: anyone living in Ireland and intending to stay at least a year can register. Emergency ambulances are free.

Private health insurance: the nine-month window

Anyone ordinarily resident can buy private health insurance regardless of age or health, from Irish Life Health, Laya Healthcare or VHI Healthcare. The clock that matters is Lifetime Community Rating: buy in-patient cover for the first time at 35 or older and you pay a loading of 2 per cent for every year over 34 without cover, for up to 10 years, capped at 70 per cent. Insure within nine months of making Ireland your principal residence and no loading applies at any age; insurers may ask for evidence of your arrival date.

Waiting periods can run to 26 weeks for new illnesses, five years for pre-existing conditions and 52 weeks for maternity, while accidents are covered at once; switching within 13 weeks preserves waiting periods already served. Premiums attract tax relief at 20 per cent on up to €1,000 per adult and €500 per child, deducted at source.

Emergencies: 112 and 999

Dial 112 or 999 from any phone; both are free, 112 works in every EU country, and people who cannot make a voice call can text 112 after registering. Emergency departments are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; in Dublin some see only adults and some only children. Broken bones and other less severe injuries go to an injury unit. You are seen in order of urgency, so bring your GP's name, any referral letter and your medicines. For anything else, HSE Live answers on 1800 700 700, Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 5pm.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Gather a proof of residence dated within 12 monthsBefore you apply for anything
2Register with a GP; if three refuse, ask the HSE to assign oneIn your first weeks
3Apply for a medical card or GP visit card if your net income is near the limitsOnce you have your PPS (Personal Public Service) number
4Register children under 8 and anyone aged 70 or over for a free GP visit cardAs soon as you arrive
5Register for the Drugs Payment Scheme if you have no medical cardBefore the first prescription
6Decide on private insuranceWithin nine months of arrival

Source: the HSE, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.