Anyone leaving Germany permanently usually takes care of health insurance first. Long-term care insurance is often treated only in passing. Cancelling long-term care insurance on emigration is legally something different from cancelling the health insurance fund. In the statutory long-term care insurance system there is hardly any cancellation in the true sense, but there is a deadline of only one month that can decide your later cover. In private compulsory long-term care insurance, much depends on the tariff conditions of your insurer. This article places both systems in context, explains suspension and expectancy rights (Anwartschaft) and deliberately distinguishes itself from the article on cancelling statutory health insurance. The legal position is as at September 2026.
In Brief: What This Article Covers and What It Does Not
This article deals exclusively with German law: the Eleventh Book of the German Social Code (SGB XI) for statutory long-term care insurance, and the VVG (German Insurance Contract Act) for private compulsory long-term care insurance. It says nothing about which cover exists or makes sense in the destination country. Foreign long-term care and social law must be clarified with an adviser on the spot.
Long-Term Care Insurance and Health Insurance: Two Contracts, One Shared Fate
In Germany, long-term care insurance is coupled to health insurance (principle “long-term care insurance follows health insurance”):
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| Health insurance | Long-term care insurance | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsorily insured in the statutory health insurance (GKV) | Compulsorily insured in statutory long-term care insurance, with the care fund of the health insurance fund | Section 20(1) SGB XI |
| Voluntarily insured in the GKV | Likewise subject to compulsory insurance in statutory long-term care insurance | Section 20(3) SGB XI |
| Privately insured | Obligation to take out private compulsory long-term care insurance with equivalent benefits | Section 23(1) SGB XI |
Organisationally, the care funds are attached to the health insurance funds. Anyone who deregisters with their fund and documents the move should therefore always address long-term care insurance in the same letter and have both terminations confirmed in writing. Under Section 49 SGB XI, membership in the care fund in principle begins and ends with the cessation of the conditions of compulsory insurance; for its continuation, the rules of health insurance law apply accordingly.
The Registration Office Informs Neither the Health Insurance Fund Nor the Care Fund
Deregistering with the citizens’ office and the end of insurance are two separate processes. Do not rely on the fund learning of the move. If you simply keep paying, contributions arise for a period in which cover often no longer applies.
Example (fictitious figures): Ms Berger, voluntarily insured, deregisters on 1 March to a non-EU country and tells the fund nothing. Her total contribution including long-term care is EUR 450 per month in the example. She notices only in November. The fund demands a total of EUR 3,600 for eight months, and Ms Berger must now prove the date of the move in order to achieve a retroactive termination.
What the fund will usually want to see:
- an informal letter with insurance number, date of moving out and new address,
- the deregistration certificate from the residents’ registration office as proof of the end of residence,
- often proof of follow-on cover in the destination country,
- clarification of whether family members were co-insured.
Whether and to what extent the fund requires proof of follow-on cover varies from fund to fund. Ask about this in advance, and have the end of membership in the health and care fund confirmed in writing for the same day. When a residence or habitual abode in Germany actually ends depends on the individual case; for the tax view, additionally read the article on habitual abode in tax law. The criteria in social security law are not identical.
Statutory Long-Term Care Insurance: There Is Hardly Any Cancellation, but There Is a Deadline
Compulsorily Insured Persons: The End Follows Health Insurance
For compulsorily insured persons (such as employees), membership in the care fund ends together with compulsory membership in the health insurance fund. A separate cancellation of long-term care insurance is not provided for. What is important, however, is the notification, because only if the employer and the fund know of the cessation of the conditions is the end booked correctly.
Voluntarily Insured Persons: Care Membership Follows Voluntary GKV Membership
Voluntary members of the GKV are, under Section 20(3) SGB XI, subject to compulsory insurance in statutory long-term care insurance. Their membership in the care fund ends, under Section 49(1) SGB XI, at the end of the day on which the conditions of compulsory insurance cease to apply. For its continuation, Sections 189 and 192 SGB V (Fifth Book of the Social Code) apply accordingly under Section 49(2) SGB XI. In practice, care membership thus follows the end of voluntary GKV membership, and you must actively bring about and document this end vis-à-vis the fund. The individual conditions and deadlines are governed by health insurance law and the fund’s statutes. What applies in detail to the health insurance fund on a move abroad is set out in the article on cancelling the GKV on emigration.
The One-Month Trap: Continued Insurance Under Section 26(2) SGB XI
Anyone who leaves compulsory insurance because of the transfer of residence or habitual abode abroad can, on application, continue their insurance in statutory long-term care insurance (Section 26(2) SGB XI). The application must be filed with the care fund no later than one month after leaving. The deadline is short and is often overlooked in practice. Continued insurance may also be possible for emigrating family members who were previously covered by family insurance. If you later wish to end the continued insurance, the membership of persons continuing their insurance under Sections 26, 26a SGB XI ends, under Section 49(3) SGB XI, at the end of the second calendar month following the month in which you declare your withdrawal, unless the statutes provide for an earlier date.
The point of the rule lies in the expectancy right to later benefits: under Section 33(2) SGB XI, benefits from statutory long-term care insurance require that in the last ten years before the application you were insured as a member or under family insurance for at least two years. Periods of continued insurance under Section 26(2) count towards this. Anyone who goes abroad, returns after many years and then becomes in need of care can otherwise fail on this prior insurance period. The calculation of contributions for persons continuing insurance under Section 26(2) follows a special rule: as the contribution basis, under Section 57(5) SGB XI, one 180th of the monthly reference figure is used per calendar day.
Example (calculation example for order of magnitude): The monthly reference figure in 2026 is EUR 3,955. For a month of 30 days, this gives an assessment basis of around EUR 659. At a contribution rate of 3.6 percent, that is arithmetically about EUR 24 per month. Whether and in what amount the additional contribution rate share of 0.6 percentage points for childless persons is added should be enquired about with the care fund.
Whether this continued insurance is worthwhile for you depends on whether you expect to return and how you are covered abroad. The contribution saving at this amount is small, whereas the loss of the prior insurance period can be expensive.
Contribution Rate and Surcharge for the Childless
The general contribution rate of statutory long-term care insurance in 2026 remains unchanged at 3.6 percent; for childless persons from the completed 23rd year of age a surcharge of 0.6 percentage points is added; with several children under 25 the rate is graduated. These contributions are relevant for insured persons whose membership continues, for example pensioners who keep their long-term care insurance.
Suspension of Benefits: What Long-Term Care Insurance Pays Abroad
Even those who continue their insurance should know when benefits flow at all. Under Section 34(1) SGB XI, the entitlement to benefits in principle is suspended during a stay abroad. Exceptions:
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| Situation | Consequence | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary stay abroad of up to eight weeks per calendar year | Care allowance (and proportionate care allowance) continues to be paid | Section 34(1) SGB XI |
| Stay in an EU member state, EEA state or Switzerland | Care allowance is not suspended | Section 34(1a) SGB XI |
| Stay in another state (third country) of more than eight weeks | Entitlement to benefits in principle suspended | Section 34(1) SGB XI |
The exception for the EU, the EEA and Switzerland concerns the care allowance (Pflegegeld) under Section 37 SGB XI, not benefits in kind (Pflegesachleistungen). Benefits in kind (such as an outpatient care service) presuppose provision within the German system and do not continue abroad. In the case Molenaar, the Court of Justice of the European Union classified the care allowance as a cash benefit in case of sickness (judgment of 5 March 1998, C-160/96). Under Section 37(1) SGB XI in the version from 1 January 2025, the care allowance is EUR 347 per month (care grade 2), EUR 599 (care grade 3), EUR 800 (care grade 4) and EUR 990 (care grade 5); current amounts should be enquired about with the care fund.
Important in practice: anyone moving to a non-EU country and choosing continued insurance secures with it above all the prior insurance period, not the ongoing receipt of benefits abroad. Anyone living in an EU state, by contrast, additionally checks whether German insurance can continue to exist there at all or whether the law of the state of residence takes precedence. This is governed by European coordination law (Regulation (EC) No 883/2004). For pensioners, the connection with health insurance for pensioners is important, which is treated in the article on KVdR (pensioners’ health insurance) when retiring abroad.
Private Compulsory Long-Term Care Insurance: Cancellation, Suspension and Expectancy Rights
Where Long-Term Care Insurance for the Privately Insured Is Regulated
Anyone with private health insurance must, under Section 23(1) SGB XI, maintain private long-term care insurance with equivalent benefits. Under the statutory provisions, the obligation to be insured exists domestically. How a move abroad affects the contract is therefore determined by the tariff conditions of the private compulsory long-term care insurance (model conditions MB/PPV, individually varying). These regularly contain provisions on the suspension of benefits abroad and on the end of the contract on a move. The result differs between insurers.
Cancellation Under Section 205 VVG
A health insurance relationship that has existed for more than one year can, under Section 205(1) VVG, be cancelled at the end of the first or a subsequent insurance year with three months’ notice. What matters is the insurance year, not necessarily the calendar year. The law contains no blanket extraordinary right of cancellation because of emigration. Such a right can at most result from your insurer’s conditions.
For contracts that fulfil the obligation under Section 193(3) sentence 1 VVG (health cost insurance), Section 205(6) VVG provides that the cancellation takes effect only if the insured person concludes a new contract with another insurer and proves this within two months after the declaration of cancellation. By its wording, Section 193 VVG regulates only health insurance and does not mention long-term care insurance. Whether and how Section 205(6) VVG affects private compulsory long-term care insurance must therefore be clarified with the insurer. On a move abroad, moreover, the domestic obligation to be insured ceases; how insurers and the courts handle this in individual cases should be clarified before a cancellation.
The special right of cancellation under Section 205(2) VVG, by contrast, concerns a different case: it applies where an insured person becomes subject to compulsory insurance by operation of law, for example on return to an employment relationship. The move abroad is no occasion for this.
Expectancy Right: Suspending With a Return Option
Instead of cancelling, many insurers offer an expectancy insurance (Anwartschaftsversicherung). For a reduced contribution, ageing provisions are preserved, and on return no new health examination is required (small expectancy right), and with the large one, additionally the contribution level reached. To our knowledge, not all insurers offer an expectancy right for compulsory long-term care insurance; some offer it only for health insurance. Ask specifically whether your insurer offers an expectancy right for long-term care, what it costs and whether it must be run together with health insurance.
As a rule of thumb: anyone who moves away permanently and without intending to return will often cancel; beforehand, however, follow-on cover and deadlines must be checked. Anyone who considers a return possible checks the expectancy right, because a later new contract at a higher age and with pre-existing conditions can be considerably more difficult and more expensive.
Typical Mistakes in Practice
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| Mistake | Consequence | Avoidance |
|---|---|---|
| Only the health insurance fund informed, care fund forgotten | Contribution booking continues or the end remains unconfirmed | Address both insurances in the same letter, demand double confirmation |
| One-month deadline under Section 26(2) SGB XI missed | No continued insurance, prior insurance period is broken | File the application before the move or immediately after |
| Private health insurance cancelled before cover abroad is in place | Gap in insurance cover, possibly no proof for the fund | Clarify follow-on cover first, then cancel |
| Family members forgotten | Family insurance ends, children or partner are left without cover | Check in good time whether co-continued insurance is possible |
| Confirmation not kept | Later proof missing on return or in enquiries from authorities | Archive confirmation letters permanently |
| Expectation of receiving benefits abroad despite paying contributions | Benefits are suspended in third countries, benefits in kind lapse | Check the suspension rules under Section 34 SGB XI in advance |
Children, Partners and Family Insurance
Children and spouses who were previously covered free of charge through you under family insurance lose this cover, if they remain in Germany, on the day of your move. If they move with you, co-continued insurance under Section 26(2) SGB XI may be possible. What happens with child benefit is described in the article on child benefit after emigration.
Special Case: Digital Nomads and Pensioners
Whether compulsory insurance continues in Germany at all is not always clear for people who work on the move; the basics are treated in the article on social insurance liability of digital nomads. Pensioners must additionally consider how pensions and fund subsidies are treated; an overview of pensions is given in the article on statutory pension insurance on emigration.
If You Are or Become in Need of Care
An often overlooked point: anyone who is already in need of care or who cares for relatives should not complete the move without clarification. The entitlement to benefits in kind is suspended abroad. In addition, the care grade is determined in the German assessment procedure; the care fund clarifies details of the procedure during a stay abroad. In case you become incapacitated abroad, an effective power of attorney is also advisable; details are provided in the article on advance power of attorney when living abroad.
Checklist Before the Move
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| Step | Content |
|---|---|
| 1 | Clarify follow-on cover in the destination country (with a foreign adviser) |
| 2 | Obtain the deregistration certificate |
| 3 | Inform the fund or insurer in writing, expressly naming health insurance and long-term care insurance |
| 4 | For statutory long-term care insurance: check application for continued insurance within one month |
| 5 | For private insurance: enquire about notice periods, expectancy right and suspension rule in the tariff conditions |
| 6 | Include family members |
| 7 | Have the termination and the continued-insurance notice confirmed in writing and archive them |
Conclusion
Long-term care insurance does not end automatically on deregistration when you move. In statutory long-term care insurance the end follows health insurance; important is the one-month deadline for continued insurance under Section 26(2) SGB XI, so that the prior insurance period is preserved. For the privately insured, tariff conditions, cancellation under Section 205 VVG and, where applicable, an expectancy right decide. Anyone who expects benefits abroad must know Section 34 SGB XI: the care allowance is preserved, where insurance continues and a care grade exists, in EU countries, in the EEA and in Switzerland, otherwise only for up to eight weeks per calendar year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to cancel long-term care insurance separately when I emigrate?
As a compulsorily insured person in the GKV, as a rule not, because membership in the care fund follows the health insurance fund. You should, however, name both insurances in the letter and have both terminations confirmed. Voluntarily and privately insured persons must take action.
What happens to long-term care insurance if I do not cancel it?
For voluntarily insured persons, the contribution demand continues until membership ends. For compulsorily insured persons, membership ends with the cessation of compulsory insurance (Section 49(1) SGB XI); the precondition is that the fund learns of this. A retroactive termination requires that you prove the date of the move; the extent depends on the individual case.
Can I suspend long-term care insurance?
Benefits are suspended abroad by operation of law under Section 34 SGB XI, without you having to do anything. A contractual suspension at a reduced contribution (expectancy right) exists in private compulsory long-term care insurance only if the insurer offers it.
How long do I have for continued insurance in statutory long-term care insurance?
Under Section 26(2) SGB XI, no later than one month after leaving compulsory insurance. Calculate from the date of the move and file the application early.
Do I receive care allowance abroad?
In the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, the care allowance is not suspended under Section 34(1a) SGB XI, provided the insurance continues and a care grade exists. In other states, during a temporary stay, it continues to be paid only for up to eight weeks per calendar year.
How does a return affect matters?
In statutory long-term care insurance, the prior insurance period (two years in the last ten years) under Section 33(2) SGB XI is decisive. In private insurance, the expectancy right or a new contract decides.
The Fiala law firm has published extensively on questions of emigration, exit and assets abroad. Attorney Dr. Johannes Fiala advises emigrants on the legal questions of their move, including the social security consequences. Contact the firm without obligation to discuss your specific case in an initial consultation.
