Healthcare in Hungary: from the CAK's S1 to the TAJ card
Hungary is a treaty country. With a Dutch statutory pension you apply for an S1 form at the CAK, have it registered at the health insurance department of the kormányhivatal, and get a TAJ number with a TAJ card — the proof with which you receive the same care as a Hungarian insured person, without a Hungarian healthcare contribution. There is one health fund, so nothing to choose; but a GP, and the one for your own area may only refuse you in exceptional cases.
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If you retire to Hungary, you stay insured through the Netherlands. Hungary is on the list of treaty countries. This is how it works:
- With a Dutch statutory pension you stay insured through the CAK, and Hungary provides the care.
- You pay a treaty contribution, which is usually deducted from your pension automatically.
The pitfall is on the Hungarian side. The S1 form only becomes insurance once the kormányhivatal (the regional government office) has registered it. And for that you first need your address card.
Retired: the S1 route through the CAK
If you have a Dutch statutory pension or a benefit, you register with the CAK. You can do so at the earliest five months before your emigration or retirement date. Within four weeks you get an answer. If the scheme applies to you, you get an S1 form: the European form with which the Netherlands keeps paying for your care. With it you register with the health fund of your country of residence.
You no longer pay a Dutch premium, but a treaty contribution. The amount depends on your income and your country of residence. Your pension fund or benefits agency deducts it in most cases. Tell your Dutch health insurer your moving date preferably two months before departure, to avoid double costs.
If your partner comes along without their own pension, benefit or income, you fill in their name on your registration. The Hungarian health fund then decides whether your partner can be co-insured. If your partner does have their own pension or benefit, they register themselves.
| Step | Deadline | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Registering with the CAK | at most 5 months before departure | CAK |
| Answer with S1 | within 4 weeks | CAK |
| Reporting the move to your health insurer | preferably 2 months before departure | your Dutch insurer |
| Registration certificate and address card | day 93 at the latest | OIF |
| Registering the S1 and TAJ card | immediately, within 8 days at most for a complete application; otherwise 60 days | kormányhivatal |
Registering at the kormányhivatal, and the TAJ card
Hungary has one health fund, the NEAK, so there is no insurer to choose. The registration runs via the health insurance department of the kormányhivatal where you live.
According to the NEAK, someone insured in another EU country and living in Hungary is entitled to full care in Hungary with the form from that foreign insurer. After registration you use your Hungarian TAJ number for it, the number on your health card.
For the TAJ card you bring, as an EU citizen, your registration certificate, your identity document and your address card, and the S1. The first card is free. If everything is complete, you get it straight away and within eight days at the latest. If something is missing, a period of sixty days applies.
Do know what the card is. It only proves your number. Whether you are entitled to care, the doctor or hospital checks electronically. So the form in your drawer isn't insurance: only after registration are you known in the system, and only then can you choose a GP.
How do you choose a GP?
The Hungarian GP, the háziorvos, works with an area of their own. You register with the GP of your choice. If they accept you, they record your TAJ number and you get proof that they take on your care.
A GP may refuse a registration. Someone living in their own area they may refuse only in an exceptional case. Once a year you may switch without giving a reason, and also when you move.
For children up to nineteen there is the paediatric GP. Between fourteen and nineteen an ordinary GP may also do it.
Find the practice in your first weeks, before you need one. Which GP belongs to your address, you'll find according to the NEAK on your municipality's website.
Do you work in Hungary?
Anyone taking up employment is insured with the NEAK via the employer, with the Hungarian contribution, and gets the TAJ card that way. The CAK doesn't come into it then. What comes off your pay is in working in Hungary.
The deadline for early retirement
From 1 November 2026 new applicants in the EU are expected to get health insurance through the CAK only if they receive AOW, Anw, WAO, WIA or Wajong. Anyone leaving with an early retirement pension or a bridging benefit, such as an RVU benefit or wachtgeld, must then arrange their own health insurance until AOW age. Anyone already a client keeps their rights.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 1 of 5 of the journey, step 1.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Hungary or go straight to step 1.2 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- NederlandWereldwijd — the foreign-residence scheme and the treaty countries — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- NederlandWereldwijd — how do I arrange my health insurance through the CAK — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- CAK — registering, at most five months ahead, and the S1 within four weeks — hetcak.nl
- CAK — emigrating with early retirement, the expected change from 1 November 2026 — hetcak.nl
- NEAK — frequently asked questions on care for people coming from another EU country — neak.gov.hu
- NEAK — applying for the TAJ card, documents, costs and processing time — neak.gov.hu
- NEAK — choosing, refusing and changing a GP — neak.gov.hu
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