Registration of a newborn child with the social security system

Registration

Children are usually already insured together with their mother and/or father by operation of law. It is only in the very rare case in which neither parent are covered by sickness insurance that the child does not have sickness insurance either.

The registration of the birth of a child with the social security funds is arranged (for births in Austria) by the competent registry office. In this case, the registration is usually carried out automatically following the notification of the birth and is processed on the same working day. A social security number is already created at this point.

If the mother and/or father has sickness insurance with one of the following insurance funds, the birth is automatically registered with them by the competent registry office:

• Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK)
• Insurance Institution for Public Sector Employees and Rail and Mine Workers (BVAEB)
• Social Security Institution for the Self-Employed (SVS)

Even if only one parent is insured with one of these institutions, the registry office will notify them automatically.

If sickness insurance is held with an insurance company not mentioned here, the insured person must report the birth to the insurance fund himself/herself.

If sickness insurance is also held with an institution not mentioned here in addition to sickness insurance with one of the insurance funds mentioned, it is recommended that the person concerned notify that institution of the birth himself/herself, as there may be different entitlements to benefits under certain circumstances.

Stepchildren and grandchildren as well as foster children who live in the same household as the insured person may also be insured in addition to the insured person’s own children. In these cases, the social security fund must be actively notified by the the insured person.

e-card

The child will be sent his or her own e-card by post after the registration has been carried out. If it still has not been received 14 days after the birth, it is recommended that you contact your social security fund.

Visiting a doctor without an e-card

If the child has to go to the doctor but has not yet received an e-card, there are several possible courses of action:

• Since the birth is registered in the parents-child health passport, this can be presented at the surgery as a substitute for the e-card in many cases. In this case, the child’s e-card must be presented at a later date.
• In some cases, it is possible to assure the surgery that the child has insurance cover even without a parents-child health passport, and the e-card can be presented at a later date. If this is not accepted by the surgery (e.g. because it is not the family doctor), the surgery also has the option of requesting a deposit from the parent. If the e-card is subsequently presented within a short period of time, the deposit must be reimbursed by the surgery.
• A replacement certificate or confirmation of insurance can be issued by the competent sickness insurance fund. You can contact your insurance company about this.