GHIC process time

[LizzieMacQueen]

Hi. Anyone know how long I'm likely to wait? I applied & got an email saying my application was successful on 10 April but no card in the post yet.

On their website they do say there's a limit on how many they physically produce each day but no indication of how long it will take.

Anyone recently applied & got their card in hand?

I applied around the same time and got mine about 4 days ago.

Ah good to hear @Peregrina. Hopefully mine is in the post too.

I applied about the same time as you and got them a week later. Look for a brown envelope from the NHS business services unit.

A month for me

Mine took 6 weeks after applying.

Ok thanks all. None received in the last few days. If it's 6 weeks then I'll get it before I travel, but only just.

The problems when you book a last minute getaway! At least our passports are valid.

Ours were back very quickly. Definitely within a week

I think about 10 days for ours.

I ordered ours on 14th April and am still waiting too

Ours were five weeks. Too late for our trip.

Do you need this to go to Europe now? I used to have an EHIC which of course has expired and it hadn't occured to me to apply for this one as I have travel insurance anyway. But maybe I should apply for one anyway while I don't have any trips booked, just to not be worried about timing

I applied on the 5th of April and still waiting too...

Check whether your travel insurance policy assumes or demands that you have a GHIC. Some insurance companies make this a condition - it save them money if you claim for eligible treatment on the GHIC, as the UK government pays instead of the insurance company.

Update - mine arrived today. So one month in total.

I applied for ours (4 cards) on 3rd April, they all came last week so 6 weeks.

Just wondering how long people are waiting now? I applied on 18 June and haven't received anything. The website does say there are delays due to the numbers applying but no indication of what those delays are?

Bumping this as we’re due to travel on Friday, and just realised our EHICs ran out in 2021. 😳

we've no chance of getting it turned around, have we?

LadyHermione probably not! However if you look on the relevant bit of the NHS website - just Google apply for a GHIC - it does say that even without the card you can still avail of treatment if necessary. I think there is a form you have to fill in at the time of going to the doctor or hospital etc.

I applied a month before my travel date. Email acceptance within the hour.

The actual card didn’t arrive until after I’d returned. So about six weeks.

But as a pp has said, you’re covered if you have the email accepting your application.

That doesn't sound hopeful for me, I had an almost immediate email back but only to say that they had received my application and it would be reviewed, if successful I would hear by email and the card would follow. Since then, nothing but radio silence and I have just counted that it's been 30 working days.

Thanks @unfortunateevents ! Ho hum.

Well, I’ve had an email saying the application has been successful, so I’ll hope that that will be accepted as proof and I can fill in a form abroad if we get into difficulties. Fingers crossed, and good luck to everyone also waiting for their GHIC cards!

While the GHIC card (or old EHIC card that has not expired) makes getting urgent abroad easier, if you have UK National Insurance number you are automatically covered for basic healthcare in the EU. The card is proof that you are covered - but if your card has expired, not arrived, been lost, was in your wallet that's been stolen or been eaten by the dog, you're still covered.

Should you need treatment, as @unfortunateevents states above, what happens is that you contact the NHS Overseas Healthcare Services and ask for a Provisional Replacement Certificate (PRC). There is a NHS hotline for this (Outside UK: +44 191 283 3909) www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/healthcare-abroad/apply-for-a-free-uk-global-health-insurance-card-ghic/