Skip to main content

Eesti.ee uses cookies on its websites

Our website uses cookies to improve website performance and provide a more personalised experience. Read more about our cookie policy.
By clicking 'Accept', you consent to the use of analytical cookies. By clicking 'Do not accept', you do not accept analytical cookies. You can withdraw your consent to cookies at any time on the settings page or the cookies page.

Home Accessibility
  • Eesti keeles
  • По-русски
  • In English

I have fallen ill

Last modified 06.03.2026 | Text by Health Insurance Fund

Should I visit my family physician or turn to the emergency medicine department?

In the case of health-related problems, your first contact person will be your family physician, who diagnoses and treats most illnesses together with the family nurse. In the case of health problems, you can also consult the family physician helpline by calling (+372) 634 6630 or the premium rate number 1220.

In the emergency medicine departments (EMDs) of hospitals, emergency care is provided, including medical care services that cannot be postponed or left unprovided without risking the death of the patient or permanent damage to their health.

You should call the ambulance if the change in your health condition is rapid. Such conditions are first and foremost cardiac arrest, heart arrhythmia, bleeding, trauma, concussions, bone fractures, and loss of consciousness. To call the ambulance, phone 112.

Do I have valid health insurance?

An insured person is a permanent resident of the Republic of Estonia or a person living in Estonia by virtue of a temporary residence permit or by the right of permanent residence, who pays the social tax for himself/herself or for whom the payer of social tax is required to pay social tax.

You can check whether you have valid health insurance in the State Portal by using the e-service My personal data in the Health Insurance Fund. You can also phone the customer service of the Health Insurance Fund (+372) 669 6630.

The medical costs for insured people are paid by the Health Insurance Fund.

People aged under 19 have health insurance regardless of whether their parents are employed or not.

More information about health insurance can be found on the website of the Health Insurance Fund.

Who is my family physician?

You can check the name of your family physician on the state portal in the Health Insurance Fund’s e-service ‘Account number and personal data in the Health Insurance Fund’. You can also call the Health Insurance Fund’s customer support at (+372) 669 6630.

You can choose your own family physician. The contact details of family medicine centres are available on the website of the Health Insurance Fund. You can find information about choosing and changing your family physician (including whether there are any vacancies and the service area) on the website of the Health Board.

In order to register with a family physician or to change to another physician, you must submit an application for registration to the doctor of your choice. You can get the application form from your family physician or from the website of the Health Insurance Fund.

Babies born in Estonia are automatically registered with their mother’s family physician.

How can I get a medical specialist appointment?

You will be referred to a medical specialist if the family physician finds that your health problem requires the involvement of a specialised doctor. The contacts of the medical institutions providing specialised medical care who are the partners of the Health Insurance Fund can be found on the website of the Health Insurance Fund.

To make an appointment with a medical specialist, the family physician will issue an electronic referral. The appointment has to be made during the period that the referral is valid, but the appointment itself might take place when the validity period is over.

You can see your referrals, test results, and medical history in the Health Portal at www.terviseportaal.ee.

Without a referral from the family doctor, you can visit a psychiatrist, a gynaecologist, a pulmonologist (with tuberculosis), an eye specialist, a dentist, a dermatologist, and a venereal diseases specialist, and go to the emergency medicine department.

Information about prescriptions and medical devices funded by the Health Insurance Fund can be seen in the State Portal in the e-service My prescriptions. The information about paid amounts can also be found there (including the amounts of additional benefit for pharmaceuticals).

Information about unused dental care benefit and denture benefit can be found in the State Portal in the e-service My dental care benefit and denture benefit information.

You can see the prescriptions of your underage children and wards in the Health Portal at www.terviseportaal.ee. There, you can also see your children’s or wards’ referrals, summarised medical history, and test results.

Who do I need to inform if I fall ill?

If you need a certificate for sick leave (or for care leave if your child falls ill or a family member needs care), you must call your family physician on the first day of illness. A certificate for sick leave starting on a weekend day can be opened by a family physician if the person informs the health professional by telecommunication or by coming to the appointment on the next working day and if the insured person’s illness is recorded in the health information system.

You should inform your employer as soon as possible and, if you can, tell them when you expect to return to work (if necessary, this should be specified later, for example if the illness worsens and you have to be away from work for a longer period).

Where can I see my certificate for sick leave?

Information about your certificate for sick leave can be found in the State Portal via e-service My certificates of temporary incapacity for work. The certificate for sick leave can be seen after the physician has opened it and sent it to the Health Insurance Fund.

A certificate for sick leave will be issued if you yourself have fallen ill. If you need to take care of your ill child or family member, a certificate for care leave will be issued.

Your family physician will issue an electronic certificate for sick leave after they have examined you and found that you are ill. If the need for sick leave arises on a weekend, a national holiday, or a public holiday and the person informs the doctor by means of telecommunication or when going to the doctor’s appointment on the following working day, and if an entry has been made in the health information system about the insured person’s illness, the family physician may issue the certificate for sick leave retroactively.

You also have to notify your employer of your illness as soon as possible and if possible, give an estimated time of returning to work. If you have fallen ill abroad, you need to provide your employer with a paper certificate issued by a doctor in a foreign country.

More information about sickness benefit and care allowance can be found on the website of the Health Insurance Fund.

How much sickness benefit I receive while on sick leave and when is it paid?

Your employer and the Health Insurance Fund will pay you sickness benefits based on your sick leave certificate.

  • For the first three days of illness you will not receive any sickness benefit.
  • From day 4 to day 8, the sickness benefit is paid by your employer.
  • The Health Insurance Fund pays sickness benefit from day 9 of illness.

A person is entitled to the sickness benefit for up to 182 consecutive calendar days (in the case of tuberculosis, for 240 calendar days). A physician can also issue a certificate for sick leave for a longer period, but no sickness benefit will be paid for this.

The employer must pay out the sickness benefit on the payday, but no later than 30 calendar days after the employer has received the relevant information.

The Health Insurance Fund will pay out the sickness benefit no later than 30 calendar days after the employer has submitted the information electronically. If everything is in order and the information on the certificate for sick leave needs no specification, the benefit will usually be transferred to your bank account in a couple of working days.

You can check and change your bank account details in the State Portal via e-service My personal data in the Health Insurance Fund. You can also change your bank account details by turning to the customer service offices of the Health Insurance Fund or send a digitally signed application (in Estonian) to [email protected].

If the Health Insurance Fund does not have your bank details, you must submit these to the Health Insurance Fund yourself.

If an employed insured person falls sick abroad, the benefit for incapacity for work will be paid on the same base as it would have happened in Estonia. In order to receive the benefit, you have to submit to your employer a paper certificate issued by a foreign doctor proving your illness. Detailed information about this can be found on the website of the Health Insurance Fund.

More information about sickness benefit and care allowance can be found on the website of the Health Insurance Fund.

If I have to go on care leave with my child

If the doctor decides that you need to stay at home with a sick child or a sick family member needs care, you will be issued with a certificate for care leave and the Health Insurance Fund will pay you a care allowance:

  • for up to 60 consecutive days for nursing a child under 12 years of age or a disabled insured person under 19 years of age based on the start of the first certificate for care leave

  • for up to seven consecutive days for nursing a sick family member at home

  • for up to ten consecutive days for caring for a child under 3 years of age or a disabled child under 16 years of age, if the person caring for the child is themselves ill or receiving obstetrical care.

The doctor can also issue a certificate for care leave for a longer period, but the period for which care allowance is paid is limited.

The rate of the care allowance is 80% and it is paid from the first day of the leave indicated on the certificate. Income tax is withheld from the allowance.

A sick child or a disabled child or family member may be cared for by several people at different times, one person at a time. In this case, the doctor will issue them all with separate certificates for care leave. This does not extend the aforementioned period of payment of the care allowance.

You can read more about the care allowance on the website of the Health Insurance Fund.

Falling ill during a holiday

In the event of falling ill while on holiday, you are entitle to compensation if you notify your employer thereof as soon as possible and ask the employer to interrupt your holiday. Issuing a certificate for sick leave will not interrupt the holiday automatically.

You have the right to use the unused part of the holiday right after recovering or at another, time if agreed so by the parties.

Falling ill while travelling

If you unexpectedly fall ill while travelling or you have an accident, you should first contact your family and then the insurance company who issued your travel insurance policy. If necessary, the consulate can consult you on finding necessary care and contacting your family in Estonia. Contacts of consulates can be found on the web site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; you can also contact the 24-hour helpline of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (+372) 5301 9999.

If an employed insured person falls sick abroad, the benefit for incapacity for work will be paid on the same base as it would have happened in Estonia. In order to receive the benefit, you have to submit to your employer a paper certificate issued by a foreign doctor proving your illness. Detailed information about this can be found on the website of the Health Insurance Fund.

When travelling in Europe, you should carry a European Health Insurance Card or its temporary replacement certificate. Upon showing the card, the Estonians with health insurance will be provided medical care on an equal level with the locals in the European Union member states and in Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and United Kingdom. The European Health Insurance Card is free of charge. You can apply for the European Health Insurance Card in the State Portal using e-service Ordering the European Health Insurance Card or its replacement certificate.

The Health Insurance Fund does not cover all the medical costs of the people who have fallen ill or got hurt in an accident abroad, including repatriation costs, which is why also a travel insurance policy should be taken out when travelling around in Europe.

If you need to carry narcotic/psychotropic medicines or a large amount of medicines on your trip, you might want to check the website of the State Agency of Medicines to see whether you need a special permit from the State Agency of Medicines to avoid potential trouble.

How to apply for the European Health Insurance Card

The European Health Insurance Card gives you the right to receive medical care on an equal level with the insured locals in the European Union member states and in Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and United Kingdom. The European Health Insurance Card is free of charge.

You can apply for the European Health Insurance Card or its replacement certificate in the following ways:

The European Health Insurance Card can be received by mail on the address stated in the application (all over the world) within 10 days.

When your trip is less than 10 days away or you discover that you do not have your card on you while travelling, you can apply for a temporary replacement certificate from the state portal. You will be sent the certificate by  e-mail.

You can order a notification about the expiry of your Health Insurance Card to your e-mail address.

The Health Insurance Fund does not cover all the medical costs of the people who have fallen ill or got hurt in an accident abroad, including repatriation costs, which is why also a travel insurance policy should be taken out when travelling.

Should you have any questions, call the Health Insurance Fund (+372) 669 6630 or, send an e-mail to [email protected].

Where can I get help in the case of poisoning?

In any case of acute poisoning or any suspicion of it, you can get help from the 24-hour poisoning information hotline of the Poisoning Information Centre by calling 16662 or (+372) 794 3794. There are nurses and doctors with long-term experience in emergency medicine answering your calls. People who receive calls can communicate, besides Estonian, also in Russian, Finnish and English. The calls are anonymous and charged according to the local tariff.

When you are abroad and suspect a poisoning, call the long phone number: the centre can also advise you on more exotic cases.

If I have had an occupational accident

If you have an accident at work, you must notify the employer or its representative and the working environment representative. The employer has the obligation to investigate all occupational accidents.

The employer must be notified when temporary incapacity for work has been determined as a result of an accident. If you do not report an occupational accident at the right time, you will lose the benefits prescribed by law.

If you turn to a medical institution for help, you must definitely mention there that the accident took place at work.

In the case of an illness or injury resulting from an occupational accident, sickness benefit is paid by the Health Insurance Fund starting from the second day of the leave. The benefit is paid for up to 182 days. The employer is not responsible for paying the sickness benefit.

However, the employer might be required to compensate for the loss resulting from the damage to health (in the case of both an occupational accident and an occupational disease). The compensation mostly involves covering reasonable costs for medical treatment and the loss occurring from the employee’s temporary incapacity for work and the damage resulting from loss of income, and, if the employee dies, also reasonable funeral costs.

The employer might also be required to compensate for additional expenses due to health damage, such as for prosthetic appliances, medical aids, and prescription medicines. If the employer does not accept the claim submitted by the employer or the persons related to them, they have the right to go to court to settle the dispute.

Occupational diseases are diagnosed by an occupational health doctor who notifies the employee, the employer, the Labour Inspectorate, and the physician who referred the employee to the occupational health doctor of the occupational disease within five working days after the disease has been diagnosed.

More information about occupational accidents and occupational diseases can be found in the working life news portal Tööelu.

Forms

References

Services