Ireland
HSE Treatment Abroad Scheme: who qualifies and how to apply
For patients in Ireland who have been told their treatment is not available here, or not in time.
The HSE Treatment Abroad Scheme covers the cost of planned treatment in a recognised public hospital in the EU, the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, when that treatment is not available in Ireland, or not in time for your condition. A public hospital consultant who is treating you refers you, and the HSE must approve it before you travel. It does not cover India.
Medically reviewed
Reviewed by Dr Gunjan Patel, MBBS, registered with the Gujarat Medical Council (G-65059). Reviewed for accuracy only. This page is general information, not advice about your own case, and Dr Gunjan Patel does not diagnose, prescribe or treat.
Eligibility
Who can use the HSE Treatment Abroad Scheme?
Someone ordinarily resident in Ireland whose treatment is not available here, or not in time. The HSE says treatment under its Treatment Abroad Scheme must be within Irish law and either not available in Ireland, or not available in the time normally necessary to get it in Ireland, taking into account your health and the likely course of your condition.
Health Service Executive (Ireland), Treatment Abroad Scheme Checked 2026-10-03.
Read on 3 October 2026 from the live HSE page, which was marked as under review and shows no date of its own. Whether a treatment qualifies is decided by the HSE for each application. Not advice about an individual entitlement.
The route in is narrow, and it starts with a hospital consultant, not with you. The HSE says you can only apply for its Treatment Abroad Scheme if you are ordinarily resident in Ireland and a public hospital consultant in Ireland refers you, and that it does not accept referrals from GPs or self-referrals.
Health Service Executive (Ireland), Treatment Abroad Scheme Checked 2026-10-03.
Read on 3 October 2026 from the live HSE page, which was marked as under review. The HSE defines ordinarily resident as living in Ireland and intending to live there for at least one year. Not advice about an individual entitlement.
The treatment and the hospital abroad have to meet conditions too. The HSE says the referring consultant must confirm the treatment abroad is medically necessary, a proven rather than experimental treatment, and in a recognised public hospital or public institution that accepts the E112 form, also known as an S2 form.
Health Service Executive (Ireland), Treatment Abroad Scheme Checked 2026-10-03.
Read on 3 October 2026 from the live HSE page, which was marked as under review. The HSE adds that a referral abroad that does not qualify for the scheme is a matter for the consultant and the referring hospital.
Private patients start with their insurer, and come to the scheme only after the insurer has said no and its appeals process is over. The Health Service Executive says its Treatment Abroad Scheme covers the cost of planned treatment in another country in the EU, the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, and that private patients should apply to their private health insurance provider for funding, although they may apply to the scheme if that provider declines and its appeals process is exhausted.
Health Service Executive (Ireland), Treatment Abroad Scheme Checked 2026-09-25.
The page was marked as under review when read. It does not say that any Irish private insurer covers treatment in India.
Applying
How do you apply, and what if the HSE says no?
Your consultant fills in the form with you, and it has to be their own medical opinion, not something they complete because someone asked them to. The HSE says the consultant applying for its Treatment Abroad Scheme must be currently treating you and have assessed you in the 2 weeks before the application, and that an incomplete application is returned with 20 days to send what is missing, or it is declined.
Health Service Executive (Ireland), Treatment Abroad Scheme Checked 2026-10-03.
Read on 3 October 2026 from the live HSE page, which was marked as under review. You and your consultant complete the HSE form S2 - E112 IE, with a referral letter from your consultant addressed to the consultant abroad, and the HSE says the consultant must base the application on their own medical opinion and cannot complete the form at the request of someone else.
Then you wait for a decision in writing, before anything is booked. The HSE says it must assess and approve a Treatment Abroad Scheme application before you travel, that you are not to schedule appointments before you get a decision, and that it aims to confirm the outcome of a completed application in 15 to 20 working days.
Health Service Executive (Ireland), Treatment Abroad Scheme Checked 2026-10-03.
Read on 3 October 2026 from the live HSE page, which was marked as under review. The 15 to 20 working days is an aim for a completed application, not a guarantee, and the HSE sends decisions by post, not by phone.
Booking an appointment early does not speed up the review, and it can leave you with a date abroad and no decision. Send the application as soon as your consultant agrees, and check every page of the form before it goes, because a missing detail sends it back to you.
A refusal from the HSE is not the end either. The HSE says that if it declines a Treatment Abroad Scheme application, its letter explains why and how to appeal, and that you can appeal within 3 months of getting the decision, by post or email, but not by phone.
Health Service Executive (Ireland), Treatment Abroad Scheme Checked 2026-10-03.
Read on 3 October 2026 from the live HSE page, which was marked as under review. Appeals go to the HSE National Appeals Service, which takes questions by phone but not appeals.
What it pays
What does the scheme pay for, and what does it not?
The approved treatment, through a form the HSE issues for each visit, and not much around it. The HSE says its Treatment Abroad Scheme does not cover travel, accommodation or food, but may assist with reasonable, basic air or sea fares where appropriate, and will consider travel expenses for an approved patient under 18 or one who needs assistance when travelling for medical reasons.
Health Service Executive (Ireland), Treatment Abroad Scheme Checked 2026-10-03.
Read on 3 October 2026 from the live HSE page, which was marked as under review. The HSE says the amount it covers depends on the treatment and the country, and it publishes a separate travel policy for applicants.
The form matters, because without it you may have to pay for the visit yourself.
The HSE says that under its Treatment Abroad Scheme you may have to pay for a visit abroad yourself if you attend without notifying the scheme and no E112/S2 form has been issued, or if you do not show the form, and that it does not refund these costs
Health Service Executive (Ireland), Treatment Abroad Scheme Checked 2026-10-03.
Read on 3 October 2026 from the live HSE page, which was marked as under review. The HSE says you must send confirmation of every appointment before you attend, and that you are covered only for the treatment it approved.
So before each appointment abroad, send the HSE the appointment letter, wait for the E112/S2 form to reach you and the hospital, and carry it with you. If you are unsure whether a second visit or extra treatment is covered, ask before you go.
The other scheme
Treatment Abroad Scheme or Cross Border Directive?
They are different schemes with different rules, and the HSE runs both. The Cross Border Directive does not need the HSE’s approval before you go, but you pay first and claim back afterwards. The HSE says that under the Cross Border Directive you pay the provider yourself and can then claim the smaller of the cost of your healthcare abroad and the cost of the same healthcare in the Irish public system, that you are responsible for any shortfall, and that travel, accommodation and translation costs are not covered.
Health Service Executive, Cross Border Directive: how much you can claim Checked 2026-09-26.
Read directly from the live HSE pages on 26 September 2026; the pages show no date of their own, and the HSE reviews its published prices each year. The shortfall wording is from the HSE prior notification page, and the line on travel, accommodation and translation costs is from the HSE page Get healthcare abroad with the Cross Border Directive Scheme (/cross-border-directive/how-to-get/). What the HSE would pay for your procedure is set by the HSE, so ask it for an indication before you commit. Not advice about an individual entitlement.
| Question | Treatment Abroad Scheme | Cross Border Directive |
|---|---|---|
| Where | The EU, the EEA, the UK or Switzerland | The EU or the EEA, and no longer the UK |
| Approval before you go | Required | Prior notification is optional |
| How it pays | An E112/S2 form covers the approved treatment | You pay, then claim back up to the Irish public cost |
| Travel and accommodation | Not covered, though the HSE may help with basic fares | Not covered |
| Treatment in India | Not covered | Not covered |
The Directive is set out in full, with its eligibility rules, on our page for patients in Ireland. The HSE says that to use the Cross Border Directive you must be eligible for the same healthcare in the Irish public system and have an outpatient consultation before inpatient or day case treatment, that prior notification before you travel for inpatient or day case treatment is optional, and that it lets the HSE confirm whether you are eligible to apply for healthcare costs and give an indication of how much you might get, with the exact amount confirmed only after treatment.
Health Service Executive, Cross Border Directive: get healthcare abroad and prior notification Checked 2026-09-26.
Read directly from the live HSE pages on 26 September 2026; the pages show no date of their own and the rules change. The eligibility and outpatient consultation rules are from the HSE page Get healthcare abroad with the Cross Border Directive Scheme (/cross-border-directive/how-to-get/), re-read on 3 October 2026. You still apply for the healthcare costs after treatment. Whether you qualify, and for what, is decided by the HSE for your case, so confirm with the HSE Cross Border Directive team before you travel. Not advice about an individual entitlement.
If you qualify for either scheme, check it first: the treatment is closer to home and the HSE pays some or all of the cost. If neither fits and you are weighing paying for treatment yourself, India included, the free 30 minute consultation is where we tell you honestly whether an independent opinion would help you, or whether it would not. Please do not send records or scans before we have spoken.
Questions
What Irish patients ask about the scheme.
Can my GP refer me to the Treatment Abroad Scheme?
No. The HSE does not accept referrals from GPs or self-referrals. The application has to come from a public hospital consultant in Ireland who is treating you, so if you have not seen one yet, that referral comes first.
Can I book my appointment abroad before the HSE decides?
The HSE says not to. An appointment does not change the review, and if you attend without a form issued for that visit you may have to pay for it yourself, with no refund later.
Does the Treatment Abroad Scheme cover treatment in India?
No. It covers planned treatment in the EU, the EEA, the UK and Switzerland. Treatment in India falls outside it, and the HSE does not say that any Irish private insurer covers it. What official bodies say about cover for treatment abroad sets out the questions to put to an insurer.
Check the public route first. Then decide.
Thirty minutes, free, and no medical records needed to start. If you do not need us, that is what you will hear.