Schengen visa insurance when applying from China
The Schengen missions we checked in China publish insurance instructions, not accepted-insurer lists: EUR 30,000 minimum, whole Schengen area, full stay. France's centres add a translation rule for Chinese-language policies. Read at the mission sources on August 31, 2026.
Insurer lists published by consulates and visa centres in China
Some Schengen missions publish a list of insurers whose certificates they accept. These are the lists we found for applications lodged here, each with its own date.
| Destination | Issuing authority | List date | Named insurers |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Schengen destinations (Germany instruction) | Authority:German missions in China (Auswärtiges Amt), Chinese-language FAQ '对旅行医疗保险有哪些要求？（《签证法典》第15条）' | List date:undated, read August 31, 2026 | Named insurers:none named |
| Germany | Authority:German Embassy Beijing, tourist-visa checklist | List date:page dated March 5, 2025, read August 31, 2026 | Named insurers:none named |
| France | Authority:TLScontact visa application centre Shanghai/Hangzhou/Nanjing, 'List of documents — Tourist visit', item 4 'Insurance, original and copy' | List date:undated PDF, read August 31, 2026 | Named insurers:none named |
None of the three instructions we retrieved names an insurance company — for applications from China we found requirement texts, not accepted-insurer lists. That differs from India, where consulates apply a joint list of approved Indian travel insurers, 24 companies in the edition effective October 2024 (see this site's India page, verified August 31, 2026). One further China-specific document is known to exist but is not reproduced here: a Chinese-language 'specific insurance requirements' one-pager for Belgium applications at visa.vfsglobal.com returned HTTP 403 to us on August 31, 2026, as did VFS's one-pager page itself. What we could not read, we do not quote.
What applies specifically in China
Local practice
Three practices are stated in the primary documents. (1) Translation: the France centres' list of documents (TLScontact Shanghai/Hangzhou/Nanjing, undated, read August 31, 2026) requires, for a policy that does not print Schengen-area validity, 'the photocopies of insurance clauses (English or French translation required, if the policy is in Chinese)'. (2) RMB anchor and on-site sale: the same checklist prints 'medical fees and repatriation costs up to 30.000 Euro (around 300.000 RMB)' — 'up to', as printed, where Article 15(3) sets a minimum — and invites applicants to 'Purchase full insurance coverage for the Schengen area directly at the Visa Application Centre!'. (3) COVID-19 clause: the German missions' Chinese-language FAQ (undated, read August 31, 2026) states '不得明确排除COVID-19新冠肺炎的治疗费用' — treatment costs for COVID-19 must not be explicitly excluded — and requires the insured person's name on the certificate ('被保险人的姓名也必须标明').
Where travellers buy
Of the policies verified in this site's matrix, none of the documents we read bars residence in China. Verdict states-all-requirements: AXA Schengen Low Cost, Essential (sold at the Europe Travel URL) and Multi Trip exclude only residence in the UK or the USA ('cannot be the United Kingdom (UK) or the United States of America (USA)', GTC §3.3, p. 10, read August 31, 2026; Essential further requires residence outside the Schengen zone); Europ Assistance Schengen records an age limit of 74 and no residence-country restriction; schengen.care is written 'for Foreigners' — anyone who is not a Polish citizen — with no residence-country restriction; MondialCare requires 'tax and/or legal residence ... outside the Schengen area' (§ 1.1, p. 3), which a resident of China meets. Verdict states-most-see-notes, each with gaps described on its own page: Chapka Cap Schengen (buyer must not be a Schengen resident), DR-WALTER PROVISIT-VISUM, EKTA travel. Domestic products commonly listed in China, not verified by us against Article 15: Ping An '平安行·欧洲签证旅游保险' (product page quotes the EUR 30,000 embassy requirement, read August 31, 2026) and PICC's Schengen product (guidance dated July 5, 2019, which also prints a 12-state Schengen list and a one-month minimum period that Article 15 does not contain).
Most-applied destinations
China is the largest country of application worldwide: 1,779,255 Schengen short-stay applications were lodged in China in 2024, up from 1,117,365 in 2023 (European Commission news, May 20, 2025), and the Commission's May 28, 2026 summary puts China first again for 2025 at 1.9 million. The Commission's consulate-level workbook splits these by destination state; we have not yet compiled that split, so this row ranks no destinations.
Sources
- — read August 31, 2026 — German missions in China, Chinese-language insurance FAQ (Visa Code Article 15), undated
- — read August 31, 2026 — German Embassy Beijing tourist-visa checklist, page dated March 5, 2025
- — read August 31, 2026 — TLScontact Shanghai/Hangzhou/Nanjing (France), list of documents, tourism, undated
- — read August 31, 2026 — Ping An Europe visa insurance product page; existence verified, wording not verified by us
- — read August 31, 2026 — PICC Schengen insurance guidance, dated July 5, 2019; existence verified, wording not verified by us
- — read August 31, 2026 — European Commission, 2024 visa statistics news
- — read August 31, 2026 — European Commission, 2025 visa statistics news
- — read August 31, 2026 — EU Delegation to China guide, published March 12, 2025; no insurance specifics
- — attempted August 31, 2026 — HTTP 403, content not reproduced
- — read August 31, 2026 — Danish embassy China tourism schemes; no insurance instruction
- — verified for this site August 30, 2026; automated retrieval refused August 31, 2026
Checked on
China is the largest single source of Schengen applications: consulates in China took in 1,779,255 short-stay applications in 2024, up from 1,117,365 in 2023, and the European Commission's May 28, 2026 summary puts China first again for 2025 at 1.9 million (Commission news pages, read August 31, 2026).
What the missions publish for applicants in China is instructions, not insurer lists. The German missions' Chinese-language FAQ states the cover must span the entire stay and the entire Schengen area ('它必须覆盖整个停留期，并适用于整个申根地区'), sets the sum insured at no less than EUR 30,000, and adds that COVID-19 treatment 'must not be explicitly excluded' ('不得明确排除COVID-19新冠肺炎的治疗费用') — FAQ undated, read August 31, 2026. France's centres in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing print an RMB anchor — 'up to 30.000 Euro (around 300.000 RMB)', wording as printed where Article 15(3) sets a minimum — and a rule specific to Chinese-language policies: when the policy does not print Schengen-area validity, clause photocopies with an English or French translation go into the file (TLScontact list of documents, undated, read August 31, 2026).
Domestic insurers sell for this market. Ping An's Europe visa product page quotes the EUR 30,000 embassy requirement verbatim; PICC's guidance, dated July 5, 2019, still prints a 12-state Schengen list and a one-month minimum period that Article 15 does not contain (both read August 31, 2026). We have not verified any Chinese policy wording against the six Article 15 requirements; the policies we have verified, and what their documents say about residence in China, are under local options.
Questions from applicants in China
Do Schengen embassies in China publish lists of approved insurance companies?
The instructions we retrieved name none. The German missions' Chinese-language FAQ and the France centres' TLScontact checklist state requirements — EUR 30,000, whole Schengen area, full stay — without naming an insurer (both read August 31, 2026). A Belgium-specific insurance one-pager for China exists on visa.vfsglobal.com but returned HTTP 403 to us the same day, so we do not reproduce it.
Can you use a Chinese-language insurance policy for a Schengen visa application in China?
France's centres say yes, with a condition: if the policy does not clearly indicate Schengen-area validity, applicants must add 'the photocopies of insurance clauses (English or French translation required, if the policy is in Chinese)' — TLScontact Shanghai/Hangzhou/Nanjing list of documents, undated, read August 31, 2026. Other missions' China instructions we read state no equivalent rule either way.
How much is the EUR 30,000 requirement in RMB on the Chinese checklists?
The France centres' checklist prints 'up to 30.000 Euro (around 300.000 RMB)' — wording as printed; Article 15(3) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 sets EUR 30,000 as a minimum, not a ceiling (regulation verified for this site August 30, 2026). Ping An's product page quotes the same floor: '申根签证保险的医疗保险金额保障不得低于3万欧元' (read August 31, 2026).
Does insurance for a Germany application from China have to cover COVID-19?
The German missions in China state, in their Chinese-language FAQ, that COVID-19 treatment costs must not be explicitly excluded: '不得明确排除COVID-19新冠肺炎的治疗费用' (FAQ undated, read August 31, 2026). This sits on top of the Article 15 requirements; the FAQ names no insurer and sets no other product condition.
Ad: this page contains an affiliate link. If you buy a policy through it, the seller pays this site a commission; the price you pay does not change. No insurer can buy a place or a verdict in this matrix: cells quote documents. How this site makes money
One verified policy is sold online
Advertisement link: EKTA pays this site a commission if you buy through it; the price you pay does not change. Our verdict on EKTA is 'states most (see notes)': its wording does not state Schengen-wide validity or full-stay duration. Read its check page first. The mission instructions above set requirements only, not an insurer list; France's centres add a translation rule for Chinese-language policies.