General Information
In this section, you will find general information on how Expatrio's services are affected by the current situation. In part 2. and 3. of this article, you will find information based on your individual situation, split into "before activation of your products" and "after activation of your products".
How is the Expatrio Customer Support affected by Corona?
Expatrio's Customer Support continues to be at your service as usual. However, the service is affected in a few ways, listed in the following.
- As the COVID-19 situation is heavily increasing the influx of inquiries, it might take a bit longer for us to get back to you. Though it will not work all the time, we try our best to get back to you within 24 hours. Please do not send a follow-up request.
- As we are taking our social responsibility very seriously, we are not offering in-person support at our office in Berlin at the moment. This means, you will not be able to come to our Berlin office to activate your Blocked Account or clarify on any questions you might have. Please use this form for any inquiries.
- The processing of Blocked Account activations might take up to 2 weeks at the moment.
- The processing Blocked Account closing orders might take up to 6 weeks at the moment.
For more information on the most frequently asked questions with regards to the current COVID-19 situation, please refer to our dedicated FAQ section or this article.
Will my health insurance pay the fee for medical treatment if I am infected by the Corona virus?
If you should be infected by the COVID-19 virus, your health insurance will cover the costs for medical treatment in most of the cases. Please refer to the following resources for first hand information or get in touch with the health insurance directly.
Techniker Krankenkasse (TK):
- Information on COVID-19 and the coverage: https://www.tk.de/techniker/gesundheit-und-medizin/behandlungen-und-medizin/infektionen/coronavirus-2078234
- Exclusive TK Coronavirus-Hotline: +4940-46 06 - 61 91 60
- "TK-Doc"-App to chat with general practitioners of the TK-ÄrzteZentrum
- Contact email: service@tk.de
DR-WALTER:
- Information on COVID-19 and the coverage: https://www.educare24.com/information/questions_and_answers
- Contact email: dr-walter@expatrio.com
Before Activation
In this section, you will find answers to the most pressing questions if you have not activated your Expatrio products yet.
Can I postpone my Blocked Account activation?
Yes, due to the COVID-19 situation, you can postpone you Blocked Account activation for up to one year. Please update your (expected) arrival and study start date on the personal data page in your Expatrio User Portal accordingly.
How can I close my Blocked Account because of Corona?
To close your Blocked Account, please simply follow our standard closing procedure. The procedure will be initiated once you send us a request via this form with the category "Blocked Account Closing / Visa Rejection". Please note that the closing process might take up to 6 weeks because of an increased demand of closing services due to the COVID-19 situation.
Do I still need an official letter from the German authority handling my visa request ("Sperrfreigabe") to close my Blocked Account?
Yes, you will still need to provide an official letter (a visa rejection letter is sufficient) to allow us to release the funds back to you. However, due to the current situation, an email from your German visa authority stating that you can use your course cancellation letter, in combination with a rejection or course cancellation letter of your university/language school/etc. serves as a "Sperrfreigabe" as well.
We recommend saving a pdf the email from your authority and combining documents using services such as combinepdf.com
After Activation
In this section, you will find answers to the most pressing questions if you are in Germany at the moment and have activated your Expatrio products already.
I am leaving Germany. How can I close my Blocked Account and get my money back?
To close your Blocked Account, please simply follow our standard closing procedure. The procedure will be initiated once you send us a request via this form with the category "Blocked Account Closing / Visa Rejection". Please note that the closing process might take up to 6 weeks because of an increased demand of closing services due to the COVID-19 situation.
How can I cancel my insurance when leaving Germany now?
If you would like to cancel your insurances because of early departure from Germany, please send an email to the respective insurer directly. In the following, you can find the email addresses of TK and DR-WALTER to cancel your contracts.
- TK: service@tk.de
- DR-WALTER: dr-walter@expatrio.com
Are the costs of early departure from Germany covered by any of the insurances Expatrio provides?
The insurances provided by Expatrio do not cover the costs occurred due to the event of early departure. However, if you have already booked a ticket to get back home at a later date, you might want to get in touch with airline. If they have not cancelled all the flights that are relevant for you, they might accept your request to change your reservation and put you on an earlier flight.