Retiring to spain: What happens if the UK leaves the EU?

Hi, Im Lesley C . My husband and I are currently trying to sell our house inEngland to move to Spain. My husband has health issues, which we are hoping will improve with living in Spain. We are both pensioners. I have checked while over here with my daughter, who already has a holiday home here, and there seems no problem with him getting his medications over in Spain. My concern now is that the British government are talking about a referendum about pulling out of the EU. Can anyone tell me what would happen if we were over here and this happened? Is private health care expensive for pensioners?

I don't think for one minute that the UK will leave the European Common Market.

lesleyc wrote:Hi, Im Lesley C . My husband and I are currently trying to sell our house inEngland to move to Spain. My husband has health issues, which we are hoping will improve with living in Spain. We are both pensioners. I have checked while over here with my daughter, who already has a holiday home here, and there seems no problem with him getting his medications over in Spain. My concern now is that the British government are talking about a referendum about pulling out of the EU. Can anyone tell me what would happen if we were over here and this happened? Is private health care expensive for pensioners?

Hello lesleyc,

Welcome to the forum.

We are pensioners and have a holiday home here. We spend about three separate months a year here in the warmer seasons and go back and forth to the UK, which suits us. Therefore I'm not sure how private health care works here but I'm sure you will get some helpful answers to your question soon.

Good luck with your move.

Jan.

PS Just seen Jon Stead's comment and I agree too.

Guapa wrote::text-welcomewave: Lesley


Check your private messages, I've sent you one.

Hi Guapa. We prefer any advice or recommendations to be posted on the forums here so that all of our members (and any non-members) can find everything they need. Otherwise it defeats the point of our website.

Thanks

Now there's the six million euro question. I don't really suppose anyone knows. UK and Spain had a reciprocal healthcare agreement before joining the EU so some could say this would continue if UK left the EU. However, Spain wasn't a member of the EU then so things might change between member and non-member countries although UK was a member when the reciprocal agreement was in force.
There are a lot of things that might or might not happen. There were many people from UK living in Spain before the EU membership. Now, we live here as "foreign citizens of the EU" which might, of course, change. Then again, it might simply continue as now. Visas were not required for UK visitors to Spain before so why would they need them now? Unless the Schengen agreement rears its ugly head.
If there is a referendum it won't be before 2017. It will take several years to ratify that and then several more years or more before any agreements are made on many aspects, including healthcare and tax agreements.

Realistically, it would be about 2025 before anything is sorted and a lot can happen in that time.

Thanks everyone for your advice on retiring to Spain. We feel a lot happier about taking the plunge now. Lesleyc

Just to add to the former - it was recently indicated that pensioners resident in Spain who are contemplating returning to the UK specifically for medical treatment on the NHS will not be allowed to do so if they have spent more than 3 months as non-resident in the UK. They will be treated as non UK citizens who will have to wait 6 months to be registered with a DR and a further 6 months if they require hospital treatment. Quite alarming for those who were born, lived, worked and paid taxes all their lives in the UK.

bigwolls wrote:Just to add to the former - it was recently indicated that pensioners resident in Spain who are contemplating returning to the UK specifically for medical treatment on the NHS will not be allowed to do so if they have spent more than 3 months as non-resident in the UK. They will be treated as non UK citizens who will have to wait 6 months to be registered with a DR and a further 6 months if they require hospital treatment. Quite alarming for those who were born, lived, worked and paid taxes all their lives in the UK.

If you spend more than 6 months in Spain you are classed as Resident and are supposed to apply for resident status. It is understandable then that should you return to the UK you would be classed as non-resident there for a while. However, the EU rule is we can all use our EHIC (EUROPEAN HEALTH INSURANCE CARDS) anywhere in Europe where we are not resident. So anyone with an EHIC would be able to access emergency or necessary treatment in any European country that they are not resident in, including the UK (as a non-resident).

However, as you say 'pensioners resident in Spain who are contemplating returning to the UK specifically for medical treatment on the NHS will not be allowed to do so' is no doubt correct but then the health system in Spain is supposedly very good and the same, if not better, treatment would be available to a resident of Spain anyway and if returning to the UK there are temporary health care measures in place including using the EHIC in the first instance (as there are in Spain for Non-residents)..

There's some information on this link about the European Health Insurance Card : health-services-in-quesada-f86/uk-european-health-insurance-card-t2939.html


Jan.

Hi Re Healthcare firstly, You can't have your cake and eat it!! secondly, the Costa Blanca is the healthiest place in Europe to live according to the world health organisation, so may aid health issues, thirdly, the health care in Spain is one of the best in the world as long as you don't expect to be pampered, and I can personally say that the healthcare in the UK was one of the best but due to the downward spiral it is having you wold almost certainly be better off in Spain and even if your husbands condition did not improve I am sure Spain is a better place to be if you like waking up to the sun!!!

Don't worry be happy.

Hi all,

Some interesting answers but I believe that the EHIC card cannot be used in it's country of origin. That means that once it's expired you must then apply for a new one (from Spain if you are resident here) to use if you want to visit the UK or other EU country. This is not a problem if you are of pensionable age and are officially resident. If you are not of current pensionable age then to become 'resident' private medical insurance is required which runs to approx. 2500 euros per year plus prescription charges. We, having been fortunate enough to arrive here earlier than our pension ages in May this year, are struggling to get to grips with.

Jordy