Talk Quesada forum

Hi All

So, we have finally got our Residencia sorted (crossed fingers) and are now working on all of the other stuff.

One of which is health cover.

I have been told that we 'Have to have' Spanish national health cover if we live in Spain, which I do not have any problem with whatsoever but if that is correct I don't know 'how' to go about it, as we are not your typical imports!

We are not coming in from the EU (but 3 are UK passport holders, however 1 is not), so we don't have an S1. We are coming from a place that only had private health insurance available and that's what we bought for our Residencia applications anyway.

So, is it correct that we have to have national health SIP's? if so, anybody know how we go about it in our circumstances?

If not, will we get into any bother just continuing with private cover?

Thanks

Carry on with your private health insurance for at least a year. Make sure you keep your padron up to date.
After you have been a resident for a year you can apply for a SIP card using the convenio especial. This gives you full access to the Spanish health system except that you have to pay for prescriptions. It costs €60 a month each up until the age of 65 when it goes to over €150 a month per person. Once you have been a resident for 5 years (up until then you are classed as a temporary resident and after 5 years a permanent resident) you can access the Spanish health system and get all the benefits of permanent residency.

Your health insurance will tell you which doctor you can go and see, probably the private Quiron hospital in Torrevieja.

Hi Marcliff

Thanks for your help.

When you say 'Resident' for a year, do you mean have my Residencia for a year, or just be in Spain for a year? Reason being, for a variety of reasons (Covid, work etc) we have been in Spain since Aug 2018, but have only just got our Residencia.

Also, at those prices private insurance is at least competitive, maybe even a bit cheaper, do I have the choice between the two, or do I 'Have' to get the SIP?

And in any case, is private better, or would we be better off with SIP? We pay for prescriptions now.

Is that 60 Euro for adults, or all? We have two kids under 18.

Your official date is from when you took out residency. You say you have been living here since 2018. Have you been paying income tax into the Spanish system for that period (full income tax on worldwide income, not just the non-resident imputed tax)? If so, you could make a case for being here for that length of time otherwise your residencia date would be taken.
(if you try going the been here since 2018 route then you may find you will be liable to income tax for those years).
You do not need to get a SIP card if you are happy with your private care. I wouldn't say private was better because the health system here is excellent but quite difficult to access at the moment with the CV-19 crisis.

Children under the age of 18 are entitled to full health care on the Spanish NHS and have the same rights as full Spanish citizens. You will not need, nor get, convenio especial for children as their care is free. You need to register them with the INSS (social security office) in Torrevieja with proof of residency etc and then the medical centre in Rojales will issue them a SIP card.

you do not have to have national health in Spain, it is not a legal pre requisite. If you are happy to continue with private cover then it is your choice to do so. Quiron is Torrevieja's private hospital so you might want to check on their website. After a year of residency (not simply living here). As Marcliff correctly states you can apply for state healthcare under the Convenio Especial scheme. This costs 60 euros per month until you are 65 and then is 157 euros a month. It does cover immediately pre existing conditions but you do have to pay in full for medications.

Thanks for all of the answers, they are just what I needed.

So, I will just keep it up for a year and then swap to the SIP I think.

And as for 'Tax', don't get me started, Been out of the European tax system for 25 years, have property in a few countries, don't work in Spain but might sometimes, yaddah yaddah, going to be a nightmare to sort out!!

Maybe a quick question not related to the original topic, but does Spain allow for somebody who works out of the country to have a tax exemption? For instance, if you live in the UK and you work out of the country (out of EU), then if you are out for a certain number of days per year (269 days in a year, don't have to be consecutive), then you don't pay UK income tax.....