yes, for as long as you are in it..........

if you drop out of it for any reason without doing the proper 'baja' then you have a debt to pay to cover any period of non-payment

if you 'baja' then at a later date 'alta' then cover starts again

Thats right , and so much for the "everyones entitled to healthcare" crap we keep hearing off certain posters, I think if he starts paying again (assuming he can afford it) then they will have to treat him but wheres the sense in paying autonomo when your to ill to work!! the sysytem here is really screwed up

It does seem flawed, but that might the solution to the problem......if he could somehow start paying again, without having to pay back the rest straight away, even if later the deby can be repaid, then he would get sick pay, for a period while the doctor is giving him sick notes.

And more importantly have madical cover.

If then he is too ill to work after a year, the process could be started to claim permanant illness, providing enough contributions have been made.

It may not work, it may be a waste of time and effort, but having a go and being refused is better than not trying.

I dont disagree but why should an EU citizen have to jump through hoops to get medicare regadless of whether he has paid any SS or not ? the whole thing stinks If a Spanish convicted SS fraudster came out of jail and had a heart attack he`d get immediate full cover for as long as it takes to recover

Having lived in the UK, I agree with your sentiment,
but no matter how much we argue the toss, it does not change the way things are in Spain. Medical care is not universal, the same happens is France, Italy and other EU countries.

There are choices, jump through the hoops in Spain, or go back to the UK and get it free.

Good post JLFS...
We choose to live here so have to abide by the Spanish ways!
In just the same way as we have to accept that by being resident in the country of our choice... we automatically forfeit the benefits we may have been entitled to in the country of our birth....that's just the way it is!

Wrong ,we choose to live in the EU where your rights are supposed to be the same in all countries.

But surely people who move here should know what they are entitled to and what they aren't entitled to, so they cant complain

I think we should be treated the same as Spanish citizens , no better , no worse ,

And that isnt what happens?

the way I understand it we are


I have heard cases of non-spanish having trouble accessing all sorts of things, but as often as not that's down to a language issue, not knowing what is available, or jobsworths not wanting to help foreigners


or a combination of all three

Read all the posts and you will see that no,that is not what happens ,Spanish get full medical cover regardless of financial situation where as other EU residents have to meet a criteria

That's not true, you and others posting are confused

I think any non Spanish speaker would take a translator along for serious illness ,surley? I also belive there is an unwritten rule not to help other nationalities get medicare if possible,

Jobseekers lasts forever in the UK, it doesnt in Spain, or France or Italy and other countries, should Spain adopt the UK system then?

Right now the Uk is trying to cut this, because it is unsustainable.

But you are advocating that Spain, Italy and the res of the EU are out of step, surely it is the uk that is out of step with the rest of the EU in matters of benefits and such.

So which country is more right in its adminsitation of such matters?