jrh_james

Hello,

My father, who is in receipt of a British state pension, is thinking of buying a place in Spain near Alicante to stay during the winter months (less than 6 months per year).

What level of state healthcare would he be entitled to in Spain? He does not want to give up his entitlement to NHS healthcare in the UK.

Thanks,
James.

lynnxa

strictly speaking, after 90 days in Spain, as far as Spain is concerned, he'd be resident & expected to register as such - & at that point, again strictly speaking, he'd lose entitlement to healthcare in the UK

after that time, they can & might well refuse to accept his EHIC card, even if he doesn't actually register as resident - if he has used the card it will be in the system & flag up if used too often or over what appears to be too long a period

this explains what care he can expect with the EHIC http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthc...-the-ehic.aspx

Neptuno

If he stays out of Uk more than 3( or is it 6) months he will lose his entitlement to UK NHS care
He can use the EHIC card for emergencies up to 3 months. His best option is for him to get private health care or travel insurance, but any existing conditions may be a problem.

jrh_james

Would registering as a resident in Spain to access healthcare mean he would be liable for Spanish income tax on his UK pension? I thought you were only had to pay income tax if you were resident for more than 6 months.

If he stayed in the country for just under 3 months, then left for a week then returned would his EHIC be valid again - assuming he had proof that he left the country e.g. airline boarding passes?

lynnxa

yes - that would work

he would, if asked, need to prove that he had left & come back again

although the EHIC would give him access to essential care, though, it sort of depends on what a doctor considers to be essential - & of course it wouldn't get him back to the UK if he needed medical transport - he might choose to return there if push came to shove - so travel health insurance is also a good idea

he would need to ensure that he didn't clock up more than 182 days in a calendar year, too, so that he wouldn't be tax resident in Spain - simpler all round if he just wants long holidays, to stay tax resident in the UK

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. I am the Concierge for the Spanish section and thought that you might find it helpful to know that the moderators for the Spanish forums are Fred James and Bevs, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

bobd22

Surely if he is retaining his UK residency then yes the 3 month rule applies by Spanish law but as he is UK resident he will stay registered with NHS legally, he has no intention of staying over 6 months. If he has a short break out of Spain say to UK or France/Portugal his 3 months start again on return to Spain. I would have thought if he did it this way his EHIC should cover him for emergency treatment. However I would have thought it would be better to have some form of private health or travel insurance in case of non emergency but needed treatment. I am not aware of any rule that says after 3 months you are removed from UK Health system if a UK resident which your father would remain.

lynnxa

more or less what I said - but the point is that as far as Spain is concerned afetr 90 days he's a resident of Spain - & at that point they could refuse the EHIC

if he did register as resident, then he wouldn't be resident in the UK....

best thing all round, is to keep individual visits to less than 90 days

bobd22

Not arguing with you it was someone else that said he would loose his NHS entitlement after 3 months I am not aware of that. I do not know the answer to the Spanish 3 month rule as technically that does not make you non resident in the UK. I don't know of legally by EU rules Spain can refuse to treats emergency treatment under EHIC rules? But accept no good having the argument when you need the treatment hence why I suggested he would require some sort of back up.

jrh_james

What are the practical effects of accessing healthcare via the EHIC rather than say the S1 form? Can my father register with a local GP with an EHIC?

bobd22

I would not think so as it is for urgent treatment only

Mitzyboy

No, he won't.

Theres no communication so unless you physically go and tell your doctor that you have left the UK, he wont know and will continue treating you.

So legally he would, but in reality he probably wont

HBG

The Spanish public health system is probably better than our NHS, but like ours it's cracking at the seams purely because of numbers and financial restraints. You can beat the system in the short term but not in the case of serious illness.

Even if you're whiter than white in legal terms, having registered with every authority available and with a suitcase full of stamped documents, speaking almost fluent Spanish, there will come a time in the middle of the night in a Spanish hospital when a nurse will tell you what Spanish people really think of foreigners, much the same as we do in the UK.

There was a recent, well publicised case locally where a long term expat resident, as legal as possible turned up at the health centre for his life saving essential medicine and had his medical card cut up in front of him by the Spanish receptionist with a gleeful smile on her face.

She said, 'Your country is no longer paying for you, now go away.'

She was wrong, but the expat is on his way home.

Rosemary

Basically the EHIC is for emergency treatment. In other words he cannot have day to day normal health treatment for ongoing illnesses but if he had an accident or suddenly became ill then the card will cover his treatment.

Rosemary

jrh_james

Am I correct in thinking that if my Father registers in Spain with the S1 form that this will automatically cause him to lose his entitlement to NHS treatment? Even if he never leaves the UK for more than three months at a time?