I think you are confusing things. After a year of residency you can sign on the convenio and pay a set amount of around 70 euro a month to join the Spanish system- the padron is simply a registration to declare you are in that place and it is easy to get. Obviously you need either a plastic green card or the TIE card for proof of residency. The letter from Newcastle saying you no longer have resort to UK medical care in uk is in actual fact the S1 and will not be given unless you receive certain benefits or are receiving uk state pension. I have spoken to the necessary people in uk about this ( simply to ascertain what really happens) and found considerable confusion between what the uk thinks happens in spain and what Spain thinks. The uk government website says after 5 years a resident gets free healthcare- this however does not occur and I and many others have never seen this granted in spain to a uk national. The uk authorities will do a questionnaire on the phone for you to see if you get the letter but in reality it is the letter for the S1. The long and short is your friend will require to pay the convenio until 66 or alternatively they can work and contribute- ( or get a Spanish passport)

If that were true, how could any early retired UK citizen ever have registered for the Convenio Especial (and many have)? The S1 confirms to the Spanish Seguridad Social that the UK Government will cover the healthcare costs of the person who is either in receipt of a UK state pension or certain exportable benefits, it does not confirm that they are no longer entitled to NHS healthcare.

As Lynn says the S1 Form and the letter required showing one is not covered for healthcare by the NHS are totally separate things. Here's details copied from UK Government site .

You’ll need to show a ‘legislation letter’ (‘documento de no exportación’ in Spanish) stating that you are not covered by the UK for healthcare. You can request this by calling NHS Overseas Healthcare Services.

NHS Overseas Healthcare Services
Telephone: +44 (0)191 218 1999
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Saturday, 9am to 3pm

'UK residents who moved to the EU on or before 31 December 2020 whose healthcare costs are funded by the UK can get free NHS treatment in England, Scotland, and Wales. NHS charges must be paid where they apply to ordinary UK residents, for example prescription charges. People who moved to the EU or Switzerland from 1 January 2021 are not automatically entitled to receive free NHS treatment when visiting England, Scotland, or Wales. This is because the NHS is a residence-based healthcare system.' Can S1 form holders access healthcare whilst visiting the UK? · Customer Self-Service (nhsbsa.nhs.uk)

So it depends on when you actually left UK.

I have just yesterday received my S1 form from U.K and am Spanish resident, if I need A and E can i just show S1 form as not had time to register yet

If it is an emergency you will get treatment immediately but anything else will require you to have first registered S1 at INSS then you need to register at your central salud.

I have already checked this and it does not happen because basically the UK will only give you a letter of exportación if you qualify for S1. In other words someone who is resident in spain but not receiving certain benfits or not receiving state pension cannot get free healthcare under Spanish rules ( 5 years residence) because they won't have the letter. I phoned this number a while ago and spent ages getting them to check what is said on government website etc and then explaining what is required in spain and they simply said that I could do the questionnaire with them and it basically is a series of questions about benefits ( which I dont get). Anyway if anyone wants to check - go ahead and phone them. We have discussed this issue numerous times and until someone can genuinely prove they have done it ( not the ubiquitous friend) - I maintain its not possible.

I am not talking about the convenio. I am talking about free healthcare after 5 years residence which the uk government website claims is possible but it isn't.

But the OP's question WAS about the Convenio Especial, and someone wishing to register for it does need the legislation letter from the DWP.

We are talking at cross purposes. You are talking about free healthcare after being resident for 5 years . The OP , I and Lynn are talking about convenio especial .

Until you get your SIP card if you need immediate treatment for something you can use an EHIC/GHIC.

An S1 will elicit nothing but blank stares!

Yep, he has a TIE card, I just couldn't get my head round the relationship between that and the Padron.

What we're looking for him to do is to pay the Convenio until he reaches retirement, but it said that in order to qualify for it he needs this letter from the NHS. He's not getting the pension yet, and has never had any other benefits. Hence the question. He hasn't been there for 5 years yet.

Thank you both, that looks like exactly what we were looking for

Thats right. Its nothing to do with free healthcare. We know he will have to pay for the Convenio Especial, just needed confirmation of how to go about getting it.

Thanks everyone!

'The uk government website says after 5 years a resident gets free healthcare- this however does not occur and I and many others have never seen this granted in spain to a uk national. '

Ronnyone - I don't know which region you live in - but I can assure you this has happened in Alicante - because I originally got my SIPS card under the 5-year rule and I know other friends who have also got it - I now have reached retirement age and so got an S1 and so now the UK pay for my healthcare here.

Details of how to register on the padrón in Santiago de Compostela (and how to make an appointment in advance in order to register, that's now de rigeur for almost everything in Spain!).

≫ Empadronamiento en Ayuntamiento de Santiago de Compostela | 2023 (certificadodeempadronamiento.com)

Now that really is great to hear because I have been trying to get to the bottom of this for years. Another forum has been doing the same and we have never found anyone who was successful. So just to confirm. You had not received a UK state pension ? You became a resident after 2012?. You never contributed? You were not receiving healthcare via your partner?
What exactly did you provide the INSS with? I get told by INSS each year in June that my healthcare will stop after 3 months of not having my work contract renewed. I have made 10 years of contributions so have 5 years permanent residence. I have asked UK for a letter but it they say it will only be issued as part of S1. INSS say that free healthcare will not be issued unless I show a S1 or I contribute.