janpierson

Hi, another newbie.
I have a question that I hope somebody will be able to answer.
I have recently move to Spain permantly from the UK. Today I received my S1 (was E121) to receive free health care here. I am registered disabled & get SDA & DLA from Uk. Not the Mobility side though, does any body know why, when we are living under the EU umbrella?
However that is not my main question, with my S1 does anybody know if I can get free prescriptions on this as DWP in UK do not know?
Look forward to any answers.

shaggymon

Not sure about the mobility side. My wife does get all the DLA including mobility but that is apparently because she was getting it before some (random?) cut off date in the eighties?!?!?!

It does seem unfair when we're all European but the ruling seemed to be that the mobility component was not exportable...although you could still have a mobility funded motability car and bring it over to Spain (we had the paperwork to do so) - albeit you would have to return to the UK for servicing etc and to comply with EU law it would have to be put on Spanish plates as soon as you became a Spanish resident...which motability will not allow.

This just shows the discrepancies up in the different systems - you can't have the mobility cash (unless you beat the cut off) but you can have the car, as long as you drive it illegally in Spain!

My wife is classed as a pensioner in Spain (she's nowhere near old enough to retire) because of her UK status i.e. in receipt of Incapacity Benefit. As such she gets free prescriptions. As to whether you would get them as a result of your benefits - this should be sorted at your local INSS when you register. If you are unable to work through disability you should get free prescriptions in Spain...unlike in the UK where my wife always had to pay in full.

anonimouse

Re' prescriptions, I think you will be entitled to the same as a Spanish pensioner gets, whatever that is.

I was reading something about it last week. I think it also said that you can put one person down as a dependent and they will also be entitled to the same.

shaggymon

DWP will add dependents to your S1 (not limited to one, as long as they are dependents) and, as it says, they will also get the same concession - free prescriptions for "pensionistas".

Fred James

I can confirm that. I was getting free prescriptions before I was 60 based on being a dependent on the E121.

jdr

So was my wife. I think it is only pensioners and their dependants get them though.

megmet

Anyone on long term incapacity gets free prescriptions regardless of age!

mikelincs

When we lived in Spain my wife lost ALL her disablity payments, including mobility, the law regarding DLA was changed while we were there, but it took a further 2 years before the backdated money came through, and we were back in the UK by then.

jojojojojo

My understanding is that there are only certain benefits that you can take with you - not sure what they are, but I think disability is one of the only ones. The rest you have to claim from Spain and to do that, you need to have paid into their system! Apparently its the same all over Europe. All countries have different forms of benefit and you claim what the country you live in provides for its own people in the same way!? - Summat like that!


Jo xxx

megmet

Long term incapacity is one of the exportable ones, you're entitled to it for as long as you meet the criteria, this also entitles the person on that particular benefit to free prescriptions in Spain.
How do I know this to be fact......I was unfortunate enough after a NHS surgeons blunder to be entitled to it myself.