Spanish Health System
 

Am i correct in that after being in Spain for one year you transfer on to the Spanish system

Re: Spanish Health System
 

You can agree to pay for the Convenio Especial but that does not cover your drugs.

As far as I am aware, the only free system is via the UK S1 procedure if you are a pensioner or if you are working and paying into the system.

It may have changed so please correct me if it has.

Re: Spanish Health System
 

Re: Spanish Health System
 

The UK government website says you get free Spanish healthcare after 5 years residency. This is a controversial topic. I work in Spain and have been over 5 years and have repeatedly told that after 3 months without contributing you no longer get free healthcare. I'm not at retirement age either. Now I have investigated this and know not one person who has free healthcare unless they are contributing. I consider myself fairly integrated, speak Spanish and work with Spaniards. However on Facebook groups ( UK expats) many people seem to claim that have it and say the just it was automatic. Now clearly something is wrong here and it would be great if there was a genuine first hand experience of a UK nat without an S1 with 5 years recently completed ( not 2013 etc) who has this and then we could get a definitive answer. Please though no " My neighbour, friend says...."

Re: Spanish Health System
 

That is the whole reason the convenio especial was created - to allow people who have not contributed into system or have an S1 (and therefore are NOT eligible for free healthcare) to be able to access the healthcare system for a fixed monthly payment depending on age. Under 65 is 60 euros and over is 167 euros.
When you start receiving a UK gov pension you can then apply for an S1 form which will get you free (paid by UK) access to system.
The only other option is private healthcare which can be cheaper than the convenio for over 65's UNLESS you have pre-existing conditions which private would either not cover or bump price up accordingly. The convenio will cover pre-existing.

Re: Spanish Health System
 

It is a fact that some people have been granted healthcare without working or having S1 or paying convenio.

I know because I was one - mine was granted under the longevity of residence rule (I now have S1) and I do not know if this still exists post-Brexit.

This also goes into it

https://www.guidebookspain.com/guide...ley-72018.html

Re: Spanish Health System
 

Ah....so you can help me. So to be clear: you were never on the convenio and never contributed? So presumably you had a private policy? Then what happened when you reached 5 years? Did you just go to your central salud or did you go to INSS? . Also when was this , before 2013 or very recently? Also were you living with anyone else?
Just looked at that link and I'm afraid that : Jim"s Guide To Spain doesnt exactly seem a definitive resource!!!

Re: Spanish Health System
 

Any reason why you switched to S1 if you had already been granted free healthcare?

Re: Spanish Health System
 

Chipmonk - Correct and correct. I took the relevant papers:-
Passport or ID card
Residence card or certificate showing
exactly when the applicant became a resident
Up-to-date padron certificate
Letter from the home country
confirming that the applicant is not
entitled to health cover
Documents reflecting the total annual income

to my local INSS and applied. Prior to this I was living with someone who covered my health but after we split up I applied under the above rules. To qualify you had to be
not be working
not be contributing to the national Social Security system in one’s
own country
not be receiving any other type of benefit from the Spanish Social
Security system
be a citizen of the EU or EEA (European Economic Area) or
Switzerland
have registered as a resident in the “Registro de Extranjeros”
before the 24/04/2012
be able to demonstrate an annual income of less than 100,000 euros
not be entitled to sanitary assistance via any other route

el barto - Yes - I thought that the arrangement might get terminated whereas the S1 entitlement (which I reached this year) was a more permanent arrangement and now the UK contribute to Spain for my cover

I used to contribute articles to a magazine (now out of print) and I published an article in 2013 which I only now have in PDF format - but if anybody wants a copy please PM me with your email address and I will send you a copy - albeit I have no idea how much relevance it now has 8 years later and post Brexit.

This link might work https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L53...ew?usp=sharing

Re: Spanish Health System
 

Possibly because people resident before 2012 only became entitled to free healthcare if they were "sin recursos", ie not entitled to healthcare via any other means, and had to supply the "legislation letter" from the DWP to prove that? Once they do become entitled to free healthcare via eligibility for an S1 form then they are no longer sin recursos since the UK Government will pay for their healthcare, so they are required to obtain an S1 form and register it with the INSS.

Re: Spanish Health System
 

Presumably the letter has to be officially translated? But anyway I think the sticking point is that you have to show you have no other resort to healthcare and that is perhaps what causes the problem.

Re: Spanish Health System
 

Lynn - yes I had to obtain the letter from DWP. I do not know if the Spanish system would have picked up on my S1 entitlement (I think not actually) or whether it could have carried on but I felt a responsibility to change over and wanted the UK to contribute as per my entitlement.

No from memory the INSS accepted it as I got it from UK DWP.

Re: Spanish Health System
 

These letters don't need to be translated because they are supplied in both English and Spanish, like the S1 forms themselves.

Re: Spanish Health System
 

Well that is good to know. What do you actually ask for from DWP? Is it something they are familiar with?

Re: Spanish Health System
 

I can't remember what I did yesterday never mind 8 years ago! All I remember is that it was very straightforward - but as I said before - post Brexit I have no idea if this still applies.

Re: Spanish Health System
 

It's colloquially known as the "Newcastle Letter"

Re: Spanish Health System
 

I can't imagine the spanish public would be happy at non EU foreigners being granted free healthcare that haven't paid into the system just because theyve been in country over 5 yrs. Especially when there is the options of private and convenio (and S1 depending on age) available.

Re: Spanish Health System
 

You might find that it is not about what the Spanish public like or dislike, but more about the bilateral agreements it puts in place with foreign governments.

Re: Spanish Health System
 

As I referred to in my earlier post, it is called the "legislation letter" and yes, the DWP (Overseas Health Department) are familiar with it.

Re: Spanish Health System
 

This may not still be the case, as multilanguage standard forms for BMD certificates were stopped at the end of the transition period.

Re: Spanish Health System
 

Why not? They do in the UK and Portugal being residency based, plenty of spanish get it in the UK which is right and all.

Re: Spanish Health System
 

If you are not working and not entitled to an S1 form

If you’ve been a resident in Spain for 5 years or more, you can apply for permanent residency. This will give you access to state healthcare on the same basis as a Spanish citizen.

Once you’re a permanent resident, you need to register for healthcare at your local INSS office.

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

The INSS will give you a document which you need to take to your local health centre.

If the UK pays for your healthcare, for example through an S1 form, you cannot register for healthcare as a permanent resident.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/healthca...canary-islands

Re: Spanish Health System
 

That may be the advice from the UK government but they do not control what actually happens in Spain, or anywhere else!
It also (as usual) totally disregards differences between the autonomous regions.

Spainrico's experiences refer to pre 2012 and the Valencia region but things have changed since then and nothing at all to do with Brexit.

Parallels between UK and other countries are pointless as entitlement to NHS care is dependent entirely on legal residency or right to remain.

Reciprocal agreements entitle immigrants to the same rights as those enjoyed by nationals of the host country, no more no less, to grant voluntary Brit immigrants greater rights to healthcare than Spanish nationals would be an obscenity.

A further example of the principal of reciprocity would be France where French citizens legally resident in UK are automatically entitled to the same care as any other British citizen while Brits in France are entitled to have 70% of their care costs covered by the state with the remaining 30% paid either out of their own pockets, or more commonly covered by an insurance policy termed a .Mutuelle' , identical to what French citizens are entitled to. There are exceptions, certain chronic ailments may be covered 100% for instance, but in principal the 70/30 split is the rule.

France does accept the 'Newcastle Letter' by means of which Brits not entitled to an S1 can join a scheme called PUMA.

In short 'reciprocal' is not synonymous with 'equivalent'!

Re: Spanish Health System
 

A very good point. I have tried to find out about this route as last year I was unemployed . INSS told me , we spoke Spanish, so no misinterpretation , that after 3 months I no longer was covered by state healthcare despite my contributions. Meanwhile lots of people quoting UK government site but unfortunately the Spanish one focuses on the need to show you have no access to funds for healthcare before they will grant it. They appear to make a difference between people who have been paying convenios and those who have no history of funded healthcare.

Re: Spanish Health System
 

You might find this interesting...

El derecho a asistencia sanitaria en situación de desempleo

When a resident in Spain (including a Spanish citizen) runs out of options they have 90 days more of health coverage then that's it, although they should be able to go to urgencias afterwards.

Re: Spanish Health System
 

Eligibility for free health care for permanents residents may have been a consequence of the introduction of the "Real Decreto-ley 7/2018 Acceso Universal al Sistema Nacional de Salud (SNS)". This law guarantees universal health care for both Spanish and foreign residents, however with the latter there is a proviso as follows in Article 3.1 c);

"Ser persona extranjera y con residencia legal y habitual en el territorio español y no tener la obligación de acreditar la cobertura obligatoria de la prestación sanitaria por otra vía."

The key phrase is the "no tener la obligación de acreditar la cobertura obligatoria" which covers the obligation of, for example, Non Lucrative Visa holders to have comprehensive health insurance. However after 5 years on the NLV you can apply for Permanent Residency where there is no such obligation. Or at least that's how I make sense of the statement on the British Embassy web site.