Moving to Spain.

There is no official requirement to have €xxx in the bank nor how long it's been there, what they are looking for is regular secure income such as from pensions etc., money in the bank, and even available balances on credit cards, may be taken into account if those don't add up to IPREM.

To obtain medicines initially you will have to go through your private health insurer who will refer you to a doctor who in turn will prescribe as he or she sees fit. They may use your UK prescription for reference but you will not get a blind repeat of it. If nothing else not all medications available in UK are available in Spain or go by different names so substitutes will frequently be required.

Once you have your residency and TIE you can use your S1 to join the Spanish health system when you will be allocated a doctor at your local health centre who in turn, as per above, will prescribe what he or she sees fit.

You say you have applied for an S1 so I presume you have a Spanish address, they will not send one to you in UK.

It's being said that UK Consulates are accepting S1's as proof of health insurance for the NLV but ultimately it's Spain which decides what's valid and what isn't at the point of applying for residence and a TIE and their procedure requires full private insurance which an S1 is not until it's registered with INSS - which you can't do until you are resident!

Cart before horse in other words.

We have an excellent guide here to follow  for obtaining the NLV see this thread below

How to apply for a Non-Lucrative visa (NLV)

Once you’ve got got your NLV and moved to Spain, you then have to register at the foreigners office to obtain your TIE  card. Once you’ve got your card you can then start the procedure to register your S1 form.

With regards to the S1 form, this in basic terms removes you from the NHS once the form has been registered with the Spanish Health Service. 

The S1 form is sent to your Spanish address and then registered with the local,INSS  (social security) office. They then allocate you a GP. You are given a SIP card which you need to carry with you at all times and you will need it to make doctors appointments, collecting prescriptions, hospital appointments etc. Once registered with a GP, the procedure is similar to the U.K. Make an appointment, get blood tests done, doctor will review and issue prescriptions.  You then present your SIP card at the farmacia to get your prescriptions.  You will probably need to pay for a translator when you visit your GP.

You will have to pay for your prescriptions - usually 10% of cost of medicine, but once you’ve completed a tax return you could get free prescriptions.

Medical records aren’t generally transferred from U.K. to Spain, so if you are currently receiving medication from your GP ask them to print off a record of the medication you require, so you can show this to your new Spanish GP.

Lynn

Hi Darro,

Thanks for your very quick reply.

I have been trying to gen up, but there is so much conflicting advice, including the government websites.

I have a place in Los Montesinos and receive 2 pensions as I am 70.

I have applied for an S1 and they said that they will send it to me in 15 days to my place in England.

I am in Spain for a week in July and may pay a visit to a solicitor!!

Thanks Ly.

All knowledge is useful.

Darro is correct about S1 requirement to have an address in the EU. The following extract taken from NHS website (see link following text):

'You can apply for an S1 form up to 90 days before moving to live in an EU country. You can ask for the form to be sent to your UK address if you need it for your visa application.

But for the S1 form to be issued, you need to have an address in the EU country you are moving to. This can be a temporary address, but you must contact NHSBSA and the relevant authority in the country you are moving to, to let them know your new address (if it changes). This is to prevent important confidential information being sent to the wrong address.'

https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/healthcare-abroad/moving-abroad/planning-your-healthcare/#:~:text=How%20to%20get%20an%20S1,from%20the%20Overseas%20Healthcare%20Services.&text=You%20can%20apply%20for%20an%20S1%20form%20up%20to%2090,it%20for%20your%20visa%20application. 

You can register your S1 online by following the step by step guide on the Age Spain website. This link will take you there:

https://www.ageinspain.org/post/s1-form-state-healthcare-in-spain-for-uk-pensioners

Hello

 On the medical question... You will have to take your S1 to the nearest INSS (DHSS) & register on the Spanish health system.  They will give you paperwork to take to your closest  Salud (medical centre) from your address,  who will allocate you a Dr......you will then need an appt for repeat prescription.

This can all  take several weeks, getting a INSS appt. is not easy,  so don't delay , make sure you have  health cover during this time

Cheers

Elinspain

Thank you all. May be more questions.

Hi pabrmu,

I'm afraid this information is incorrect:

"You say you have applied for an S1 so I presume you have a Spanish address, they will not send one to you in UK.

"It's being said that UK Consulates are accepting S1's as proof of health insurance for the NLV but ultimately it's Spain which decides what's valid and what isn't at the point of applying for residence and a TIE and their procedure requires full private insurance which an S1 is not until it's registered with INSS - which you can't do until you are resident!

"Cart before horse in other words."

As you have already discovered, NHSBSA WILL send your S1 to your UK address.  Also, it CAN be used to prove healthcare for your NLV application, in place of private health insurance.  The reason that Spain "decides what's valid" is because the "UK Consulates" are not UK, they are Spanish Consulates in the UK - an important distinction and one that I'm sure you already know.  

Regarding the use of your S1 for your NLV application, please see this website:

https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/londres/en/ServiciosConsulares/Paginas/Consular/Visado-de-residencia-no-lucrativa.aspx

from which I've taken the following extract:

"6. Health insurance.....  A receipt of registration of S1 form on the web of Social Security is also accepted as medical insurance for non-lucrative visa.  To register S1 form please access the following link (Internet Explorer does not support this web, please use alternative browsers):

https://tramites.seg-social.es/acceso/registro-s-1-cobertura-asistencia-sanitaria-espa%C3%B1a.html

Once you've registered your S1 online, you take the original and a copy of the email confirming your S1 registration to your NLV meeting at the Spanish Consulate - make sure you get your S1 back, so that you can complete the registration once you get to Spain.

Kind regards,

Kim

Thanks Kimmy. Seems very complicated.

can you get Spanish solicitors to do this?