Residencia - Page 2

How do you register free Spanish healthcare

Read what I posted earlier in this thread as I gave that information then. 

Hi John I read what you said on previous post is that relating to pension age DWP and S1 - as we are a year or 2 short of 50 that part wouldn’t relate to us ?

Then you will have to take out PHI for the first year then you can apply for Convenio Especial and pay that until you get your State Pension, the advantage of the Convenio Especial is that it does not exclude pre existing conditions which the PHI does. 

If you get all the paperwork in before 31st December 2020 and everything goes through ok then when you are eligible for your UK Government pension (in a few years yet!) you can apply for the S1 healthcare forms from the Overseas healthcare department (currently) at Newcastle U.K. If successful with the S1 application then you will get full Spanish healthcare paid for by the UK government. 

Until then it's Private Healthcare, then after 1 year you can join the Convenio Especial then apply for the S1 in a few years.

We are all assuming that the healthcare and S1 arrangement will be in force after Brexit. 

Steve 

So you won't get "free" healthcare in Spain until you hit UK state pension age and if you don't become resident in Spain before or on 31.12.20 you may not get "free" healthcare at all, as the WA is the mechanism of surety in this regard.

Correct, unless you have a contracted job in Spain and both you and your employer are making the contributions similar to National Insurance in which case you can access the healthcare system for the duration of your employment. 

Absolutely or self employed.

One final thing to add to the advice already given - neither Private Health Insurance, nor the Convenio Especial cover the cost of prescriptions, for which you'll have to pay separately, although they are generally cheaper than the UK.  Once you reach UK State retirement age and have obtained your Form S1, your prescriptions will be free of charge if your income is less than Eu 18,000 per year, or you make a 10% contribution to the costs, if your income is in excess of that - but as Lancelot has said, you will need to obtain your residency/TIE before the end of this year, in order to be covered by the terms of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

Kind regards,

Kim

For pensioners who get their health cover with the State, medications are free in Comunidad de Valencia if your income is less than 18,000 euros per annum.   Otherwise, as in the rest of Spain, pensioners pay 10% of the cost.