Am I entitled to a full SIP card? - Page 2

Hi All, Thank you for the valuable information. I have made an appointment to see Social Services on Monday so I will keep you informed of my progress. I am also going to contact the U.K. agencies and approach it from that route too.

Hi there I've been following this conversation to learn as much as possible. I've lived in Western Australia for 20 years now but moving to Spain with my flight leaving Oz 29th April. I bought a little house in Monte Zenia in April 2016 and have been visiting there annually since then under my Uk passport. The house was also bought using my uk status and i will only ever use that passport in Spain. Last year i paid Non Resident Tax. But according to the info ive read on here i will register as resident. I'm a bit concerned about the brexit issue effect but will have to adhere to whatever happens with that. I've noted that the issue of amount of income will come into play which worries me as i will only have a part uk pension plus part Ozzy pension as income. In Oz i currently pay no income tax as my income is too low. I am 67 in a couple of weeks and a single lady. My question is on your comment about buying into the Valencian Health System  and get a permanent SIP. Can you expand on this a little please as i know nothing about it and have not even heard of SIP. Sorry to be ignorant but hoping to learn as much as possible. And definitely worried about being allowed residency under my current circumstances and looming brexit. Cheers Sue

Hello Sue

After Brexit you will be subject to the rules concerning non/EU citizens with all that entails in respect of income.    I would suggest that you immediately contact an agency in Spain to expedite your residency ASAP under the current rules.  Find them on Google.

The SIP  (Servicio Informacion Patient) card will be issued to you or your partner if either of you have a pension from your home country.   The partner gets it as a dependent.   The SIP allows any Spanish health centre to access your medical data. 

The very best of luck!

Kind regards

Richard

Hi Richard that's really helpful. I'll get onto the residency thing straight away. Hoping not being in Spain until the end of April will not cause a problem. Thanks again. Sue

Glad to be of help!

Hi Sue,

The "Valencian system" you refer to is the "Convenio Especial".  It costs €60 per person, per month, until you reach UK State Pension age, when it increases to €157 per month.

Your entitlement to a full SIP card in Spain, based on the current rules, depends on whether you are entitled to a Form S1 from the UK.  Being in possession of an S1 allows you to transfer your free UK healthcare entitlement to Spain.  Usually, a UK citizen of UK State Retirement age would be entitled to an S1, but as you say you've lived in Australia for 20 years, I think the first thing you need to do is contact the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) in the UK and check that you are entitled to an S1:

Call the Overseas Healthcare Team in Newcastle on +44 191 218 1999 or email them at [email protected]

If you are not entitled to an S1, the DWP can issue you with a "Legislation letter" which advises Spain that you are not entitled to free healthcare, thus enabling you to apply to join the Convenio Especial.

The advantage of the Convenio Especial over private health insurance is that the C.E. doesn't exclude pre-existing conditions.  In both cases, however, the cost of any prescriptions have to be paid by the patient.  With a SIP card, prescription costs are banded according to the patient's income.

Kind regards,

Kim

Hi there Kim  thanks that's even more good advice. I haven't been able to apply for the green ehic ( ?? ) card from uk as i haven't been resident there. So i guess this makes sence. I use a variety of meds monthly but of course have existing conditions so i can't expect to win all ways round. Its been my greatest worry with the move but once you know where you stand its not such a problem. I pay a lot here in Oz for private health insurance so its not a shock.  Its 6.30 pm here already so my 1st job tomorrow will be to get onto the DWP about the move as I've found an email takes forever to get an answer. Thanks again for your advice. Its great to get some help with all this move. It certainly seems to be a terrific forum x

Hi Sue,

The EHIC - European Health Insurance Card - gives all Europeans carrying one, access to emergency health services in the countries of other EU members.  Consequently, this will cease to be available to UK citizens after we leave the EU.

When you apply for Residencia in Spain, the major concern is to prove that you won't be a burden on the Spanish state, so if you don't qualify for an S1, you will need to have private medical insurance to a minimum standard ("basic" cover is not sufficient for this purpose).  Unless your Australian PHI covers you worldwide, you will need to buy PHI in Spain to support your Residencia application.  After you have been resident in Spain for 1 year, you can apply to join the Convenio Especial, assuming it is still available to UK citizens.

In the meantime, it would probably make sense to make contact with an abogado (lawyer) or gestor (administrator specialising in Spanish bureaucracy - and there's a lot of it!), who can help you make your Residencia appointment and application.  If you start that process now, you could have someone lined up - and hopefully an appointment too - for when you arrive here in April.

Forum members should be able to help with recommendations for lawyers and gestors, and health insurance providers, should you need that too.

Kind regards,

Kim

Thanks again Kim. My Ozzy health fund doesn't cover me abroad. As soon as i get to Monte Zenia in April I'll organise health cover for Spain to get a whole year in before i apply for the other thing. I have a solicitor there locally from 2016 when i bought the house and she has Power if Attorney for me so I'll probably email her before the weekend. And I'm sooo lucky that i have brilliant pomme neighbours in MZ just over the road who've been in Spain in excess of 20 years and they're always incredibly helpful with all the Spanish regs and paperwork. Very lucky and they're just beautiful people. All this information on here is excellent. Its so great to be getting this advice whether it's good news or not for me. Its important to get it right. So I'll definitely be getting on to the solicitor about residencia and the DWP about the medical side of things. I must also contact my lady who sorted out my non resident tax for me and get it changed to resident tax. And will ask through the forum who has any advice on private health funds. Thanks very much for your help its priceless. There's certainly a lot to sort out for my move but I'm positive it will be well worth it. Thankyou.

Sue, scroll down the page and on the right-hand side click on Gran Alacant Insurances. Contact Alfonso there, who has an excellent reputation.

Ref tax, there's no need to do anything immediately. If you move here before the middle of the year, then you will be a fiscal resident for 2020, but the tax return can't be done until April-June 2021.

When you get here, ask your bank to change your account to resident. Depending on how much is paid into the account each month, that could give you free banking.

When you get here, look at:

https://www.costablancaforum.com/area/mudamiento-spain-77813/moving-to-mudamiento-tips-advice-226/jims-guide-what-new-residents-need-to-be-aware-of-80379/