FAQs

The country which insures you for healthcare is responsible for issuing you with an EHIC. For example, if you are working in Spain or in receipt of a Spanish state pension, you must apply to the INSS for your EHIC. If you live mainly in the UK and travel to Spain as a temporary visitor you should apply for your EHIC online here. If you live in Spain and are registered for healthcare with an S1 form, you should apply for an EHIC by calling on (+44) 191 279 0575 or emailing the S1/E121 EHIC renewal application form to nhsbsa.ehicenquiries@nhsbsa.nhs.uk.

You can use your UK EHIC in all countries within the European Economic Area except the one where you normally reside. For example, if you normally reside in the UK you would only use your UK EHIC outside of the UK on a temporary visit to another EEA member state. If you are a UK state pensioner living in Spain, you would use a UK EHIC in every EEA member state (including the UK) but not in Spain. Please note that Spain also includes the Canary and Balearic Islands.

No. The European Health Insurance Card covers all medically necessary treatment while you are on a temporary stay in Spain, not just emergencies. This means treatment that can’t wait until you return to the UK, as determined by the Spanish health service. Note that this treatment is provided on the same basis as that given to a Spanish-insured person, so you might be asked to pay for some services which would be free in the UK.

The UK EHIC is valid for up to five years and can be used (while valid) during a temporary stay within the European Economic Area. Check that your EHIC is still valid before you travel. Renewing your card is free and can be renewed up to six months before the expiry date. If you normally live in the UK, apply for an EHIC online here.

If you are a UK State Pensioner residing in Spain and have registered an S1 (E121) with the Spanish social security, you can apply for your UK EHIC by calling on (+44) 191 279 0575 or emailing the S1/E121 EHIC renewal application form to nhsbsa.ehicenquiries@nhsbsa.nhs.uk.

You no longer have to show your EHIC, but you have to show a copy of your S1 form instead at the GP surgery or in the Accident & Emergency department of your local NHS hospital. If you do not have the S1 form you have the option to ask reception or the billing department to call the Overseas Healthcare Team on 0191 218 1999 to verify that you do have a registered S1 in Spain. Please have your national insurance number at hand. If you are thinking of returning to the UK permanently then please read the information here.

Visit our Living in Spain page. This will point you in the right direction regarding your correct form of cover, although you will need to check your individual entitlement with the relevant authorities. You will normally need to take any documentation to your local INSS office. If you are entitled to form S1 from the UK, you will also need to take a separate form for every family member. Other documentation will normally include official identification e.g. a valid passport, your residency and your ‘padrón’ certificates.

Yes it is. Even though the healthcare cards look different in each Autonomous Community, they are valid in the whole of Spain, including the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands.

You may be entitled to register if you are working and making Spanish social security contributions, are in receipt of a Spanish pension or benefit, or hold a permanent residency certificate.

Entitlement to free NHS treatment is based on ‘ordinary residence’ in the UK. Ordinary residence broadly means living in the UK on a lawful and properly settled basis. Citizens who return to the UK on a settled basis will be classed as ordinarily resident, and will be eligible for NHS care immediately. See our information on returning to the UK here.

If you do not currently have the right to state healthcare, and have been on the padrón for over 1 year in Spain, then you can apply for the ‘Convenio Especial’.The scheme is nationwide, but managed by each autonomous region. Policy holders will pay a monthly quota of €60 if they are working-age and €157 if they are 65 or older, regardless of pre-existing conditions. However, prescription costs are not included so you will need to pay the full cost of medicines from the pharmacy. For more information on prescriptions click here.

A UK public document can be ‘legalised’ by asking the UK government to confirm that a UK public official’s signature, seal or stamp on the document is genuine (usually a Hague Apostille). You might need to do this if a local authority abroad has asked you to provide a document and they’ve said it must be legalised. For further information please click here.

To find out whether specific medications are available on the Spanish social security system, direct your enquiry to the Spanish Medications Agency who can be contacted, in English, at the following email address: smhaem@aemps.es. Alternatively you can search for the availability of your medication here. Please note that the availability of medications via the Spanish social security system changes regularly. If you have any questions regarding prescriptions, you will need to contact the Regional Health Authority, corresponding to the area where you live/you wish to move to. A directory of contact details for each Regional Health Authority can be found here.

Spain has a co-payment system for prescriptions, which includes state pensioners. Information on the applicable rates can be found here. If you have a question concerning refunds on prescription co-payments you will need to contact the corresponding health authority to where you live. Further information from the Spanish Ministry of Health can be found here (Spanish only).