If you’ve worked in the UK and are planning on retiring to Spain on the non-lucrative visa, you might not need private health insurance to qualify. Here’s what you need to know.
Those planning on retiring to Spain on the non-lucrative visa (NLV) will need to meet several requirements including financial and health insurance ones.
Citizens of most non-EU countries applying to live in Spain on the NLV must get private health insurance in order to qualify, but if you’re from the UK, you may not have to, thanks to the S1 form.
If you’re earning a UK state pension and want to retire to Spain, you may be eligible to apply for what’s known as the S1 form, essentially removing the need to apply for private health insurance in Spain.
The S1 form gives proof of entitlement to health cover in Spain and is funded by the UK government.
It entitles you and any dependents to healthcare in another EU country, on the same basis as its citizens – Spain in this case.
This makes it a lot easier to apply for the NLV too, as you won’t have to worry about finding private health insurance that will cover pre-existing conditions or one without co-payments and waiting times.
READ ALSO: How to apply for an S1 form for UK pensioners
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According to the NHS website in the UK, to be eligible for an S1 you must be living in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland and meet one of these requirements:
- You receive an eligible exportable benefit issued by the Department for Work and Pensions (including UK State Pension)
- You are a posted or frontier worker recognised by HMRC (for example, you have a Portable Document A1)
- You receive the unemployability supplement element of a UK war pension
You are not eligible for the S1 form if you are not yet receiving your UK state pension or if you’re retiring early and are relying on savings or a private pension, in these cases you will still need to get private health insurance.
READ ALSO: What kind of health insurance qualifies for Spain’s non-lucrative visa?
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You can apply for an S1 from the Overseas Healthcare Services in the UK from Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm (UK time) by calling +44 (0)191 218 1999 or e-mailing: s1applications@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
To apply, you will need an address in Spain, but this can be a temporary address, if you’ve not yet secured a permanent one.
You must wait until you are actually receiving your state pension before you apply for the S1, but you can apply for it up to 90 days before your intended move date to Spain.
It is important that your S1 start date coincides with your expected NLV start date. This can be tricky, however, if you don’t know exactly when your visa will be processed, but you can make an educated guess based on your appointment date at the consulate.
READ ALSO: How to apply for a public health card in your part of Spain
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If you’re a dependent of a UK state pensioner in Spain, your S1 form will be cancelled as soon as you retire and begin claiming your own pension. In this case, you will be sent a new S1 form from the NHS Overseas Healthcare Services to complete for yourself.
As well as your S1, you’ll also get a UK-issued GHIC or EHIC for travel within the EU.
Once you have your S1 certificate, you must pre-register it with Span’s Social Security or INSS here. For this you can use your passport as you won’t yet have your TIE or Foreigners’ Identity Card until your NLV goes through.
Once registered, you can take your S1 form, along with your proof of pre-registration, to your NLV appointment and your local consulate.
This will prove to them that you don’t need private health insurance as well, and should save you a lot of hassle, as well as money.
When your NLV has been issued, you have your residency card (TIE) and are in Spain, you can go back to the INSS offices or upload your documents online to become fully registered.
Once approved, you can take this to your local health clinic to be able to get your Spanish health card, SIP or TSI card, depending on where you live in Spain. They will also assign you a regular GP.
