Health Insurance Requirements for Residence in Spain.
To gain residence in Spain you require private health insurance either for full or non-resident status. If you are a European citizen you have to have the cover in place for the first year.
The two key points are that the coverage is unlimited for hospitalisation and there are no copayments or excess.
Ever since Brexit left the EU the demand from British citizens to become residents has increased dramatically. British citizens now require a Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV) or Golden Visa to become a resident. The other alternative is a working contract that enables a non-EU citizen to reside in Spain.
How to get residency in spain? Health insurance requirements for a Visa - Non Lucrative Visa
No excess (no copayments) so you never pay out of pocket (in Spanish the translation is "Sin Copagos"
No vesting periods which means the coverage is constant throughout the policy, and emergency cover is from day 1.
Must have no limits on hospitalisation
Coverage for the whole of Spain and not just one region
Must be valid for the duration of your time in Spain
Spain residency by investment: Golden Visa
How much money do I need to get residency in Spain? We would always advise that you speak to a lawyer when looking at getting a golden visa and purchasing a home or investing. However, we have been informed that the amount is usually no less than 500,000 euros
Can I get residency in Spain if I buy a house? The answer is yes, but ofcourse the minimum value of the house must be the amount outlined above.
Do I need health insurance for a golden visa? Yes health insurance is still required with the same levels of cover highlighted previously.
Must the policy be 12 months renewable?
New rules for residency in spain: We have seen a new requirement for non-EU citizens now requiring the health insurance contract to be 12 months in length. This limits the companies that you can choose, up until 1 year ago most companies all renewed their contract in January.
Therefore if you were applying in June the contract would have expired on of 31st of December. This 6 month length of the contract would mean your Visa would now be denied.
- If you are applying through the Spanish authorities then they do not usually enforce the 12-month contract and accept the policy renewing on the 31st of December, as they understand this is how the majority of Spanish companies work.
- Residency in spain for non eu citizens: If however, you are applying from your home country which is not in the EU then you now have to go for one of the companies that offer the full 12 months.
At Bsure we have access to all the companies that are offering the 12-month policies so it makes sense to go with one of these to make sure there are no hiccups with your Visa application.
If I take a no-copay policy for a visa can I change to having copays later?
In theory, you can switch to having an excess on renewal of the health insurance policy. However, if you need to reapply for a visa the requirement will still be no copays and needs to be renewed as such.
What documents and paperwork do I need to bring when applying for Spanish Residency?
Our team at bsure is well versed in all the paperwork you require.
There are three documents that you will need.
1. Copy of the policy
2. Certificate stating coverage, duration, and confirmation there are no copays
3. Detailed Summary of coverage
More and more we are seeing the request for receipt of payment and we can explain the process to get this.
Do I need a Spanish Bank account to purchase a Health policy for residence?
Most companies do require a Spanish bank account with a Spanish IBAN.
However, at Bsure we have options with companies that accept card payment or EU IBANs. This makes the process easier for you as it can be difficult to set up a Spanish bank account if you are not physically in the country.