Moving to Spain: Healthcare Checklist for Newcomers

Moving to Spain, healthcare is easiest when you plan it in order. Before you go, gather your records and a medicine list. When you arrive, register on the padrón and get your NIE or TIE. Then the INSS confirms your right to public care and your centro de salud issues a health card. Cover any gap with private insurance.

Dr. Pedro Yelamo Vera is a GP licensed in Spain (Colegiado No. 484814280).

For a medical emergency, call 112 or go to the nearest local emergency department. Do not wait for a video consultation or an online reply.

What should I sort out before moving to Spain?

Do these things while you still have your home doctor. They are much harder to arrange from abroad.

• Copies of your records. Ask for a short summary of your conditions, operations, allergies and recent test results. Keep paper and digital copies.
• A written medicine list. Write each medicine by its active ingredient, not just the brand. Add the strength, how you take it and why. Brand names often differ in Spain.
• Enough supply. Spain's medicines agency (AEMPS) lets travellers bring their own medicines, as a rule up to about three months of treatment. You may be asked for the prescription or a medical report when you enter or leave.
• Controlled medicines. Strong painkillers, some ADHD and some sleep medicines are controlled. They need a permit from the AEMPS before you travel.
• Vaccine records for every adult and child. Spain has a common vaccine schedule for all ages, and a catch-up schedule for people who are behind.
• Cover for the gap. Public cover rarely starts on day one. Decide now what pays for care in your first weeks or months.

If you need a visa, the health cover rules come with it. Our guide to health insurance for a Spanish residency visa covers what consulates ask for.

What are the first healthcare steps after you arrive?

The order matters, because each step needs a document from the one before.

1. Register on the padrón (empadronamiento) at your town hall. It proves where you live.
2. Get your NIE or TIE. The NIE is your personal foreigner number for dealing with Spanish offices. If you came on a visa for more than six months, you usually apply for a TIE card within one month of entry. EU citizens staying more than three months register within three months of arrival.
3. Join Social Security if you work. Your employer registers you, or you register as self-employed. That gives you a Social Security number.
4. Get your right to public care confirmed. The INSS decides who has the right to public healthcare. Workers and pensioners do not have to apply separately. Others ask the INSS, online or with an appointment.
5. Register at your centro de salud. Take your ID, padrón certificate and Social Security number or INSS document.

How do I get a health card and a GP in Spain?

Your local centro de salud handles it. It issues your individual health card (tarjeta sanitaria individual) and gives you a family doctor (médico de familia). Children get a paediatrician (pediatra). GOV.UK says you show the card whenever you see a doctor, go to hospital or use a pharmacy.

Once you are registered, basic public care is free. Prescriptions usually carry a share of 10% to 60% of the price, depending on your situation. Waits vary by region; see our waiting times by region.

What if I am not entitled to public healthcare yet?

Many newcomers who do not work in Spain have no public cover at first. GOV.UK says that if you have lived in Spain for less than a year and cannot get cover, you need private health insurance. Most residence visas require it anyway.

After one year, a second option opens. The convenio especial lets you pay a monthly fee to join the public system. Royal Decree 576/2013 asks for one year of residence, padrón registration and no other public cover. The national fee is €60 a month under 65 and €157 from 65. Prescriptions are not included. Read our convenio especial guide. To compare every option side by side, see health cover in Spain compared.

Can I use my prescriptions from home in a Spanish pharmacy?

It depends on where the prescription comes from:

• Another EU country: a complete paper prescription can be dispensed if the medicine is sold in Spain. In practice some pharmacies still ask for a Spanish one.
• The UK: only if the pharmacist agrees. NHS e-prescriptions cannot be used here.
• The US and other non-EU countries: not valid. You need a prescription from a doctor licensed in Spain.

A prescription from a doctor licensed in Spain is the reliable route. See using a UK or US prescription in Spain, the prescription rules table for Spain, the UK and the US and our guide to medicines in Spain.

What do I do in an emergency or out of hours?

Call 112 for any emergency. It is free from any phone. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, go to urgencias at a hospital or your local out-of-hours point. Our guide to emergency numbers in Spain lists 061 and the other lines.

How do I get mental-health and language support?

Start with your family doctor. They can refer you to mental-health services. If you have thoughts of suicide, Spain's 024 line is free, confidential and open at any time, every day of the year. In danger now, call 112.

Language is the most common barrier. Bring written notes in Spanish, or a Spanish speaker, to important visits. GOV.UK also publishes a list of English-speaking doctors and clinics in Spain.

How do I find an English-speaking GP in Spain?

In the public system your GP is linked to your address, and English is not guaranteed. Private clinics and online GPs let you choose. Our English-speaking GP guide explains what to check, and our locations page covers cities from Valencia to Málaga.

Moving to Spain from the UK: how does healthcare work after Brexit?

Yes, you can still move to Spain from the UK, but you now need a visa or residence route, and your healthcare depends on it. Check the GOV.UK pages "Living in Spain" and "Healthcare in Spain" before you move. In short:

• Visits: the UK GHIC covers necessary public care during a temporary stay. It is not cover for living here.
• State pensioners: if you get a UK State Pension, you may get an S1. The UK then pays for your care in Spain. The NHS lets pensioners apply online up to 90 days before moving. You must register the S1 with the INSS; it does not work by itself.
• Workers: paying Spanish Social Security gives you public care like a Spanish worker. Some posted and frontier workers can get an S1.
• Residents from before 2021: people living legally in Spain since before 1 January 2021 have Withdrawal Agreement rights. Check GOV.UK for what that means for you.
• Not working, no S1: GOV.UK says that after five years of residence you can apply for permanent residence, then register with the INSS for public care.
• Everyone else: private insurance first, then the convenio especial after a year.

More detail in our EHIC, GHIC and S1 guide.

Are you moving from the US or another EU country?

From the US: Medicare does not normally pay for care in Spain, and US prescriptions are not valid here. Read Medicare in Spain before you decide what to keep.

From the EU: the EHIC is for temporary stays only. If you move here and do not work, ask the country where you are insured for an S1, or register through Spanish work or residence. EU citizens who do not work must show health insurance that covers all risks in Spain when they register.

What are the common healthcare challenges for expats in Spain?

• A gap between arriving and getting a health card.
• Running out of a regular medicine before you have a Spanish prescription.
• Different medicine names, and some home medicines that need a prescription here.
• Visits in fast Spanish, and forms in Spanish.
• Waiting lists for some specialists.

Most of these ease with a medicine list, a records summary and a plan for the first months.

Talking it through with a doctor by video

Dr. Yelamo is a GP licensed in Spain. He sees adults, children and pregnant patients by video, every day from 07:30 to 20:30 (Spain time). In the visit he will:

• Go through your medicine list and match each one to its Spanish name.
• Check what needs a prescription here and what can wait for your public GP.
• Explain what to bring to your first centro de salud visit.

He does not promise any test or prescription before the visit. Where clinically appropriate, following a genuine evaluation. Treatment and prescriptions are issued solely at the doctor's discretion based on evidence-based clinical guidelines.

A prescription is never guaranteed: it is issued only where clinically appropriate after a genuine evaluation, as a private electronic prescription under Spanish law. This service is for urgent, non-emergency care. In an emergency, call 112.

See how the Urgent Care video visit works. It lasts 15 minutes and costs €50.

This guide is general information. It does not replace a consultation with your doctor.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Health cover in Spain compared
• Retiring to Spain: healthcare guide
• Medicare in Spain: what Americans need to know
• Expat health insurance vs travel insurance
• Seeing a doctor without a Spanish health card
• Online doctor visits for expat children
• Online doctor in Spain