Health cover for life in Spain, worked out in three questions
Visa insurance rules, public healthcare entitlement and private policies explained in plain English, with every rule and price checked against its source.
What cover costs in Spain
Prices depend mostly on your age, where you live and whether the policy has co-payments. These are the reference points worth knowing before you ask for quotes.
Find the guide for your situation
Moving to Spain
- Health Insurance for Spain's Non-Lucrative VisaWhat the regulation says, what consulates in the UK, US, Canada and Australia actually ask for, what it costs and why applications get sent back.
- Health Insurance for Spain's Digital Nomad VisaYour Social Security position decides whether you need a private policy. Here is how each route works and what the UGE accepts.
- Health Insurance for Spain's Student VisaWhat the regulation requires, what consulates add, which student policies qualify and how to cover a spouse or children.
- Health Insurance Requirements for Spanish ResidencyWhat evidence of healthcare each residence route asks for under Spain's 2025 immigration regulation and the EU-citizen rules, in one table.
- Health Insurance Certificates for Spanish Visa ApplicationsA line-by-line checklist for the document consulates actually read, plus translation rules and the mistakes that get files returned.
Buying private cover
- How Much Does Private Health Insurance Cost in Spain?Real 2025–2026 prices from Rastreator and the insurers' own tariffs, by age, region and level of cover, plus the public alternative.
- The Best Private Health Insurance in Spain for ExpatsA side-by-side comparison of the insurers English speakers actually use, built only from what each company publishes.
- What Does Sin Copago Mean in Spanish Health Insurance?No-co-payment cover explained: what you stop paying, what still applies, how much more it costs and why consulates insist on it.
- Health Insurance in Spain with Pre-existing Conditions: What You Need to KnowThe health questionnaire, what the law makes you disclose, how exclusions work and which routes skip medical underwriting.
- What Health Insurance Is Available for Over-75s in Spain?Entry ages, renewal rules and real 2026 prices for people aged 75 and over, plus the public routes that often work better.
Using public healthcare
- Healthcare and Health Insurance for UK Citizens in SpainYour route depends on whether you draw a UK State Pension, work in Spain, or arrived before or after Brexit. Here is how each one works.
- Private Health Insurance in Spain for US CitizensMedicare stays behind when you move. Here is what replaces it, what Spanish consulates in the US ask for, and what it costs.
- How to Register an S1 Form for Healthcare in SpainFrom requesting the form in your home country to collecting a Spanish health card, in the order it actually happens.
- The Convenio Especial for Healthcare in SpainA pay-in route to the Spanish public health system for residents with no other entitlement, with no health questionnaire and no upper age limit.
- How to Get a Spanish Health CardThe tarjeta sanitaria comes from your regional health service, but only after the INSS has recognised your right to public healthcare.
Why this site exists
Most people moving to Spain hit the same three questions: does my visa need private insurance, could I use the public system instead, and what should a policy actually cost? The answers are scattered across consulate pages, Spanish legislation and insurer sales pages that all use different words for the same thing.
This site puts them in one place. Each guide starts with a short answer, then shows the rule, the numbers and the source, so you can check it yourself. It's written by Jon Grocott, who is based in Spain and runs the site independently. It is not an insurer or a broker, and no page is paid for by an insurance company.
If you're not sure where to start, the three questions above will point you to the right guide, or browse the full A–Z index.