Health Insurance for Spain's Student Visa

What the regulation says

Study in Spain for more than 90 days is a long-duration stay (estancia de larga duración por estudios), not residence. The visa requirements are in Article 35 of Real Decreto 1155/2024, in force since 20 May 2025. Letter (i) requires:

a health insurance policy with an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, with benefits similar to those of the common basic portfolio of services (cartera común básica) of the National Health System, valid for the duration of the planned stay.

The Ministry of Inclusion's study stay page uses the same wording and cites Articles 34 to 36 and 52 to 58 of the regulation. Article 53, which sets the conditions for obtaining and keeping the authorisation, deals with admission to the course and fees; the insurance condition for the visa sits in Article 35.

Three things in that sentence matter in practice:

• Spain-authorised insurer. A home-country student plan only works if the insurer is authorised in Spain. Check on the DGSFP register.
• SNS-equivalent benefits. GP, specialist, hospital and emergency care, not just emergencies.
• The whole stay. Not the first semester, and not a policy that ends the day classes finish.

What consulates add

Consulates interpret the rule for their applicants. The three we checked in October 2026 differ more for students than for any other visa.

Los Angeles also wants the certificate to show your name and the start and end dates of cover. Volunteers at all three need the host organisation's civil liability policy as well as health cover.

The €30,000 minimum is a floor, not a target. A full Spanish health policy with no annual limit meets it automatically; a travel-style policy with a €30,000 cap is still refused because it is travel insurance.

Your options

UK students: the GHIC

The London consulate's FAQ says the UK Global Health Insurance Card "is acceptable as a medical insurance for all the student visas", but asks you to check that it covers the entire stay. A standard GHIC is for visits. UK residents studying in the EU can instead apply to the NHS Business Services Authority for a student GHIC, which lasts for the duration of the course, based on evidence from your place of study. It can be amended if the course is extended. More detail: EHIC, GHIC and residence healthcare.

Dedicated student policies

Spanish insurers sell policies built for the student visa, priced well below residence products because they are limited by age. These are full health policies, not travel insurance, even though some include travel extras.

• Sanitas International Students: ages 14 to 35, from €42.65 a month on the product banner (the FAQ on the same page says €41.45), no co-payments or waiting periods, repatriation of remains, instant visa certificate, 3 to 14 months' duration. Individual only, so a spouse cannot be added (Sanitas).
• ASISA Health Students: launched in 2024 for international students and teachers on stays over 90 days, and their family members, with no waiting periods or co-payments and repatriation on death (Alimarket, July 2024). ASISA does not publish a starting price.

Ask your university's international office whether it recommends a policy that comes with a visa certificate.

Ordinary Spanish health insurance

Older students, or those bringing family, may find a standard sin copago policy simpler. Rastreator's December 2025 index put complete cover at €59 a month for under-25s and €70 for ages 25 to 34. Standard policies can impose waiting periods (Sanitas's standard Residents policy does), so ask for a visa version that removes them. See sin copago policies.

The options side by side

Home-country insurance

A US university or parental plan only qualifies if its insurer is authorised to operate in Spain. If yours claims to be, ask for its DGSFP registration before relying on it.

Accompanying family members

Only family of students in higher education (degree, master's, doctorate) or specialised health training can accompany them, according to the Los Angeles and New York consulates. That means a spouse or registered partner and minor children.

The Ministry of Inclusion sets the rule plainly: que el familiar cuente con un seguro de enfermedad (each family member must have health insurance). Family members of students may not work, so they cannot gain public cover through employment. In practice:

1. Check whether your student policy allows dependants. Sanitas's does not; ASISA's is marketed to students and their families.
2. If not, buy each family member a standard sin copago policy covering the same dates.
3. Make sure each person is named on a certificate. The New York consulate requires family members to submit the same insurance document as the student.

For family members who join later, see family reunification insurance.

Why student insurance gets rejected

Based on the three consulate pages above, these are the problems to check for before your appointment:

1. Travel insurance. All three consulates refuse it, even with high limits.
2. An insurance card instead of a certificate (Los Angeles).
3. Dates that stop with the course. Los Angeles and New York want cover from a month before the programme to 15 days after it.
4. Co-payments, deductibles or a waiting period in the policy (Los Angeles and New York).
5. A standard GHIC rather than one covering the whole stay (London).
6. Family members without their own cover.

Extensions and staying on

You can extend (prorrogar) the study authorisation in the two months before it expires or the three months after. Each extension lasts for the length of your course, up to one year, and the Ministry allows up to two extensions per authorisation for higher and post-compulsory secondary studies. Each application requires fresh proof of health insurance.

Plan the policy around this. A 10-month policy for a 9-month course leaves you short if the course runs on, and student products with age caps (Sanitas stops at 35) may not renew.

Checklist

1. Read your consulate's student page and note its dates rule.
2. Choose GHIC (UK), a student policy, or a full sin copago policy.
3. Confirm the insurer is authorised in Spain.
4. Make the cover start at least a month before your course (if your consulate asks) and end at least 15 days after.
5. Get a certificate in Spanish naming you, the insurer, the dates and the absence of co-payments and waiting periods. See the certificate checklist.
6. Arrange separate cover for each family member.
7. Diary the expiry date so you can renew before applying for an extension.