Spain’s left-wing government announced Tuesday it will expand free healthcare to undocumented migrants and other people not officially covered by the public system, clarifying doubts over who has access to state-funded health cover.
The measure will, for the first time, recognise the right of foreign nationals without legal residency in Spain to receive medical care, Migration Minister Elma Saiz said at a press conference.
The policy will also apply to Spanish citizens returning to live in Spain, those residing abroad who are temporarily in the country, and their accompanying family members, she added.
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The measure was approved by royal decree, allowing it to bypass parliament, where Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s coalition government lacks a majority.
There’s always been a lot of confusion regarding whether public healthcare in Spain is free for all and whether those who aren’t officially residents can get treatment.
In 2024, the Spanish Health Ministry moved to clear these doubts up. The Spanish cabinet approved a draft bill aimed at recovering the “universality of the healthcare system”, so that all people living in Spain, regardless of their administrative status, may be treated in health centres, without being denied assistance or later receiving an invoice demanding payment.
This new royal decree appears to be a continuation of this draft law.
In 2012, Spain’s then-governing conservative PP approved a law in order to exclude migrants without legal residency from accessing public healthcare.
Earlier this year, Sánchez’s government unveiled a plan to give residency and work permits to more than 500,000 undocumented migrants.
The measure applies to all foreigners who arrived in the country before December 31st 2025, have lived in Spain for at least five months, and have no criminal record.
READ ALSO: The myths surrounding Spain’s mass regularisation of migrants
Sánchez has argued that immigrants are needed to fill workforce gaps and counterbalance an ageing population that would disrupt pensions systems and other state programmes.
But the right-wing has lashed out at the government, saying the regularisation will encourage more illegal immigration.
READ ALSO: ‘Not a blank cheque’ – How the EU and US see Spain’s mass migrant regularisation
Spain’s stance contrasts with the harsh rhetoric and deportation efforts ramping up elsewhere in the European Union and in the United States.
“In the face of the wave of hatred, we guarantee everyone’s right to healthcare,” Health Minister Monica García wrote on X after the plan was unveiled.
Spain is one of the main entry points for migrants seeking a better life in Europe, along with Italy and Greece.
With additional reporting by The Local Spain’s editor Alex Dunham.
