If you’re thinking of applying for Spain’s Non-Lucrative Visa or NLV you must have private health insurance, but not all policies will be accepted. Here’s what type of insurance qualifies.
Spain’s NLV is a residence visa and one of the main options for non-EU citizens who want live in or retire to Spain.
There are several requirements you must meet and rules you must abide by in order to be granted the visa, but one of the main points is that you are not allowed to work while in Spain on the visa, either for a company here or remotely for a company abroad.
In addition to sending in financial proof to show you can support yourself while living in Spain, you must not have a criminal record and you must also have private health insurance.
READ ALSO: What are the pros and cons of Spain’s non-lucrative visa?
Even though Spain has a public health system, you will not be eligible to benefit from it on the NLV because you will not be working and therefore, will not be paying into the social security system.
Spanish authorities need to know that you won’t be a burden to the public system, particularly as you won’t be paying into it, so you will need private insurance instead.
It’s important to know that Spain won’t just accept any health insurance for your application. It has to meet specific conditions.
Simply getting travel insurance with health coverage is not enough and will not be accepted, it must be a comprehensive health insurance contracted from an insurance entity authorised to operate in Spain.
READ ALSO: 7 must-read articles before applying for Spain’s non-lucrative visa
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Your insurance policy must be valid for one year, as that’s the length of the initial visa you will be granted too.
According to Spanish consulates, it must also cover all the beneficiaries of the visa and provide the same level of coverage as the public health system, with no co-payments, no deductibles, no waiting periods or coverage limits.
You need to look for policies that say ‘Sin Copagos’ or no co-payments, although many companies will have webpages available in English too.
It’s also common for insurers to have waiting periods, like you must wait for at least 6 months before you can get an MRI or you must wait at least 8 months to be able to get a surgery.
It can sometimes be difficult to find a policy that doesn’t have any. You must look for those that state ‘Sin Carencias’, which essentially means no waiting periods.
READ ALSO: What financial proof can I show for Spain’s non-lucrative visa?
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Your policy must cover 100 percent of any potential medical, hospital and out of hospitals expenses as well as simple doctor’s appointments.
To have the same coverage as Spain’s public health system, it must cover primary care, specialists, hospitalisation and surgery and diagnostic tests.
Some of the most common insurers operating in Spain are Sanitas, Adeslas, Asisa, ASSSA and DKV, among others.
When you contact these companies to ask for a quote, it’s important that you let them know you’re applying for the NLV.
This is because all these insurers offer different packages and not all packages comply with the requisites for the NLV as we’ve discussed.
For example, Sanitas suggests their Sanitas Más Salud plan as they say “it is compatible with visa and residency applications and readily accepted by the Spanish authorities”.
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READ ALSO: Can you get private health insurance for a visa in Spain if you have pre-existing conditions?
This can make it tricky for older people or those with pre-existing health conditions to find an insurer that will accept them and get the right type of coverage.
When you want to take out a policy, you’ll have to list all your present and past health conditions, including any surgeries you’ve had and medications you take. A doctor will then likely look over this and give you a call to discuss your case before deciding what coverage will be offered to you.
Some companies may still grant you a policy, even when you’ve divulged all your conditions, but will include an exclusion is a clause that won’t include coverage for certain parts of the body or illnesses for example.
Sometimes this type of coverage with exclusions will be accepted by the authorities for visa purposes, but others will not. It’s typically decided on a case-by-case basis.
Policies usually cost between €50 and €160 per month, depending on your age and health conditions. For retirement age it’s usually at the higher end of the scale between €115 and €160 per month.
It’s worth keeping in mind though that most consulates require you to pay the whole year upfront to prove that you have insurance for the entire year, not just a few months and then stop paying.
For those of you from countries like the UK who are not used to paying for private health insurance, it may seem expensive, but for others, like those from the US, it may seem very affordable.
