S1 health insurance

The NHS is a residence-based system, so you need to be habitually resident in the UK in order to access NHS services.

So generally speaking, if you leave the UK to live in Spain, you should not expect to be able to use NHS services for free.

Therefore, it is important that when you travel back to the UK you have insurance that covers your health needs and/or a Spanish-issued EHIC / GHIC.

However, primary care NHS services are free, so if you need to visit a GP they won't charge you, but anything above that, i.e. if you're admitted to hospital or need secondary operations, it will not be covered because it is not considered primary care.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for replying…. Won’t be staying permanently for another couple of years but once we have our NLV( we’re in process) we’d hope to stay for maybe 3-4 months at a time , we will still have our home in UK as well as our house in San Pedro del Pinatar!

Ok - However, the NLV is for people moving permanently to Spain, not just to enable people to visit for longer. You are also only allowed to spend a maximum of 10 months in 5 years out of Spain, if you have an NLV; and pay tax (if applicable) in Spain.

Ok thanks for the info:)

This is correct information….

The S1 form will allow you, as a UK national who is resident in Spain, to continue to receive UK national healthcare services if you visit the UK, as would any other UK resident. This includes primary care, emergency treatment and hospital care that is provided by the NHS. 

Thank you for the information:)

When weighing up all the pros and cons do remember that once you are a fiscal resident of Spain you must declare any assets worth over €50,000 and pay tax on them. The declaration is made once, and only needs revising if the asset increases in value. This would cover your UK house, any pension funds, etc. Take professional advice to avoid nasty shocks - penalties for non-declaring can be very high - often 10% of the value of the group of assets not declared.

The declaration of world wide assets is just that…they are not taxed unless they accrue interest and as income you would pay tax on the interest only….please get official advice before you make a move!!!

Thanks, will look into it :)