Health insurance for your visa and residency

What is required

This is what the requirement sheets published by the consulates and the immigration offices keep repeating. It is not our list, and not every office asks for the same thing.

• Health insurance, public or private, taken out with an insurer authorised to operate in Spain.
• Cover equivalent to what the Spanish public health system provides.
• No co-payment. This is the point on which most applications come unstuck.
• Many sheets add: no waiting periods and no limit on cover.
• Travel insurance is not accepted for a residence permit. They say so explicitly.
• It has to stay in force for the whole period of the permit, including when you renew your card.

One thing we say from the start: we do not process visas and we do not give immigration advice. That is your lawyer's or your gestor's job. Ours is the policy and the insurance documents, and there we stay with you to the end.

Which option fits

• General practice and nursing
• Emergencies, at a centre and at home
• Specialists and diagnostic tests
• Hospital stays and surgery
• Pregnancy and childbirth
• Dental care
• Doctor consultations by chat or video
• Travel assistance outside Spain

Depending on the option chosen. Limits, waiting periods and exclusions are set out in the policy conditions, and we go through them with you before you sign.

The first decision is the co-payment, and here it is not about price: if your requirement sheet says "sin copagos", the co-payment option is out, even though it costs less. We look at it with you, with your sheet in front of us.

Depending on your case

These are the cases we deal with most often in the south of Tenerife. The office handling your file is always the one that decides.

• Non-lucrative residence. For people who come to live here without working in Spain. What is asked for is insurance with an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, cover equivalent to the public system, and no co-payments.
• International teleworking visa (the so-called digital nomad visa). Same starting point: public or private insurance with an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, in force for the whole permit. Travel insurance is not accepted.
• Studies of more than six months. Consulate sheets usually ask for cover for one year from entry, with benefits similar to those of the basic package of the Spanish national health system.
• EU citizens registering on the central register of foreign nationals. If you do not work or pay contributions in Spain, you have to show health insurance covering all risks. It can be public — European health card, S1 form — or private. Which one counts in your case is for the office to say; if they ask for private cover, we arrange it.
• Renewing your card. The insurance has to remain in force. Let us know in good time and we will have the policy and the last receipt paid ready for you.
• Your family. Each person is registered individually on the policy. To add children or a spouse we need the libro de familia or the equivalent document.

The paperwork

What we need from you

• Passport, NIE or DNI for each person to be insured. You can take the policy out on a passport, before you have a NIE; in that case the premium is paid once a year.
• Each person's date of birth. People aged 0 to 64 can join.
• The requirement sheet from your consulate or immigration office, if you already have it.
• The health questionnaire, one per insured person. It is filled in with us before the policy is issued. We never ask about anyone's health on this website.
• An address in Spain, if you already have one. If not, tell us and we will talk it through.

What you get from us

• The Allianz policy and conditions, and the receipt showing the premium paid.
• We explain, in your language, what each document says. Allianz documents are in Spanish; a sworn translation, if the consulate asks for one, is arranged by your gestor.
• If your sheet asks for a certificate with specific wording, tell us beforehand: we check with Allianz and tell you what can and cannot be put in writing. We would rather tell you before you pay than at the counter.

Good to know

• Private health insurance does not replace the Seguridad Social: it is a different thing. Here you choose your doctor and you do not wait as long for a test or a specialist.
• Some benefits have waiting periods (periodos de carencia) — a set time from joining before they can be used. General practice, emergencies and dental care can be used from day one. Tests, procedures and hospital admission have a period of up to six months, except in a life-threatening emergency. Pregnancy has one month and childbirth ten. The exact periods are set out in the conditions, and we go through them one by one on waiting periods.
• If you are coming from another company, waiting periods usually fall away: we need the previous policy, still in force, and the last receipt paid. Pregnancy and childbirth keep their period. Tell us if that is your case and we will confirm it before you sign.
• The medical network in the south of Tenerife includes doctors who consult in English, German and French. For someone who has just arrived, that counts for more than a couple of euros on the premium.
• Distance matters here: from Adeje or Arona, a test at the referral hospital is half a morning in the car. Being able to walk into a clinic nearby with your card is part of what you are buying.
• Most options include travel assistance outside Spain. The number of days and the limits are set out in the conditions.
• If you run a business here and want to insure your staff as well, that is a different policy: health cover for employees, from two employees upwards.
• After you sign we remain your office: changes, receipts, questions and claims. We have been an exclusive Allianz agency in Adeje since 1998.

Frequently asked questions