Getting your health card (tarjeta sanitaria)
You will know the order of steps from before the move through your first weeks, what to bring and what to do when the card is late or stops working.
Entitlement to public healthcare in Spain is not the same as holding a working health card. To get the card (tarjeta sanitaria), your national entitlement, your registered address and your regional health service all have to line up. The order of steps matters.
Pick the article that fits your situation
What to arrange before you move so you are not uncovered
How to avoid a gap in health cover between leaving home and getting Spanish cover. It explains what your home card still does, when you need an S1 or visa insurance, and which forms to collect before you go.
Setting up your healthcare in your first weeks in Spain
The order for setting up public healthcare when you arrive in Spain: town hall registration, Social Security number, entitlement if you need it, regional health card, then a GP. For new residents, with typical timings for each step.
Getting recognised as entitled: the INSS step before the card
Explains who needs to be recognised as entitled to public healthcare by the INSS before getting a health card, where and how to apply, and what you receive. It is for residents who are not covered automatically through a job.
From entitled to seeing a doctor: getting your health card (tarjeta sanitaria)
How to turn your entitlement to public healthcare into a working health card and an assigned GP and health centre. For newcomers who already have their padrón, Social Security number and, where needed, proof of entitlement, and who now apply to their regional health service.
What covers you before your Spanish health card works
Explains how to get medical care in Spain while you wait for your health card: provisional proof, urgent care, your home-country card in limited cases, or private care. For newcomers who have applied or are about to apply.
Your Spanish health card is lost, never arrived or stopped working
Work out why your Spanish health card is missing or not working, and pick the right fix: a duplicate, a chase-up for a card that never came, reactivation, or a new card after a move. For residents in a regional health service.
About this topic
This topic is for anyone considering, planning or carrying out a move to Spain. It takes you from "I am entitled" to "I hold a working regional card". It covers the national entitlement step, registering with your region, the documents to bring, what covers you in the meantime, and what to do when a card is lost, late or deactivated.
Key rules
- Order of steps: Register at the town hall first, then get your Social Security number, then entitlement from the INSS if you are not covered through work, then the regional card, then a GP is assigned.
- INSS entitlement: Employees and the self-employed skip the INSS step, but their family members need INSS recognition as beneficiaries; S1 holders and residents with no other cover need it too.
- One card each: Every family member, including children, needs their own individual card.
- Private cover: Non-lucrative and student residents use private insurance and have no public card; after one year of residence they can join the paid convenio especial.
Getting your health card (tarjeta sanitaria): the whole process, step by step
- Arrange cover and home-country forms: Before you leave. Forms such as the S1 can take several weeks to issue, so apply early.
- Register at the town hall (padrón), the first step in Spain: Usually the same day or within a few days of asking.
- Get your Social Security number from the TGSS, if you do not have one: One to three weeks.
- Get entitlement recognised by the INSS, if you are not covered through work: Two to four weeks from your appointment.
- Apply for the regional card and get a GP assigned: The card arrives by post. Many regions give a provisional document at once.
- Bridge any gap while you wait: From arrival until your card works.
- Fix a lost, late or deactivated card: Contact your regional health service if your card has not arrived or stops working after a move or change of details.
- Whole chain, start to finish: Expect between one and three months in total, longer in large cities.
Documents you need
- Identity: your DNI, or your NIE or TIE with your passport. See applying for the card.
- Address and Social Security: your padrón certificate and your Social Security registration proof (the TGSS affiliation document). See the first weeks.
- Entitlement, if you are not covered through work: the INSS beneficiary form and its resolution, with proof of the relationship for family members. See INSS recognition.
Explore places
Where you live changes the details. See how Spanish regions and cities compare on rent, jobs, weather, safety and healthcare.
What to read next
More in Public healthcare access
Finding your public healthcare route
You will know which route applies to your situation and what, if anything, you have to do to start it.
EU, UK and S1 healthcare rights
You will know whether your home state or Spain pays for your care, which card or form to use and when the temporary card stops working.
Paid public cover (convenio especial)
You will know whether you can buy into public healthcare, what it costs, and how to apply and keep it.
Also in Healthcare and insurance
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