Retired or not working, funds and health cover for EU citizens

Key rules

• Funds: €600 a month in 2025 for you, plus €300 a month for each family member who lives with you.
• Health cover: You need comprehensive public or private cover that works in Spain.
• S1: A valid S1 from your pension country is accepted as full health cover.
• EHIC and travel insurance: Neither counts as health cover for registration.

What you must show

To register as a non-working EU citizen, you need two things: enough money for yourself and your family, and comprehensive health cover that works in Spain. These conditions do not apply to workers or the self-employed.

Enough money

The office checks that your income or savings are enough and stable, so you will not depend on social assistance. The IPREM is the yardstick: you need 100% of it for yourself, plus 50% of it for each family member who lives with you (your spouse or registered partner and your dependent children). If you live on savings, the total you hold must cover the monthly threshold over the whole year, that is 12 times the monthly figure.

If you are a pensioner, proof of your pension is the usual way to show your income. A pension paid from outside the EU comes with no S1, so you need a private policy.

Health cover

You need comprehensive cover, public or private. These routes work:

• S1 form. If you get a pension from another EU country, a valid S1 is accepted as full cover.
• Another public entitlement. For example, cover as the dependant of a worker.
• A private policy. It must be a full policy that covers you in Spain, with no co-payments, and it is the route if you have no S1. After 1 year of residence you can instead join the paid public scheme (convenio especial).

What a private policy must look like

Offices accept a policy from an insurer authorised in Spain. It must:

• cover consultations, hospitalisation, surgery and emergencies;
• have no waiting periods for key treatments;
• not exclude pre-existing conditions;
• have no low overall cap on cover;
• run for at least a year, or come with proof of renewal.

Attach the receipt showing you paid the premium.

Documents you need

• Your S1 form, or its registration certificate from the INSS (Spain's social security office), if you are a pensioner using S1 cover.
• Your passport or national ID card.
• Form EX-18 with proof that you paid the fee, as in What EU citizens must do to live in Spain legally.
• Proof of your income: a pension certificate or bank statements.
• Your private health policy from an insurer authorised in Spain, if you use private insurance instead of an S1.