Arranging care for a parent in another country from Spain

Key rules

• Consent: Get your parent's written consent before a local contact talks with doctors, and before you install cameras or sensors.
• Paid help: Check the licence or registration, insurance and written contract of any paid helper.
• Care manager fees: Ask for the fee schedule in writing before you hire a care manager.
• Sibling costs: Agree cost sharing in writing and keep a shared record of expenses and receipts.
• Monitoring: Devices and calls do not replace in-person checks.

Start with people on the ground

You can arrange most of a parent's care from Spain, but you need someone local you trust. Build that network before an emergency, not during one.

Good places to find help:

• Neighbours and friends of your parent.
• Their GP or pharmacist.
• A place of worship, community group or social club.
• Local volunteer or befriending charities.
• The town hall's social services, which can tell you what home help and support exist.
• Paid services, such as home help or a care manager.

Before you rely on someone, meet or video-call them and ask for references. Agree in plain terms what they will and will not do, and save their number. Get your parent's written consent so the contact can talk with doctors and share your details. Keep in regular touch so the arrangement does not fade.

For any paid helper, check their licence or registration and their insurance, and sign a written contract.

Decide whether you need a care manager

A care manager (also called an aging life care professional) is usually a nurse, social worker or gerontologist. They assess your parent's needs, write a care plan, arrange and supervise home care or a residential place, go to medical appointments, speak to doctors and the family, and send you regular reports.

You can find one through professional associations in your parent's country, local social services, hospitals or referrals. Private geriatric consultancies and care companies offer similar services in Spain.

Fees are usually hourly or by package, and the first assessment is often charged separately. Prices depend on the country and region, so ask for the fee schedule in writing before you hire anyone.

Keep an eye on things from a distance

Monitoring helps, but it does not replace someone visiting in person.

• Video calls: simple tablets or the apps your parent already knows work best.
• Home sensors: door, motion, fall, and smoke or gas detectors.
• Alert buttons: wearable or pendant devices.
• Shared calendars or family apps for medication and appointments.

In Spain, public and municipal telecare (teleasistencia) gives your parent a pendant or home unit linked to a 24-hour call centre. Private providers offer it too. Availability and cost vary by town and region, so ask the town hall's social services.

Cameras and sensors need your parent's consent. Cameras in particular raise privacy issues, so talk it through with them first.

Share the work and the cost with siblings

Hold a family meeting, in person or by video. List your parent's needs and each person's strengths.

A common split is that the sibling abroad takes tasks that work remotely: paperwork, finances and bills, calls with doctors, research and booking services. A sibling nearby covers visits and hands-on care.

Agree cost sharing in writing. Options include equal shares, shares in proportion to income, or the sibling abroad paying more money to make up for less time. Keep a shared record of expenses and receipts, use a shared document or chat group, and review the plan every few months or after any change. If you disagree, consider a neutral mediator.

In Spain there is a legal duty of support between relatives, so check what that means for your family if the costs are large.

Build a yearly budget

Put the whole year on one page. Include:

• Travel: flights, accommodation, local transport and your time off work.
• Care services: home help, carers, day centres or care home fees.
• Medical costs: private insurance, medication, dental, optical, equipment and co-payments.
• Housing: rent or mortgage, utilities, repairs, property taxes and home adaptations.
• Admin and legal: translation, notary, lawyers, accountants, power of attorney, bank and transfer fees, tax advice.
• Daily living: food, phone and internet, alarm and monitoring devices.
• Insurance: travel, home and funeral plan.
• A care manager, if you use one.
• An emergency fund, often several months of expenses, for sudden flights or hospital costs.

Add a margin for currency changes and inflation. The planner below helps you lay out visits, leave days and costs across the year. The documents list and checklist below cover what to prepare.

Yearly planner for visits, leave days and care costs

Start with the fixed dates

Your calendar has three fixed points: your 30 calendar days of paid vacation, the public holidays, and the days you must stay in Spain for tax. Place these first, then fit visits around them.

Vacation. Employees get 30 calendar days a year (a proportional part if you worked less than a year). Vacation can't be swapped for pay, except when a job ends. Dates are agreed with your employer or set by your collective agreement, and you must know them at least two months before they start. If agreed, at least two weeks can be taken in a row, which suits a long stay. Vacation can be used for care trips.

National holidays in 2027. These do not move:

• 1 January and 6 January
• 26 March (Good Friday; Easter Sunday is 28 March)
• 1 May (Saturday)
• 15 August (Sunday)
• 12 October
• 1 November (Monday)
• 6 December and 8 December
• 25 December (Saturday)

Your region adds its own holidays, such as Holy Thursday or Easter Monday, and your town adds up to two local ones. The final 2027 national list comes out this autumn. Check your region's list and your town hall's website before you book anything.

Place your visits

Mix short and long trips:

• Short check-in visits every few months, to review money, paperwork and the home.
• Longer stays in holiday periods, using your vacation days around Easter, summer or Christmas.
• A reserve of days for extra trips if your parent's health worsens or after a hospital stay, a care decision or a move.

How often you go depends on your parent's health, travel time and cost, your work and family duties, and what local support exists. Do not use up all 30 vacation days on the plan. Keep some unbooked for emergencies.

Where a holiday falls on a weekend (1 May, 15 August and 25 December in 2027), you gain no extra day off, so don't count on one. Long weekends are around 1 January, Easter, 1 November and the 6–8 December bridge.

Watch your days abroad for tax

You are a Spanish tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year, or if your main base or economic interests are here. Time you spend abroad caring for a relative still counts as days in Spain, unless you prove tax residence in another country with a certificate. Several short trips will not change your status. If you plan to spend months away, ask a tax adviser before you go.

Budget the year

Build one yearly figure from these lines:

• Care manager, if you use one.

Add a margin for currency changes and inflation. Then spread the total across the year, putting the travel costs in the months you booked your visits.

Documents you need

• Written consent from your parent letting the local contact talk with doctors and share your contact details.

• A written contract with any paid helper or care provider, showing their licence or registration and insurance.

• A written cost-sharing agreement between siblings, plus a shared record of expenses and receipts.

• The care manager's fee schedule in writing, if you hire one.

Checklist

• List the people near your parent who could help: neighbours, friends, their GP or pharmacist, a place of worship or club, and local befriending charities.

• Ask the town hall's social services what home help and support are available.

• Meet or video-call each possible local contact and ask for references.

• Ask a care manager for their fee schedule in writing before you hire them.

• Hold a family meeting by video or in person to list your parent's needs and split the tasks.

• Write down how siblings will share costs and keep a shared record of expenses.

• Review the care plan with your siblings every few months or after any change.

Frequently asked questions

What does a geriatric care manager do for a family living abroad?

A geriatric care manager is usually a nurse, social worker or gerontologist who assesses your parent's needs and runs the care plan for you.

How are care managers charged?

Care managers usually charge by the hour or by package, and the first assessment is often billed separately. Fees depend on the country and region. Ask for the fee schedule in writing before you agree to anything.

Can I use cameras or sensors to keep an eye on my parent?

Yes, you can use cameras and sensors, but only with your parent's consent because of privacy rules. Door, motion, fall and smoke detectors are common options. None of them replaces someone visiting in person.

What is teleasistencia and who can get it in Spain?

Teleasistencia is a telecare service that gives your parent a pendant or home unit linked to a 24-hour call centre. Town halls and regions run public versions, and private companies also sell it.

Which costs should an annual budget for a parent abroad include?

Include travel, care services, medical costs, housing, admin and legal fees, daily living, insurance and a care manager if you use one. Add an emergency fund of several months of expenses for sudden flights or hospital bills. Leave a margin for currency changes and inflation.