Guide · checked 17 October 2026
Health insurance for a Spanish visa
The non-lucrative and digital nomad visas both ask you to prove you have health cover. Here is what the official pages actually say, and where the details differ between routes.
This is general information, not a recommendation of any insurer. Requirements are checked by the consulate or office that handles your application, so always read their current checklist before you buy a policy.
The non-lucrative visa
For retirees and others who will live on their own means without working. The Spanish consulates in London and Edinburgh ask for:
“Health insurance. Original and a copy of the certificate accrediting the public or private health insurance contracted with an insurance entity authorized to operate in Spain. The insurance policy must cover all the risks insured by Spain's public health system.”
The Ministerio de Inclusión's information sheet for this permit, under the current immigration regulation (Real Decreto 1155/2024), says the same in shorter form: public or private health insurance with an insurer authorised to operate in Spain (Hoja 6).
What about co-payments (copagos), waiting periods (carencias) or repatriation cover? None of these official pages for the non-lucrative visa mention them, so we can't tell you either way. Check with your consulate before you buy.
Working remotely doesn't fit this visa: the Edinburgh consulate points remote workers to the digital nomad visa instead.
The digital nomad visa
For people working remotely for employers or clients outside Spain. The London consulate uses the same wording as above: an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, covering all the risks the public system covers.
If you apply for the authorisation through the Ministerio de Inclusión's unit for these permits (the Unidad de Grandes Empresas), its document checklist is more specific:
“No se aceptan seguros de viaje, seguros basados únicamente en el reembolso de gastos médicos, seguros con copagos o períodos de carencia.”
In English: travel insurance, reimbursement-only policies and policies with co-payments or waiting periods are not accepted (checklist, FAQs). The same checklist says you don't need private insurance if you'll join the Spanish Seguridad Social once the permit is granted, and the London consulate accepts proof of Spanish social security registration too.
UK State Pension? The S1
If you get a UK State Pension (or another exportable UK benefit) and live in Spain, the UK may pay for your Spanish state healthcare through an S1 form. According to GOV.UK:
- you ask the NHS Business Services Authority's Overseas Healthcare Services for the form by phone;
- you register the S1 with the INSS, the Spanish social security office, in person or online;
- the INSS then posts you a Spanish social security number, which you take to your local health centre to register.
For the visa, the London and Edinburgh consulates accept a registered S1 for the non-lucrative visa, and London accepts it for the digital nomad visa: you show the receipt of registration with the Spanish social security. GOV.UK's page was last updated in July 2022, so check the contact details there before you call.
Checking an insurer is authorised in Spain
Every route asks for an insurer authorised to operate in Spain. The Spanish insurance supervisor, the DGSFP, keeps a public register you can search by company name; foreign insurers working in Spain are listed too. If an insurer isn't there, ask it which registration it relies on before you buy.
Before you buy
- Find your consulate's current checklist for your visa, and follow it over any general advice (including this page).
- If you're unsure whether a policy will be accepted, ask the consulate before you pay.
- Keep the insurer's certificate: consulates ask for the original and a copy.