The four conditions
An insurer authorised to operate in Spain. The company has to be registered with the Spanish insurance supervisor, the Dirección General de Seguros. A U.S. insurer, a global plan sold from abroad or Medicare does not meet it.
Full cover. Cover comparable to the Spanish public health system: GP and specialists, hospital, emergencies, tests. A plan limited to accidents or emergencies is refused.
No copays. In Spanish, sin copagos. The policy must not charge you a share of each visit or treatment.
No waiting periods. In Spanish, sin carencias. Cover has to start in full on day one, with no months before certain treatments are covered.
On top of those, the policy has to run for at least the first year from your arrival, and every family member applying with you needs the same cover, children included.
What gets refused
- Travel insurance, however generous its limit.
- U.S. health plans and Medicare.
- Policies with copays, even small ones, or a deductible.
- Policies with waiting periods for hospital care or surgery.
- Policies that start after your planned arrival or end before a year.
Reimbursement is the grey area. Some policies let you see any doctor and claim back afterwards. For this visa, several consulates read cover without copays as cover where the insurer pays the clinic directly. If the policy you like works by reimbursement, ask me or your consulate before you pay for it.
The certificate to ask for
The policy document alone is long and in insurance language. Consulates prefer a short certificate from the insurer, in Spanish, that says each condition in so many words. Ask for one that states:
- Your full name, as on your passport, and those of each family member covered.
- That the insurer is authorised to operate in Spain.
- That the cover is full, comparable to the Spanish public health system.
- That there are no copays and no waiting periods.
- The start date and the end date, covering at least a year from your arrival.
- That the premium is paid, if your consulate asks for proof of payment.
Insurers that sell to visa applicants issue this certificate every day. If yours hesitates, that tells you something about whether it is the right insurer for this visa.
A certificate issued in Spanish needs no translation. If the insurer writes it in English, it goes with a sworn translation like the rest of the file.
Age and price
Premiums rise with age, and some insurers stop taking new members past a certain age or ask for a health questionnaire. If you are in your seventies, ask about the age limit before anything else. Pre-existing conditions can be excluded, and an exclusion is not a copay, so it does not by itself sink the visa, but read it before you sign.
Budget it as a monthly cost for as long as you hold the permit. For a couple in their sixties it is often the second largest monthly cost after rent.
When to buy it
Get quotes early, choose late. The policy has to be in force from your arrival, and the certificate has to be recent at the appointment. Most clients sign the policy four to eight weeks before the appointment, with a start date a few weeks after it. The checklist tool puts it on your calendar with the rest.
Send me the policy before you pay. I check it against your consulate’s list and tell you if a clause will be read against you.
After the first year
You keep private cover for as long as you hold the Non-Lucrative permit, and the renewal asks for it again. Because you do not work, you do not pay into Spanish Social Security and are not in the public system by default. Some regions offer a paid agreement, the convenio especial, after a year registered in the town, and some retirees move to it later. That is a question for your region once you are there.
A word on what I recommend
I do not recommend a particular insurer for the Non-Lucrative Visa, and I earn nothing from any insurer you choose for it. For the Digital Nomad Visa I do point some clients to one provider and say so openly in the insurance guide for that visa. Until consulates have accepted that policy for this visa, I do not suggest it here.
Private insurance from an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, with full cover comparable to the Spanish public system, no copays and no waiting periods, for the whole first year. Each family member needs the same cover.
No. Travel policies have caps, exclusions and short terms, and consulates refuse them for residence visas. The same goes for U.S. plans, including Medicare.
Several consulates want to see the policy in force from your arrival and paid for the year, or at least a receipt showing it is paid. Ask the insurer for a certificate and a payment receipt, and check your consulate’s own list.
Check with your consulate first. Some consulates ask for cover without copays and read reimbursement-only policies narrowly. A policy where the insurer pays the provider directly is the safest choice for this visa.
You keep private cover while you hold the Non-Lucrative permit, because you do not pay into Spanish Social Security. Some regions offer a paid agreement, the convenio especial, after a year of residence, which some retirees switch to later.
Sources: Reglamento de Extranjería, RD 1155/2024 (BOE) · Consulate General in New York, non-lucrative residence visa · Registry of insurers authorised in Spain (DGSFP).