FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is N.I.E.?

Número de Identidad de Extranjero – Foreign Identification Number.  This is needed before you may buy property or a car etc in Spain.  British citizens who intend to spend less than 90 days in Spain are entitled to apply for one of these, but will be required to show proof of necessity for this number.

This is a Residency Certificate for British citizens and other foreign nationals who intend to spend more than 90 days a year in Spain; it also carries the bearer's N.I.E number.

This is the National Health System in Spain (Social Security) and when you are registered onto the system, you will be given a number, and eventually a card, which entitles you to health care on the National Health System of Spain, but you need to meet certain criteria.

If you are on holiday in Spain, then this replacement for the earlier Form E111 is accepted, and you will receive free of charge whatever emergency treatment you may require to enable you to return home (i.e. back to your home country) where you will undergo any follow-up treatment or arrange any consultations you may require.  Please note that you will normally be required to sign a third party charges disclaimer.

When of retirement age and living in Spain, you are entitled to an E121 from the Overseas Pensions Department in Newcastle upon Tyne.  This document will enable you to obtain a Spanish Seguridad Social card, which in turn will entitle you to comprehensive health care together with free prescriptions on the Spanish Health Care System.

If you have been in full-time employment in the UK, you can approach the Overseas Pensions Department in Newcastle upon Tyne to ascertain whether you are entitled to an E106 which will provide you with a maximum of two years cover.  After this period has expired, you must arrange alternative health care insurance.

If you do not have any entitlement to healthcare from the UK, you will need to have private medical insurance.

People who work in Spain are required by law to contribute to the Social Security system either as an employee - when your employer should pay Social Security contributions on your behalf, or as a self-employed person - when you will be required to pay your Social Security contributions.

The padrón (the census of Spain) is the equivalent of the UK's Electoral Register and proves that you are residing at a certain address.  It allows you to vote in the municipal elections and is required when registering with a doctor, when applying for your Residencia certificate, when buying a car or when simply changing documents into your name.