health insurance and immigration lawyer in Malaga

@zurlita

I don't think there's any way to get public insurance until you're in the social security system, and you can't be in this until you're legally resident in Spain (or, officially, as you have Romanian passports, EU Citizen Registration or Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de la Unión Europea, which I guess is what you're referring to as a CUE).

https://inclusion.seg-social.es/web/migraciones/w/certificado-de-registro-de-ciudadano-de-la-union-europea-hi-101-

You can get a NIE independent of being a resident (or you can get your NIE issued when you do your registration step above). But I'm pretty sure that the NIE isn't sufficient to get you the insurance you're discussing (you'll need your registration certificate).

The requirements for registration are proof of funds and proof of health insurance (as you know).

I'd be surprised if ALL Spanish health insurers would decline to give you a policy, especially if you don't mind a high premium.

Apart from that, as you're OK, YOU could apply for your registration (as no problem with insurance), then investigate the public option for you + spouse (and maybe it's helpful to do a family reunification instead of a 2nd registration for your husband).

There is also the sneaky option of buying a very expensive policy (so you have cover), but making sure there is a cooling-off period (usually there is), or there is some kind of cancellation option. Then you can use it to register, and once you have your certificate you immediately cancel the policy and look for a cheaper option (and as you're then a resident, you can pursue the public options).

And it doesn't need to be a Spanish policy. If you've been in the USA for 19 years, I'm sure you've had plentiful health insurance there, so I'd guess there might be an overseas option available to you. The requirements are that it's proper medical insurance (not travel insurance), that it covers Spain, that it has a certain minimum level of cover (you'd need to check, but I think it's small, maybe 60k-100k euros), and ZERO deductible. If it's an American company, they might well have the option for certificate and documentation in Spanish. Any cover document/certificate that isn't in Spanish will need a certified (by an official Spanish translator) translation.

Personally, when I did it I bought one of those cheap Schengen zone insurance policies (to meet visa rules) it was about 300 euros. I sent the documents to a registered Spanish translator I found on the internet, they translated them and got them certified (probably another 150 euros).

Good luck!

@gwynj

Thank you, GWYNJ, for your prompt and detailed answer! Could you, please, tell me which insurance you had for meeting the residence requirements?

The problem is that all insurance companies denies my husband the insurance due to the fact that his treatment is very expensive. Unlike in the US, here it must be administered only in the hospital.

Anyway, thank you for your suggestions and for being so active on this forum and so helpful to many of us!

@zurlita

It does sound a bit challenging for you, I hope you find a good solution.

For my partner, we got an ASISA policy, and after she'd applied for her TIE we canceled it. It's a bit of a sneaky/cheapskate move, and you have to check the cancellation small print very carefully before you sign up. And you have to be careful as now you don't have any health cover! But once you're official, you have a NIE and a registration card, and it's much easier to go see if you can register in the public system and make monthly contributions.

There are many global health plans available (from Cigna, BUPA, Imglobal, etc.), but they can be expensive, especially with a zero deductible. Plus the extra hassle of the translation if they don't issue you with Spanish documents.

The two big comparison engines in Spain are rastreator and acierto, and they both offer health insurance (Seguros de Salud). It might be worth looking here as they'll show you that there are lots of possible insurers, and maybe you haven't tried them all yet.

Upon reflection, I still think it's a good course of action for YOU to get your registration certificate, as you don't have a problem with getting insurance. 1 out of 2 is a great start. :-) With a NIE and a certificate you go see what's on offer in the public system.

You should note that you SHOULD do the EU citizen registration thing, but I doubt there's any enforcement. Certainly, you can't breach your immigration conditions by staying more than 90 days (as would a non-EU citizen). So you don't need to panic about when your husband does it.

I think the Convenio Especial, while it sounds like a solution, is a dead-end for you right now. It might, however, be helpful (or very helpful) in the future. That's because you must already be resident (i.e. have your registration certificate) and, even then, there's a minimum time of legal residence (1 year) before you can get it.

https://upsticks.es/healthcare-in-spain-what-is-the-convenio-especial/

Thank you, GWYNJ, for your response and I apologize for my late reply; I didn't get the notification of having a new reply to my post (I have to figure out how to do it)...

Anyway, here I have the most recent information (August 28th, 2023) from Servicio Andaluz de Salud de la Junta de Andalucia where they say that, for the EU citizens and their families it's enough to live in Spain for three months in order to be able to register to the public health system. The form that I need to submit accepts a DNI, NIE or passport as a way of identification.  But, in spite of this,  the Instituto Nacional de Seguridad Social and also the Centro de Salud accept only DNI or NIE for any kind of request.

Well, in a way or another I hope to solve this problem soon.

Again, many thanks for all your help!

@zurlita

Helpful link, thank you for that!

It confirms that the one-year requirement to get Convenio Especial doesn't apply to EU citizens (just 3 months instead).

It also says that a passport is OK as the form of ID, so, in theory, you should be fine without your NIE.

However, it still mentions a certificate to confirm that you don't have health cover elsewhere, which is what you already said you had a problem with.

It also requires your padron certificate.

As a note, you can get your NIE separately from doing your EU citizen registration, so both you and your husband can do this, if you want (it doesn't need an address in Spain, or Spanish health insurance). You can get a NIE as a discrete step, or as part of the EU registration, and a NIE is distinct from a TIE, which EU citizens don't need.