In 3 weeks we are moving to Granada, Spain!
We still have a crazy 'to-do list'...but the thing that has me completely bamboozled is travel and health insurance.
We are living in Spain for at least 12 months.
The kids and I have Spanish passports
My husband is Australian ...we will apply for a spousal visa once we arrive (and then get his NIE).
I know my husband, who will initially enter Spain on a tourist visa, so will need 'straight' travel insurance.
We will not be working
The kids will go to a local public school
We also intend to take short trips, during school holidays etc., while we are living in Spain.
- I understand that you either pay into the Spain social security system /health system or get private cover...is this correct?
- Can you pay into the public health system even if you aren't working?
- I believe that once we get our Spanish documents/ID's in order, the children and I can apply for European Health Insurance Card ...is this correct?
So what's the best way to do this?
- Do the kids I get travel insurance (like hubbies) for 2 to 3 months to cover us while we go through the Spanish system (DNI, etc) OR do we sign up for Spanish Health cover now? Can this even be done before we get to Spain?
I suppose this means we will need long-term travel insurance in any case... should I organise this insurance now (from Australia), or wait till we arrive in Spain? In which case we don't need 2-3 months of travel insurance. (I got one quote for long term travel insurance and it was $1780 AUD for 12 months.)
As with most things, the order you do things is important and the Spanish 'system' can be overwhelming 
Thanks for your help
Travel insurance and when to get Spanish health insurance
Your husband, as a non EU national, will be applying for RESIDENCIA, not an NIE His NIE will
be the number that will be on his residencia when it is issued
We moved to Spain a few years back, as part of the visa process we needed to have medical insurance. We got that at time of our visa submission, which means approximately one month before our arrival in Spain. So, we had medical coverage even before we arrived in Spain.
That coverage, however, is only WITHIN Spain, the time you are still in Australia, and the short duration of your travel to Spain, would not be covered by that policy. So you may want "travel insurance" for that time period; but it should be short.
FYI, our policy for 3 people (Me 62 years old, wife 48 years old, son 16 years old) was Eu 320/month the first 2 years, reduced to Eu 220 year 3. And that was a higher-end policy. From my perspective, inexpensive but your opinion may be different
Good luck and regards
Thanks for the info... I think we'll just get 2 months ‘travel insurance' for the family as a starter... hopefully it won't take longer to National identity cards etc and then get health insurance in Spain. Because we are Spanish citizens we don't need anything specific for entry...
I would suggest getting travel insurance for a time to allow you to research the best private care once you get here.
Just a thought ;
I would think `travel insurance´ may only cover people who are travelling, thus you may need different cover if you are moving here. as you say. That is, once your traveling has ended so may your cover.
PS before you think I am being stupid. Insurance companies always try to avoid paying out.
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