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Health insurance in Spain for expats and foreign residents

If you are moving to Spain, or already living here on a foreign passport, the health insurance your visa or residence permit requires is a Spanish policy with full cover, no copayments and no waiting periods, issued by an insurer authorised in Spain. Sanitas has three policies built for exactly that — Sanitas Residents, Sanitas Residents Platinum and Sanitas International Students — and we arrange all three from our agency in Elda, Alicante, in English.

We are an exclusive Sanitas agency, so this is not a comparison of insurers. It is what each of those three policies actually covers, taken from the official Sanitas product sheets, together with the certificate your consulate or immigration office will ask you for and the help that comes afterwards: appointments, the app in English, changes and renewals. Prefer Spanish? The same page is at /seguro-salud-extranjeros.

Before you compare policies

What your policy has to prove

Spanish consulates and immigration offices generally ask for the same four things. A policy that fails any one of them is the most common reason a file gets sent back.

1. An insurer authorised in Spain

Not a travel policy, and not a foreign plan invoiced from abroad. Sanitas is a Spanish insurance company and issues the policy under Spanish rules.

2. Full cover, equivalent to public healthcare

Primary care, all specialities, diagnostic tests, surgery, hospitalisation and emergencies. Outpatient-only or partial plans are not enough.

3. No copayments

No per-visit fees. Many Spanish health policies are also sold in a copayment version that is cheaper but not valid for a residence file, so the modality has to be chosen deliberately.

4. No waiting periods

Every cover active from day one, for the whole period of the permit. Sanitas International Students, for example, is issued with no copayments and no waiting periods.

And the certificate the consulate actually reads

The policy itself is not what gets checked at the counter: the officer reads an insurance certificate stating the insurer, the people insured, the modality and the dates of validity. We request it from Sanitas for you and hand it over with the details your file needs. Confirm the exact wording and language your consulate or immigration office requires before you submit, because it varies from one country and one office to another. [CONFIRMAR EN OFICINA] for current issuing times.

The three Sanitas policies for foreign residents and students

Data taken from the official Sanitas product sheets. We confirm the premium and the conditions in force at the Elda office.

Sanitas Residents

For foreign residents: meets the requirements for your residence visa

Health insurance for foreign nationals resident in Spain, with the full medical network, the Mi Sanitas app in English and validity for processing your residence visa.

Who it is for: Foreign nationals living in Spain who need a health policy that is valid for their residence visa and who want to be able to filter for doctors who speak their language.

What it includes

  • Primary care, emergencies and access to every medical speciality
  • Diagnostic tests, both simple and high-technology
  • Simple and high-technology therapeutic methods (rehabilitation, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, etc.)
  • Hospitalisation and surgery
  • Extended dental cover with more than 40 services included
  • Emergency care abroad for stays of up to 90 days
  • International second medical opinion
  • Repatriation: international transfer and companion, with full cover and complete assistance
  • We speak your language: Mi Sanitas app in English, with appointment booking and a filter for doctors who speak your language
  • Personalised digital health plans

Conditions and figures

  • €12,000 for medical emergencies outside Spain, plus other exclusive additional services
  • Emergency care abroad for stays of up to 90 days
  • Additional reimbursement add-on: up to €300,000
  • Extended dental cover with more than 40 services included
  • Medical network: over 58,000 doctors and over 4,500 own and affiliated centres
  • Sanitas' own network: 5 hospitals plus 3 in development, 31 multi-speciality medical centres, 25 advanced rehabilitation centres and 200 dental clinics
  • This policy meets the requirements for processing your residence visa

How it differs: This is the entry version of the Residents range. Against Residents Platinum: emergencies abroad are covered up to €12,000 (Platinum goes up to €30,000) and reimbursement is NOT included, it is added as a reimbursement add-on of up to €300,000 (in Platinum, reimbursement is 90% up to €500,000 and comes included). It also does not include cover in the USA, home services or payment protection on the policyholder's death. In exchange, its product sheet does highlight the international second medical opinion with world-renowned specialists and the personalised digital health plans.

Sanitas Residents Platinum

Residents with 90% reimbursement up to €500,000 and cover in the USA

The most complete version of the Residents range: it reimburses 90% of your medical expenses up to €500,000, covers the USA, and brings blood tests, physiotherapy and medication to your home.

Who it is for: Foreign nationals resident in Spain who want to choose their doctor freely with expense reimbursement and who need cover outside Spain, including the USA.

What it includes

  • Primary care, emergencies and access to every medical speciality
  • Diagnostic tests, both simple and high-technology
  • Simple and high-technology therapeutic methods (rehabilitation, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, etc.)
  • Hospitalisation and surgery
  • Extended dental cover with more than 40 services included
  • Emergency care abroad for stays of up to 90 days and up to €30,000
  • Reimbursement of 90% of your medical expenses up to €500,000
  • Home services: blood tests, medication delivery wherever you are, and physiotherapy
  • Extended protection: cover in the USA and repatriation cover
  • Payment protection on the death of the policyholder

Conditions and figures

  • Reimbursement of 90% of your medical expenses up to €500,000
  • €400 for your dental treatments
  • €300 for your pharmacy prescriptions
  • €400 for your second medical opinion at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra
  • €100 a day for hospitalisation outside the policy
  • Emergency care abroad for stays of up to 90 days and up to €30,000
  • Extended dental cover with more than 40 services included
  • Medical network: over 58,000 doctors and over 4,500 own and affiliated centres

How it differs: On top of Sanitas Residents it adds: 90% reimbursement of medical expenses up to €500,000 already included (in Residents, reimbursement is an add-on of up to €300,000); emergencies abroad up to €30,000 instead of €12,000; home services (blood tests, medication delivery wherever you are, and physiotherapy); cover in the USA; and payment protection on the policyholder's death. Its second medical opinion is specified as €400 at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra, whereas Residents offers an international second medical opinion. It also adds its own sublimits: €400 dental, €300 pharmacy and €100 a day for hospitalisation outside the policy.

Sanitas International Students

Foreign students in Spain: no copayments and no waiting periods

Complete healthcare cover for foreign students coming to study in Spain. No copayments and no waiting periods: every service is available from the first day.

Who it is for: Foreign students coming to study in Spain who need a policy adapted to the requirements of the entry visa.

What it includes

  • Out-of-hospital care: primary care and specialities (dermatology, orthopaedics, etc.)
  • Diagnostic tests: clinical analyses, X-rays, ultrasound scans, MRI scans, etc.
  • Therapeutic methods: oncology treatments, rehabilitation, physiotherapy
  • Hospital care: surgery, hospitalisation and emergencies
  • Dental cover included (Sanitas Dental 21)
  • Repatriation cover included, and cover in the event of death
  • Second medical opinion with international experts on your case
  • Emergency care while travelling abroad
  • Sanitas Responde: telephone and web platform staffed by health professionals
  • Digital cover: 24-hour emergency video consultation and health programmes by video consultation

Conditions and figures

  • No copayments
  • No waiting periods: every service available from the first day
  • Minimum length of stay: 3 months
  • Proof of enrolment must be provided in order to take out the policy
  • Sanitas' standard risk underwriting is required in order to arrange it
  • Sanitas Dental 21: more than 30 dental services included; the rest at a franchise price with an average 21% discount on private rates
  • Complete healthcare product except paediatrics
  • More than 50,000 professionals, more than 4,200 medical centres and more than 200 Milenium Dental clinics

How it differs: It does not belong to the Residents range: it is designed for students, not for residents. It is complete healthcare cover except paediatrics, with no copayments and no waiting periods, and with Sanitas Dental 21 dental cover and repatriation in the event of death included. Unlike Residents and Residents Platinum, it does not work with expense reimbursement or with capital limits for emergencies abroad, and it requires proof of enrolment, standard risk underwriting and a minimum stay of 3 months.

See the full catalogue of 33 products

Residents vs Residents Platinum vs International Students

The points where the three product sheets actually differ. Everything else — specialities, diagnostic tests, surgery, hospitalisation and emergencies — is covered by all three.

 Sanitas ResidentsResidents PlatinumInternational Students
Designed forForeign residentsForeign residentsForeign students
Emergencies abroad€12,000, stays up to 90 daysUp to €30,000, stays up to 90 daysEmergency care while travelling abroad (no capital stated on the sheet)
Expense reimbursementAdd-on, up to €300,000Included: 90% up to €500,000Does not work with reimbursement
Cover in the USANot includedIncludedNot stated on the sheet
Home servicesNot includedBlood tests, medication delivery and physiotherapyNot stated on the sheet
Second medical opinionInternational€400 at the Clínica Universidad de NavarraWith international experts
DentalExtended, 40+ servicesExtended, 40+ services, with €400 for treatmentsSanitas Dental 21
RepatriationIncludedIncludedIncluded
Specific requirementsProof of enrolment, standard underwriting, minimum 3-month stay

Where a row says "not stated on the sheet", the official product sheet simply does not list that item; it is not a confirmation that the cover is excluded. Ask us and we check the policy wording with you before you sign.

What it costs, and what moves the price

Premiums for these policies are personal, so there is no single figure we can honestly publish here. These are the variables that decide yours.

Age and number of people

Each insured person is rated by age. A couple in their forties and a couple in their sixties do not pay the same, and children are rated separately.

Which of the three policies

Residents Platinum carries reimbursement, USA cover and home services that Residents does not, so it sits above it. International Students is rated as a student product and needs proof of enrolment.

Underwriting and start date

Sanitas applies its standard risk underwriting, and the effective date has to line up with the period your permit covers. Both are settled before you pay anything.

The premium in force for your case: [CONFIRMAR EN OFICINA]. Send us the ages, the permit you are applying for and the start date you need, and we come back with the exact figure and the conditions in force. No obligation, and in English.

How we arrange it

Four steps, and you can do all of them by WhatsApp if you are still outside Spain.

1. Tell us which permit

Non-lucrative visa, student visa, EU registration, a renewal at the immigration office. The type of file decides the modality and the dates, so we start there.

2. We put the right policy in front of you

Residents, Residents Platinum or International Students, with the premium and the conditions in writing. We work with Sanitas only, and we say so plainly when a policy is more than you need.

3. Policy issued with the date you need

The effective date is set so that it covers the period your file requires. Cover starts on that date regardless of how the application is progressing.

4. Certificate, and everything after

We request the insurance certificate for the consulate or the immigration office, and we stay your contact afterwards: appointments, the Mi Sanitas app in English, changes and renewals.

English spoken, in an office you can walk into

We are an exclusive Sanitas agency in Elda, in the Vinalopó valley, half an hour inland from Alicante. Ask for Gabriel.

The office

  • C/ Antonino Vera, 26 · Local 3 · 03600 Elda (Alicante)
  • Monday to Friday, 9:00–14:00 and 17:00–19:30
  • 633 402 602 (mobile and WhatsApp) · 865 796 653
  • We serve Elda, Petrer, Villena, Sax, Monóvar, Novelda and the wider province of Alicante

Who you are dealing with

  • Seguros e Inversiones Amat e Hijos, S.L. · CIF B02931301
  • Registered insurance agent, DGS number C0320B02931301
  • Exclusive Sanitas agency: we advise on Sanitas policies only
  • Advice, paperwork and WhatsApp support in English

The province of Alicante has one of the largest international communities in Spain, and most of what people ask us is not really about insurance. It is about which modality a consulate accepts, what the certificate has to say, and how to use the policy once you land. That part is included.

Prefer to read this in Spanish? The Spanish version of this page is at seguro de salud para extranjeros en España.

Send us your visa type and we will send you the right policy

Ages, permit and start date. Exact premium and conditions back from the Elda office, in English, with no obligation.

Also useful: versión en español · health insurance ranges · family cover · contact

Frequently asked questions

What health insurance do I need for a Spanish non-lucrative visa?
A policy from an insurer authorised in Spain, with full cover including hospitalisation, no copayments and no waiting periods, valid for the whole period of the permit. Sanitas Residents states on its official product sheet that it meets the requirements for processing your residence visa. We issue it with the effective date your file needs and request the insurance certificate for the consulate. Always check the exact wording your consulate asks for, since it varies by country and office.
Is a travel policy or a European Health Insurance Card enough?
Generally not for a residence file. They are temporary cover rather than a full Spanish health policy, so they do not meet the four requirements above. Confirm the requirement with the consulate or immigration office handling your case and bring us what they ask for; we will match it to the right Sanitas modality.
Sanitas Residents or Sanitas Residents Platinum, which one should I take?
Residents is the entry version of the range: emergencies abroad covered up to 12.000 € and reimbursement available only as an add-on of up to 300.000 €. Platinum includes 90% reimbursement up to 500.000 €, raises emergencies abroad to 30.000 €, and adds cover in the USA, home services (blood tests, medication delivery and physiotherapy) and payment protection on the policyholder's death. If you want to choose your own doctors with reimbursement or you travel to the USA, Platinum. Otherwise Residents already covers the visa requirement.
I am coming to Spain to study. Which policy applies?
Sanitas International Students: complete healthcare cover except paediatrics, with no copayments and no waiting periods, dental cover through Sanitas Dental 21 and repatriation included. It requires proof of enrolment, Sanitas' standard risk underwriting and a minimum stay of three months, and it does not work with expense reimbursement.
How much does Sanitas health insurance cost for a foreign resident in Spain?
It depends on the ages of the people insured, how many there are, which of the three policies you take and the start date, so we do not publish a single figure. [CONFIRMAR EN OFICINA]: send us the ages, the permit and the date you need cover from, and we return the exact premium in force together with the conditions in writing. The advice is free and there is no obligation.
Can I use the policy while my application is still being processed?
Yes. Cover starts on the effective date shown on the policy and gives you access to the full Sanitas medical network in Alicante and across Spain, independently of how your file is progressing.
Do you speak English at the office?
Yes. Advice, paperwork and WhatsApp support in English at C/ Antonino Vera, 26, Local 3, 03600 Elda (Alicante), Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 19:30. Ask for Gabriel on 633 402 602. Sanitas Residents also includes the Mi Sanitas app in English, with appointment booking and a filter for doctors who speak your language.
Can I arrange it from abroad, before I move to Spain?
Send us the details by WhatsApp or through the contact form and we start from there, setting the effective date for when your cover has to begin. [CONFIRMAR EN OFICINA] for exactly what Sanitas needs in order to complete the signing remotely in your case. Once you arrive you have a physical office half an hour inland from Alicante for anything that comes up afterwards.

Talk to a real person in Elda

Tell us your situation and we will send you an exact quote, in English, with no obligation.