# moving to spain - nhs care?



## manctospain (Dec 9, 2013)

hello!

I have some questions regarding a possible move to Spain for me and my family.

Me and my partner are 23, and have a two month old baby boy. I have a 2:! degree in English Literature from the University of Manchester, and also completed 140 hours qualification of TEFL.

I have lived in Spain before, me and my parents moved to La Nucia when I was a teenager for a couple of years and came home, mainly because my mum missed her family, but I have always missed it and planned to go back. So I have quite good knowledge of the language and culture.

However, obviously as an adult, moving to Spain is a bit more complex than going with my parents who arranged all the technicalities! My main question is about healthcare. My son was born with a cataract, and has received excellent treatment from Manchester Royal Eye Hospital. He had surgery, wears a contact, and his follow up care has been amazing. He will likely need surgery again in a year, and his follow up reviews are monthly at the minute, but will become more sparse (6 monthly) in a few weeks when they are happy with his recovery. I am wondering if, living in Spain, our son will still be entitled to his care under the NHS, which we would return for the UK for and if not what sort of care would we receive in Spain?

My next question is about jobs - we have enough savings (its something we have been planning for a while) to support ourselves for at least a year, my gran owns a villa in Rojales, and we are welcome to stay there rent free until we find somewhere we want to settle and get ourselves sorted. I am planning on using my language qualification to teach English, and my Spanish is quite good. My partner however has no knowledge of Spanish and no qualification beyond A-Levels, although he has worked in a bank for 6 years so has experience of this. What sort of job could he expect to get, if any? He is willing to do anything.

If anybody could help i'd be so grateful, even if you had any more advice for me. 

Thank you in advance.


----------



## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Your TEFL qualification is worth more than your degree which would need to be recognised in Spain, far from a simple process.

Unemployment in Spain is far far far worse than the UK so your partner would have an extremely hard time finding work of any kind given the hundreds of thousands of Spanish people of a similar educational/work background who are unemployed.

With *no* benefit system to fall back on and your limited funds I'd say think very hard before you get on a plane and do not burn your UK bridges (Don't sell your house etc).

Your best bet is for you to come over several times for a week or two at a go and see how you find things.


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

manctospain said:


> hello!
> 
> I have some questions regarding a possible move to Spain for me and my family.
> 
> ...


:welcome:

the good news is that state healthcare in Spain is still very good to excellent, despite the dreadful financial crisis in this country - if you qualify for it

children are legally entitled to free healthcare no matter what their legal resident status is - but be prepared for a battle to get him into the system if you & your partner aren't

the only way for you & your partner to access the system is for you to be working & paying NI/SS contributions............ & that could be the deal-breaker

although unemployment has come down slightly in the past month or so, it's still running at about 25% overall - & more like 50% for your age group

since you have savings & somewhere to stay, at least you have a cushion, and if you're not giving up a good job to come here it _might _be do-able


& no, under current rules, your son wouldn't be entitled to use the NHS in the UK once you move here

also - just realised that you say partner, rather than husband - in Spain, because healthcare is essentially contribution based, you qualify by paying into the system, as I said. Husbands/wives/children can be covered as dependents

unmarried partners aren't, except in specific circumstances


----------



## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Given the fact that you'll be moving to an area flooded with foreigners it might be tough to find an English paying job that gives you enough to live off of. _Cuidadito_ with your subject/object pronouns if/when you do apply for a job...


----------



## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Irony of ironies, I made a mistake in the last post. I meant to say *an English TEACHING job. *

Point taken, brain. That's what I get for being a weenie.


----------



## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

There is also the issue of applying for residency. You will have to prove that you have an income and for three of you that is likely to be around €1800 a month and also healthcare in place for the adults which, in your circumstances, is likely to have to be private. Teaching English as a profession is very popular among the British ex pat community with many ex builders, plumbers and electricians now out of work and trying their hand at teaching (usually not very well). However, it won't bring in the kind of money you will need to gain your residency. In some areas, depositing an amount in a Spanish bank will do the trick but the rules for all of this do differ from region to region so you will definitely benefit from a few exploratory trips to find out what you need to do. Good luck!!!


----------

