# Retired and Relocating to Spain



## Medibax (Mar 26, 2021)

I have recently retired and my wife and I are planning to relocate to Spain later this year. I am just starting to research the process and have a couple of questions..
1. I understand healthcare in Spain is free. Is this correct?
2. How easy will it be to open a Spanish bank account and have my pension sent to it?
3. I would like to keep my current UK car, a Toyota Avensis. Is it easy to register a UK car in Spain?

Thanks in advance for any tips.


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## hktoportugal (Feb 25, 2019)

Just browsing the Spain forum (as I live in Portugal now) but the answer would be the same....your first concern will have be to get a visa (assuming you are both UK citizens). There are many threads already here that address this very issue.


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## Medibax (Mar 26, 2021)

hktoportugal said:


> Just browsing the Spain forum (as I live in Portugal now) but the answer would be the same....your first concern will have be to get a visa (assuming you are both UK citizens). There are many threads already here that address this very issue.


We both have British passports. Is a visa required?


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Medibax said:


> We both have British passports. Is a visa required?


Since brexit yes, a visa would now be required. Im not a visa expert because i have lived here since before brexit so have rights to stay. But if its to retire there are options such as golden visa etc. Depends on how much money you have to invest. Others will advise. 

Health care will not be free. Prior to brexit, retirees could use the s1 system to gain free access but not any more. You'll need private health cover to get residencia. Costs of this depend on age and health conditions. A middle aged healthy person would pay maybe 50, 60 or 70 euros a month. The older you get the more. First year has to be paid up front for residency and if you're retired id expect around 1000 euros a year ish. It must cover you 100% with no exclusions. 

Youll need to demonstrate a minimum income level too.

Before the UK voted to leave the eu it was pretty much a case of turn up and live. But now it's sadly very very different!

Others will add exact info im sure.

Once here and resident, opening a bank account is easy and requires just a visit to a bank. 

The car, well again, before brexit was fairly cheap. When i first came i did it and the whole thing... Changing lights, inspections, paperwork etc cost a few hundred euros. Now, im not sure what the process is from outside the eu. Again, others will advise!


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

Medibax said:


> I have recently retired and my wife and I are planning to relocate to Spain later this year. I am just starting to research the process and have a couple of questions..
> 1. I understand healthcare in Spain is free. Is this correct?
> 2. How easy will it be to open a Spanish bank account and have my pension sent to it?
> 3. I would like to keep my current UK car, a Toyota Avensis. Is it easy to register a UK car in Spain?
> ...


Hi welcome.

As others have said, you will need to apply for a visa in the UK before you can do anything else (except come here for 90 days out of 180 to look for somewhere to live etc.)

1. Healthcare is not 'free' as such, someone always has to pay. But if you are drawing your OAP you can (or may) get an S1 (or you could before Brexit). Im not sure about now, something was said about this continuing. Otherwise you will need Private healthcare for the first year at least. This may be important as its an ongoing cost that soon mounts up. There is a system called the Convenio Especial, whereby you pay into the Spanish health system, for those over 65 its €157 a month each. Im 58 and pay €860 a year for my private care with no copay.
2. You can set up a Spanish bank account anytime, you can even open one while here on holiday (its a Non Resident account and depending on the bank, depends what paperwork you need) Again Uk OAP can be paid direct, some personal pensions cannot. I opened mine 2 years before we moved over.
3. Car. this is the sticky one. You will have 6 months from the date you get here to drive with your UK licence. You will then need to take a Spanish Driving test (there are a couple of threads about that already). Wouldn't bring a Uk car over unless it was almost new or something special. Again post Brexit, there will be extra taxes to pay.

4. I know you didn't have a 4..  Look here, this gives some of the information you need and the types of visa. You will apply to the nearest one to you.





Visas (FAQ)







www.exteriores.gob.es


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## stevec2x (Mar 24, 2012)

In general you don't need a Spanish bank account, I and many others use TransferWise, now known as just Wise. However if you buy a house you will be pressured to use a Spanish bank and pay them for the pleasure, it's archaic!


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

stevec2x said:


> In general you don't need a Spanish bank account, I and many others use TransferWise, now known as just Wise. However if you buy a house you will be pressured to use a Spanish bank and pay them for the pleasure, it's archaic!


Although i would think that for anyone living in Spain, a bank account would make life easier. Not sure how those types of accounts compare but obviously a bank account means all bills can be paid by debit, financial info for the renta is already submitted by the bank and so on.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

xicoalc said:


> Since brexit yes, a visa would now be required. Im not a visa expert because i have lived here since before brexit so have rights to stay. But if its to retire there are options such as golden visa etc. Depends on how much money you have to invest. Others will advise.
> 
> Health care will not be free. Prior to brexit, retirees could use the s1 system to gain free access but not any more. You'll need private health cover to get residencia. Costs of this depend on age and health conditions. A middle aged healthy person would pay maybe 50, 60 or 70 euros a month. The older you get the more. First year has to be paid up front for residency and if you're retired id expect around 1000 euros a year ish. It must cover you 100% with no exclusions.
> 
> ...


Apparently at the last minute the UK agreed to continue issuing S1s to those who qualify, even to people who have yet to move!

That said, I haven't yet heard of anyone who has applied & received one, nor if the S1 will be accepted for a visa application.


While it's definite that a resident visa will be required before travelling to live here - the S1 for a visa application is uncharted territory. Usually the UK will only issue the S1 when the applicant is on the point of moving / has already moved and has a Spanish address.

@Medibax - more info about visas here Visas (FAQ)


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

There is something that puzzles me about issuing S1s if someone is applying for a visa. I am sure I remember that when we applied for our S1s they could only be sent to our Spanish address. But if a visa has to be applied for before moving, how could someone have an S1 in place to present with their visa application?

Same with private health insurance, I suppose. As the insurance would have to be paid for a full year after taking it out, it seems a bit risky to have to do that before applying for a visa, just in case the visa was refused for some reason, and would a Spanish insurance company issue a policy to someone without a Spanish address?

It's just all so complicated now compared to how things were before for people from the UK .


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> There is something that puzzles me about issuing S1s if someone is applying for a visa. I am sure I remember that when we applied for our S1s they could only be sent to our Spanish address. But if a visa has to be applied for before moving, how could someone have an S1 in place to present with their visa application?
> 
> Same with private health insurance, I suppose. As the insurance would have to be paid for a full year after taking it out, it seems a bit risky to have to do that before applying for a visa, just in case the visa was refused for some reason, and would a Spanish insurance company issue a policy to someone without a Spanish address?
> 
> It's just all so complicated now compared to how things were before for people from the UK .


It's certainly more complicated. When my late mum came to live out het final years with usbin Spain, it was a breeze... S1 (sent to spain as you said), residencia was just as easy as mine all those years ago.... We took s1 and bank statements but they said they were not needed. Happy days. The whole situation now is very sad


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

It certainly was the case that S1's could only be sent to overseas addresses but nobody checked if you actually lived there, ours we had sent to our PO box at the local Correos.

How it's going to work now when, if entitled, you need it in advance in order to apply for a visa in UK who knows.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

MataMata said:


> It certainly was the case that S1's could only be sent to overseas addresses but nobody checked if you actually lived there, ours we had sent to our PO box at the local Correos.


When I got my S1 last September, I was told it could be sent either to my private address in Spain or a correspondence address. I chose my gestor's. Sending to an address in UK wasn't an option. This may have changed since January.


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## Rich & Wendy (May 28, 2018)

Medibax said:


> We both have British passports. Is a visa required?


I realise of course that other more knowledgeable members have already beaten me to the punch as it were, but have you watched a news programme in the last five years ?


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