# 183 day rule & EHIC card



## notmrsw (Nov 12, 2011)

For registering for tax purposes is the 183 day rule per financial year/calendar year or a rolling year ie it starts the month that I move?
EHIC I understand is for holidays, how long is considered a holiday?
Coming over probably late august for a look see with a view to long term rental, I have a great rental property here in Tz and I just want to replicate it-without the lime green walls, I WILL find that needle in the haystack-eventually:fingerscrossed:


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

notmrsw said:


> For registering for tax purposes is the 183 day rule per financial year/calendar year or a rolling year ie it starts the month that I move?
> EHIC I understand is for holidays, how long is considered a holiday?
> Coming over probably late august for a look see with a view to long term rental, I have a great rental property here in Tz and I just want to replicate it-without the lime green walls, I WILL find that needle in the haystack-eventually:fingerscrossed:


Look at these threads by UKinspain. There is (official) info about healthcare and specifically the EHIC
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/search.php?searchid=15878657
If for some reason the link doesn't work, search for UKinspain in the members


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Here's a video from UKinSpain http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...iving-spain/490161-using-your-ehic-spain.html


As for how long you can use it / how long is a holiday ? 
As far as Spain is concerned, if you are here 90 days then you are obliged to register as resident, so at that point you are clearly no longer on holiday here, so _logically _you _might _be able to use it that long

However - if either Spain or the UK get suspicious that you are really living here rather than genuinely on holiday - for instance if the card is used frequently over a period of time, you run the risk of either Spain refusing to accept it, or the UK sending you a bill.

This has happened to people who have genuinely been here on holiday, for instance if they have a holiday home & come here for a few weeks every couple of months - the computer has thrown up frequent use of the card & free treatment has been refused. In this case the onus is on the patient to prove that they haven't been in Spain the entire time, which a genuine holiday maker would be able to do


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

notmrsw said:


> For registering for tax purposes is the 183 day rule per financial year/calendar year or a rolling year ie it starts the month that I move?
> EHIC I understand is for holidays, how long is considered a holiday?
> Coming over probably late august for a look see with a view to long term rental, I have a great rental property here in Tz and I just want to replicate it-without the lime green walls, I WILL find that needle in the haystack-eventually:fingerscrossed:


The 182 (or 183) day rule is that you are considered tax resident if you spend more than that many days in Spain in any one calendar (tax) year. These days do NOT need to be in one lump.


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## pittstop (Apr 19, 2012)

It's based on a calendar year. When you have applied for your full entitlement you cannot apply for another certificate for a year from the original application date. 

So far because I leave Spain for a month at a time I have used my full entitlement on each trip, so I have no idea if you can be issued multiple certificates or not.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

pittstop said:


> It's based on a calendar year. When you have applied for your full entitlement you cannot apply for another certificate for a year from the original application date.
> 
> So far because I leave Spain for a month at a time I have used my full entitlement on each trip, so I have no idea if you can be issued multiple certificates or not.


certificate??


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## pittstop (Apr 19, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> certificate??


Yes Certificate. When you are only entitled to the temporary cover you get a piece of paper not the credit card like EHIC you got via the UK system.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

pittstop said:


> Yes Certificate. When you are only entitled to the temporary cover you get a piece of paper not the credit card like EHIC you got via the UK system.


still confused

if you're a UK resident you get a proper EHIC for holiday cover

if you're a resident of Spain, you get a a special EHIC from the UK if your healthcare in Spain is via an S1, for use outside Spain, or a Spanish EHIC, known as a TSE, if you work in Spain or have access to healthcare here as a long term resident


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

ahhh - just worked it out!

if you only have a temporary _tarjeta sanitaria_, you get a piece of paper instead of a TSE for use on holiday outside Spain :der:


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## pittstop (Apr 19, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> still confused
> 
> if you're a UK resident you get a proper EHIC for holiday cover
> 
> if you're a resident of Spain, you get a a special EHIC from the UK if your healthcare in Spain is via an S1, for use outside Spain, or a Spanish EHIC, known as a TSE, if you work in Spain or have access to healthcare here as a long term resident


Yes but after 18 months you are no longer entitled to anything under the UK system. The letters are issued from the Spanish social security office and unemployed people only get temporary cover.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

pittstop said:


> Yes but after 18 months you are no longer entitled to anything under the UK system. The letters are issued from the Spanish social security office and unemployed people only get temporary cover.


if you are an early retiree who had healthcover here via an S1, then that's correct - it was always temporary cover - the length of cover varied depending on individual circumstances - but during the life of the S1 you should have applied for the 'special' EHIC from the UK

once the S1 cover expires, you aren't entitled to any kind of EHIC / TSE from anywhere, unless you are by then a state pensioner or can use the 'buy in' _convenio especial_

the UK no longer issues S1s to early retirees now, anyway, as of last year - only state pensioners & those in receipt of certain benefits or other specific circumstances get them


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

xabiachica said:


> ahhh - just worked it out!
> 
> if you only have a temporary _tarjeta sanitaria_, you get a piece of paper instead of a TSE for use on holiday outside Spain :der:


Not quite. It all depends what sort of cover you have in Spain. If you have health care via "sin recurso", then you only get a certificate for that one trip. If you need another, then you have to apply again. I only know this because I've had to sort it out for someone.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

snikpoh said:


> Not quite. It all depends what sort of cover you have in Spain. If you have health care via "sin recurso", then you only get a certificate for that one trip. If you need another, then you have to apply again. I only know this because I've had to sort it out for someone.


I understood that you only got a temp_ tarjeta sanitaria_ anyway for _sin recursos_?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

xabiachica said:


> I understood that you only got a temp_ tarjeta sanitaria_ anyway for _sin recursos_?


Well, the ones they have are full plastic cards with no expiry dates.

So, they might be temporary but there's no way of knowing.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

snikpoh said:


> Well, the ones they have are full plastic cards with no expiry dates.
> 
> So, they might be temporary but there's no way of knowing.


there must be some kind of code then - or else how would they know to only issue a temp TSE, rather than a proper card?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

xabiachica said:


> there must be some kind of code then - or else how would they know to only issue a temp TSE, rather than a proper card?


You've got me worried now that these poor (no pun intended) people may have health cover denied them when they need it most. Yet they are unaware of when the current cover may cease. 

What a mess.


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## notmrsw (Nov 12, 2011)

Thanks everyone for the information, initially I only intend to spend around 4 months each year in Spain, although this may change. My friend, who I will house share with, had intended to spend 8 months but will probably stick to the 182 days. In theory is it possible to stay October-March, then cross financial years and stay April-September, still keeping to the 182 day/calendar year ruling?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

notmrsw said:


> Thanks everyone for the information, initially I only intend to spend around 4 months each year in Spain, although this may change. My friend, who I will house share with, had intended to spend 8 months but will probably stick to the 182 days. In theory is it possible to stay October-March, then cross financial years and stay April-September, still keeping to the 182 day/calendar year ruling?


the tax year in Spain is Jan 1st to Dec 31st, so your friend would have to be careful not to spend a total of more than 182 days here between those dates. And be able to prove it if questioned. It doesn't matter if they are in chunks of even just a week - it's the cumulative total which counts. 

Oct to March & then April to September would go over that - it would be 9 months, so roughly 270 days (rough count of 30 day months!)


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