# Re-registering for Healthcare with S1's



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Does anyone know if the system for registering for state healthcare with an S1 form has changed?

As my OH has recently become a pensioner, we obtained S1's for him and for me as his dependant. We went to register them at our local INSS office this morning, and on being given a copy of the stamped form, once they'd processed it, I asked if we should now take it to the Centro de Salud to register there (as we did originally when we had the two-year S1's which used to be issued to early retirees). The gentleman said no, our tarjetas would arrive in the post in about a month's time.

I am wondering if the system for registering has changed, or alternatively could this be because our details would already have been in the system from when we registered before and they will therefore just issue us with a new card?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Lynn R said:


> Does anyone know if the system for registering for state healthcare with an S1 form has changed?
> 
> As my OH has recently become a pensioner, we obtained S1's for him and for me as his dependant. We went to register them at our local INSS office this morning, and on being given a copy of the stamped form, once they'd processed it, I asked if we should now take it to the Centro de Salud to register there (as we did originally when we had the two-year S1's which used to be issued to early retirees). The gentleman said no, our tarjetas would arrive in the post in about a month's time.
> 
> I am wondering if the system for registering has changed, or alternatively could this be because our details would already have been in the system from when we registered before and they will therefore just issue us with a new card?


Actually, that's the way it's always happened around here. So I guess they are now standardizing (ha, ha!).


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

snikpoh said:


> Actually, that's the way it's always happened around here. So I guess they are now standardizing (ha, ha!).


& yet just down the road from you, they still issue the cards at the centro de salud!!


at least they did last week..........


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## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

When we registered at our local clinic, they issued a temporary SIP card, made of cardboard, then a month later issued the plastic one at the clinic. I have been registered for nearly three years, and my husband registered in May this year.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

My parents had to collect theirs from the clinic...


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

fergie said:


> When we registered at our local clinic, they issued a temporary SIP card, made of cardboard, then a month later issued the plastic one at the clinic. I have been registered for nearly three years, and my husband registered in May this year.


This is what happens around here.

The temporary ones came via the post and then you are called in to the clinic to have them print your plastic (permanent) ones,.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Valencia is different from Andalucía, where Lynn and I are.

I registered with S1 at the INSS (with the OH as a dependant) in September and the new cards arrived about a fortnight later. We were already registered at the local consultario with our old cards. We just went down with the new cards to see if we had to do anything further, and we didn't - it was all set up. The prescriptions on the old cards transferred to the new ones automatically.

Last week we both got application forms from Newcastle for our EHIC-E cards, to use in other EU countries. So Lynn, it looks like you won't need to wait till you get your state pension for this.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> Valencia is different from Andalucía, where Lynn and I are.
> 
> I registered with S1 at the INSS (with the OH as a dependant) in September and the new cards arrived about a fortnight later. We were already registered at the local consultario with our old cards. We just went down with the new cards to see if we had to do anything further, and we didn't - it was all set up. The prescriptions on the old cards transferred to the new ones automatically.
> 
> Last week we both got application forms from Newcastle for our EHIC-E cards, to use in other EU countries. So Lynn, it looks like you won't need to wait till you get your state pension for this.


That's great, thank you very much. It always throws me a bit when I think I know what's going to happen and then they tell me something different from what I was expecting!

I was expecting to have to take the tarjetas sanitarias into the Centro de Salud to see if we needed to do anything else, so once they arrive I'll probably still do that just for our own peace of mind. 

I must say the process was remarkably easy. We didn't bother setting up a cita previa, just turned up at the INSS office, were given a numbered ticket by the smiley lady on reception, waited for approx 5 minutes (only two numbers waiting before us), then the man on the desk just took our S1 forms and a copy of our tarjetas de residencia, nothing else (rendering the whole file of other stuff we'd taken along just in case such as copies of passports, marriage certificates, copies of padron certificates, NIEs, everything but the kitchen sink, redundant) and he processed and stamped the S1s and gave us back a photocopy of them.

If I can get a UK-issued EHIC as well as my OH that's a bonus, neither of us has been able to get one at all for the past 6 years as we weren't entitled to one from either the UK or Spain, classic Catch-22 situation!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> If I can get a UK-issued EHIC as well as my OH that's a bonus, neither of us has been able to get one at all for the past 6 years as we weren't entitled to one from either the UK or Spain, classic Catch-22 situation!


Yes, I asked the guy at DWP about that and he wasn't sure, but then the application forms arrived for both of us. He also said that if we needed healthcare in another country before the cards came through, we should contact them because we will still be covered.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Well, the plot thickens. We were told, when we registered our S1s at the INSS office, that our tarjetas sanitarias would arrive in the post in about a month's time. Today (5 weeks later so allowing for Xmas post and the holidays the timing wasn't far out) we received a document each from the Ministerio de Empleo y Seguridad Social confirming our entitlement to healthcare as a British pensioner and dependent thereof, which we are instructed to take to our Centro de Salud to register and obtain our tarjetas sanitarias.

I am rather glad we decided not to give notice to cancel our private health insurance which would have been due to expire at the end of this month, or I might have been getting worried about being left without coverage for a time by now. Just our bad luck that my OH's 65th birthday fell so close to the end of year date for the insurance, I suppose, if it had been earlier in the year we would have had more leeway.


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

*Ehic*



Lynn R said:


> That's great, thank you very much. It always throws me a bit when I think I know what's going to happen and then they tell me something different from what I was expecting!
> 
> I was expecting to have to take the tarjetas sanitarias into the Centro de Salud to see if we needed to do anything else, so once they arrive I'll probably still do that just for our own peace of mind.
> 
> ...


Please be careful with Ehic cards check them thoroughly, we recieved ours on the 16th of December, run out date the 30th of October this year, a blond question why does post from our friendly Newcastle pension office always come in duplicate on consecutive days from Malta!!


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Nignoy said:


> a blond question why does post from our friendly Newcastle pension office always come in duplicate on consecutive days from Malta!!


No it isn't a " blond question " 
You also left out the " & take 4 weeks " 
I asked why when they made a mistake with mine a couple of years back & I had to wait another 3 weeks for it to arrive. They use Malta Post. It is obviously cheaper than Royal Mail.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Nignoy said:


> Please be careful with Ehic cards check them thoroughly, we recieved ours on the 16th of December, run out date the 30th of October this year, a blond question why does post from our friendly Newcastle pension office always come in duplicate on consecutive days from Malta!!


We haven't even started contacting the DWP about new EHIC cards yet, as we only got the paperwork back from the Spanish SS Dept yesterday and I understand that the DWP also need to have received paperwork from Spain before they can issue them.

If we can get EHICs after being devoid of them for 8 years, I shan't care whether they come from Malta or Mars!

However, thanks for the warning about checking the dates, I'll be sure to do that. How annoying for you, could have caused problems had you tried to use them if you hadn't seen that in advance.


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## Allie-P (Feb 11, 2013)

This procedure seems to be different, depending where you have set yourself up in Spain.

We registered at the INSS in 2013 & were told our cards would be received in 6 weeks. After two months &..... nothing received.....we returned to the INSS !! They printed out the certificates, on the spot & we were able to register at the health centre with those. Our cards were received, several weeks later, by post to our address.

I remember posting on here in a panic & being advised that we could/couldn't use our EHIC cards, during the interim period !! I had been advised in the UK that on receipt of our S1's at our Spanish address, we were automatically covered........NOT the case !!

The minimum period of private health care was for 12 months.....

I found out later that we could have, immediately, taken our stamped S1 copies to the Centro de Salud & received immediate cover.

It was a worrying time....


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Allie-P said:


> I found out later that we could have, immediately, taken our stamped S1 copies to the Centro de Salud & received immediate cover.
> 
> .


This is what has confused me - when we registered the original S1s we had as early retirees, 8 years ago, that's exactly what we did. However, this time we were told not to do that as the cards would be sent to our home address, but what has actually been sent is the certificates and we now have to go to the Centro de Salud and register there after which the cards will be issued.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> This is what has confused me - when we registered the original S1s we had as early retirees, 8 years ago, that's exactly what we did. However, this time we were told not to do that as the cards would be sent to our home address, but what has actually been sent is the certificates and we now have to go to the Centro de Salud and register there after which the cards will be issued.


What a pain! When we did this earlier in the year our cards arrived by post within a month and our EHICs arrived from the UK a few weeks later. And we are both in Andalucia so not a case of different regional policies! Perhaps Cádiz province is different from Málaga province?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> What a pain! When we did this earlier in the year our cards arrived by post within a month and our EHICs arrived from the UK a few weeks later. And we are both in Andalucia so not a case of different regional policies! Perhaps Cádiz province is different from Málaga province?


It certainly is. Now we are going to have to do battle with Señora Dragon at the Centro de Salud who, I just know, is going to ask for our EHICs just like she did last time although they are completely irrelevant - and of course we don't have them yet. I've printed out the page from the Servicio Andaluz de Salud regarding the requirements for registering for healthcare, which we have (the document confirming our right to healthcare plus our passports as ID is all it says we need) but will that cut any ice with her??? I feel a demand for the Complaints Book coming on. 

Velez-Malaga must be different from anywhere else in the entire universe as far as she's concerned, never mind in Andalucia!


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## lyric (Oct 9, 2014)

Why is it that the receptionist is a breed apart the world over, we had a helpful one, like yours, in Wilmslow and there is at least one in the Nerja Ambulatario.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

lyric said:


> Why is it that the receptionist is a breed apart the world over, we had a helpful one, like yours, in Wilmslow and there is at least one in the Nerja Ambulatario.


I think it's the illusion of power that attracts them to the job.

Mind you, I think any job where one has to deal with the general public all day every day must inevitably sour the sunniest temperament after a while.


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

*Out of date*



Lynn R said:


> We haven't even started contacting the DWP about new EHIC cards yet, as we only got the paperwork back from the Spanish SS Dept yesterday and I understand that the DWP also need to have received paperwork from Spain before they can issue them.
> 
> If we can get EHICs after being devoid of them for 8 years, I shan't care whether they come from Malta or Mars!
> 
> However, thanks for the warning about checking the dates, I'll be sure to do that. How annoying for you, could have caused problems had you tried to use them if you hadn't seen that in advance.


I did tried to use mine!! my tramadol pain management implant is empty, my pacemaker check up is 4 weeks out of date and luckily I could buy Insulin over the counter, Ena sharples with moustache on receception was not very helpful either!!


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Nignoy said:


> I did tried to use mine!! my tramadol pain management implant is empty, my pacemaker check up is 4 weeks out of date and luckily I could buy Insulin over the counter, Ena sharples with moustache on receception was not very helpful either!!


I'm a little confused - why would the Spanish health system offer you any assistance? If your card has run out and you are not paying into the system in some way, why would you expect them to cover you?

Are you British or, as your flag suggests, from Australia? I just ask because I didn't know that Australia issued EHIC cards.

Once the card runs out, you have a couple of options - if you've been here for more than 12 months (legally and all that entails) then you can try the convenio especial route. If you are working, you're covered any way. Otherwise it's private cover.


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

*ehic*



snikpoh said:


> I'm a little confused - why would the Spanish health system offer you any assistance? If your card has run out and you are not paying into the system in some way, why would you expect them to cover you?
> 
> Are you British or, as your flag suggests, from Australia? I just ask because I didn't know that Australia issued EHIC cards.
> 
> Once the card runs out, you have a couple of options - if you've been here for more than 12 months (legally and all that entails) then you can try the convenio especial route. If you are working, you're covered any way. Otherwise it's private cover.


I will type this very slowly so nothing gets lost in the interpretation, because of a spate of elderly relatives passing on or becoming seriously ill, we decided the sensible thing to do was,as UK citizens to return to UK or Europe to be more accessible for our family, when we arrived in UK in march ,we applied for Ehic because we would be frequently travelling to Europe IE Germany and Spain where we have elderly relatives, are you following so far?? we then decided to settle in spain and not UK, while dividing our time between Bavaria and spain ,our new cards which we applied for in may,were supposedly,sent to our home address in UK,none arrived , when they eventually did arrive ,the cards were invalid because the expiry date was 4 weeks earlier than the issue date, we had applied for S1 forms in September ,said forms were received on the 15th and 22nd of this month,we complied with everything that was asked of us,the slipshod work practise in Newcastle was the only problem, here in spain correct paperwork is the key to everything, but when your own pensions office don't know or care what they are doing,as a 85% disabled aged pensioner,you are well and truly stuffed,


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

I did the dragon lady a misservice (or maybe she's just more up to speed on how to do her job nowadays!) because we went down to the Centro de Salud clutching our sheaf of paperwork this morning, and she was as good as gold. One she'd asked "have you got your photocopies?" and we spread them all out on the desk in front of her, it was a piece of cake and there wasn't even a mention of EHIC cards.

Now we just await the tarjetas sanitarias (should take 2-3 weeks according to her), and will contact the DWP next week once Britain is back at work to find out where things are up to with our new EHIC cards.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Hurrah! Our tarjetas sanitarias have just been delivered by post, it was a good estimate by the lady in the Centro de Salud as she said 2/3 weeks and it has been just about 3 weeks allowing for the fact that there were 2 bank holidays in the period since we completed our applications on 30 December.

No sign of application forms for EHIC cards from the DWP as yet, my OH did ring them and they said they'd be despatched once they received the paperwork from the Spanish INSS. If nothing transpires in a few weeks' time we may have to follow that up with the INSS but have no urgent need for them.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> Hurrah! Our tarjetas sanitarias have just been delivered by post, it was a good estimate by the lady in the Centro de Salud as she said 2/3 weeks and it has been just about 3 weeks allowing for the fact that there were 2 bank holidays in the period since we completed our applications on 30 December.
> 
> No sign of application forms for EHIC cards from the DWP as yet, my OH did ring them and they said they'd be despatched once they received the paperwork from the Spanish INSS. If nothing transpires in a few weeks' time we may have to follow that up with the INSS but have no urgent need for them.


Glad you finally got this sorted!

Our EHIC application forms came several months after we got the cards. The papers had been sent from Spain but there was a backlog processing them in the UK. However they confirmed on the phone that should we need the reciprocal healthcare for any reason in the meantime, we would still be covered.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> Glad you finally got this sorted!
> 
> Our EHIC application forms came several months after we got the cards. The papers had been sent from Spain but there was a backlog processing them in the UK. However they confirmed on the phone that should we need the reciprocal healthcare for any reason in the meantime, we would still be covered.


Thanks, I won't hold my breath then!

A more pressing concern at the moment is getting my UK tax code sorted out. When they started paying my occupational pension this month, they've put me on a 0T code meaning no personal allowance, which pleased me no end. I've sent an online form off to HMRC asking for this to be corrected and received an acknowledgement saying they would reply within 15 working days. Not exactly the speed of light.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> Thanks, I won't hold my breath then!
> 
> A more pressing concern at the moment is getting my UK tax code sorted out. When they started paying my occupational pension this month, they've put me on a 0T code meaning no personal allowance, which pleased me no end. I've sent an online form off to HMRC asking for this to be corrected and received an acknowledgement saying they would reply within 15 working days. Not exactly the speed of light.


Can't help you there I'm afraid, I'm still below the threshold!


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> Can't help you there I'm afraid, I'm still below the threshold!


So am I, just, until the other occupational and private pensions become payable in 2016, but because they've put me on a "no personal allowance" tax code I'm being taxed 20% on the whole lot.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Yippeee! Just had a message back from HMRC to say they have updated my tax code and will send me a notice of coding within the next 7-10 days which will also be sent to my pension provider, so all should be sorted out before the end of the current UK tax year. Good service from them, credit where credit's due.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Hurrah, the saga is finally nearing it's end, I hope. Today we received the application forms for our EHIC cards from Newcastle, a mere 3.5 months after registering with the Spanish health service. The delay doesn't seem to have been caused at the Spanish end, as my OH rang Newcastle just over a fortnight ago to ask what the situation was, and was told that they'd despatched the forms to us on 30 January, although we hadn't received them. They said they'd send new ones which duly arrived today.

So they'll be posted back tomorrow and then we just have to await the arrival of the EHICs themselves. It will be nice to have them after over 6 years when we couldn't get one from either the UK or Spain, even if we never have to use them.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Our EHIC cards have just been delivered (and yes, Nignoy, I did check the expiry date and it's April 2020, so that's OK!).

As we posted the application forms on 10 April that's pretty good postal service at both ends, plus fast processing time by the NHS Business Services Authority. Gold stars all round.


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