# Desperately Looking for a Solution (Social Security office in Fuengirola)



## Wibs (Apr 1, 2015)

Hi guys,

Back in January, while the Social Security office in Fuengirola was not giving out appointments my Gestor used their online application facility and submitted all my forms: S1, Padron, Passport, Residencia, SS number. He received back an acknowledgement of the submission of these documents and was informed that they would be processed in due course.

It is now mid-July and there has been nothing back. In particular I want the 'Acreditativo Derecho A Asistencia Sanitaria Publica', so I can register with the Medical Centre in La Cala.

The Social Security in Fuengirola is still not giving out appointments and the phone is not answered despite numerous calls to both numbers: 901 10 65 70 and 901 166 565.

So my Gestor advised me to get a digital certificate from the La Cala Town Hall and then attempted to use that to download the 'Acreditativo Derecho A Asistencia Sanitaria Publica', but when he attempted to log in with the certificate it came back with an error, 'Person not Recognised'. I got the same problem with the mobile app.

Fortunately, I have been double jabbed at the Medical Centre, but they will not provide me with a vaccination certificate until I present the 'Acreditativo Derecho A Asistencia Sanitaria Publica'.

So, my question is: is it worthwhile just visiting the Social Security in Fuengirola so I can explain to someone what the problem is, or will they not even let me in through the door? If anyone has any experience of 'just turning up' I would be grateful for any tips, best time of day, day of week, to try. And if anyone has any other advice it would be gratefully received.

Wibs


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

You can get EU vaccination certificate, both digital and PDF which you can print out, by downloading Andalucia Sanitaria app, click for vaccination certificate, then enter your personal data, i.e. NIE, date of birth, AN number, and your Spanish mobile number. When you enter the code texted to you, you will get digital certificate and PDF version by further clicking.


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## Wibs (Apr 1, 2015)

Joppa said:


> You can get EU vaccination certificate, both digital and PDF which you can print out, by downloading Andalucia Sanitaria app, click for vaccination certificate, then enter your personal data, i.e. NIE, date of birth, AN number, and your Spanish mobile number. When you enter the code texted to you, you will get digital certificate and PDF version by further clicking.


Tried that, says Data not Valid (los datos introducidos no son validos)


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Joppa said:


> You can get EU vaccination certificate, both digital and PDF which you can print out, by downloading Andalucia Sanitaria app, click for vaccination certificate, then enter your personal data, i.e. NIE, date of birth, AN number, and your Spanish mobile number. When you enter the code texted to you, you will get digital certificate and PDF version by further clicking.


Do you not need a SIP number?


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## Wibs (Apr 1, 2015)

kaipa said:


> Do you not need a SIP number?


The mobile app asks for AN number, DNI/NIE/or Passport Number, Date of Birth and your contact telephone number. All of this data is printed on the Certificacion de Datos form the Medical Centre gives you once you have provided them with all the relevant document, while you await the medical card in the post.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

If you were vaccinated you should have been given a temporary SIP number. If not I doubt you can get a digital vaccination certificate or any certificate as you dont exist in the system. Hence the reason why you need to register. Turning up at SS is a no no. They are quite strict about appointments. Basically you need to get a cita previa which as you say is hard. The problem is the cita previa is almost certainly a block that are released every week on a particular day at a particular time. Local people usually know someone who knows someone who tells them the day to look. You could see if there is another gestor with connections but that will be difficult. Unfortunately, until they register you nothing can be done. I have been waiting a year to try and pay back money to SS but they never answer phone and there are no appointments.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Wibs said:


> The mobile app asks for AN number, DNI/NIE/or Passport Number, Date of Birth and your contact telephone number. All of this data is printed on the Certificacion de Datos form the Medical Centre gives you once you have provided them with all the relevant document, while you await the medical card in the post.


But the OP is not on the system


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## Wibs (Apr 1, 2015)

kaipa said:


> If you were vaccinated you should have been given a temporary SIP number. If not I doubt you can get a digital vaccination certificate or any certificate as you dont exist in the system. Hence the reason why you need to register. Turning up at SS is a no no. They are quite strict about appointments. Basically you need to get a cita previa which as you say is hard. The problem is the cita previa is almost certainly a block that are released every week on a particular day at a particular time. Local people usually know someone who knows someone who tells them the day to look. You could see if there is another gestor with connections but that will be difficult. Unfortunately, until they register you nothing can be done. I have been waiting a year to try and pay back money to SS but they never answer phone and there are no appointments.


I don't know about a SIP number, but my Certificacion de Datos has a NUHSA: AN number and that AN number is reproduced further down the form under NUSS:

Wibs


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Wibs said:


> I don't know about a SIP number, but my Certificacion de Datos has a NUHSA: AN number and that AN number is reproduced further down the form under NUSS:
> 
> Wibs


Are you in any way registered with the public healthcare system?


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## Wibs (Apr 1, 2015)

Yes, but with a caveat: While the Social Security in Fuengirola were not giving out appointments the Medical Centre in La Cala were accepting the acknowledgement of receipt of online applications at Social Security in lieu of the 'Acreditativo Derecho A Asistencia Sanitaria Public', but that seems to have been suspended, or rolled back, and I suspect that AN numbers given out during that period no longer work.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Wibs said:


> Yes, but with a caveat: While the Social Security in Fuengirola were not giving out appointments the Medical Centre in La Cala were accepting the acknowledgement of receipt of online applications at Social Security in lieu of the 'Acreditativo Derecho A Asistencia Sanitaria Public', but that seems to have been suspended, or rolled back, and I suspect that AN numbers given out during that period no longer work.



It will work for you as you are on the system . The OP cant register so they wont get a certificate.


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## Wibs (Apr 1, 2015)

kaipa said:


> It will work for you as you are on the system . The OP cant register so they wont get a certificate.


I am the OP! 🤣🤣🤣


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Wibs said:


> I am the OP! 🤣🤣🤣


Ooooops sorry. Well as I say I really have no idea what you can do as without the ability to contact them you simply can't do anything. If you have been fully vaccinated then you must exist somewhere in system as they must have your phone number and name and you must have shown identification etc when you went for your 2 jabs


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

> So, my question is: is it worthwhile just visiting the Social Security in Fuengirola so I can explain to someone what the problem is, or will they not even let me in through the door? If anyone has any experience of 'just turning up' I would be grateful for any tips, best time of day, day of week, to try. And if anyone has any other advice it would be gratefully received.
> 
> Wibs


I would go In person, yes. Most funcionarios do genuinely want to help, even though they might be constrained by the system. It certainly worked at the Consultorio in my town, and also at the Extranjería in Cadiz.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

kaipa said:


> Do you not need a SIP number?


SIP is only in Valencia


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

xabiaxica said:


> SIP is only in Valencia


In Andalucia you have a Tarjeta Sanitaria and an AN number, as well as your social security number.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> In Andalucia you have a Tarjeta Sanitaria and an AN number, as well as your social security number.


Sounds complicated!

Here we have a SIP - which is the tarjeta sanitaria, so that number - plus the SS number.

I only needed my SIP number to set up the app & access my cert.

What's the AN number?


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

xabiaxica said:


> Sounds complicated!
> 
> Here we have a SIP - which is the tarjeta sanitaria, so that number - plus the SS number.
> 
> ...


It's the number on the Tarjeta, for the Andalusian health system. So the same as a SIP number I guess.

To access the system online we need that plus NIE and date of birth. On a PC you also need a clave or digicert to get your certificate or see your personal data, but on a mobile they just text you a code to enter.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> It's the number on the Tarjeta, for the Andalusian health system. So the same as a SIP number I guess.
> 
> To access the system online we need that plus NIE and date of birth. On a PC you also need a clave or digicert to get your certificate or see your personal data, but on a mobile they just text you a code to enter.


I needed to scan the barcode on my SIP card to set up the account on the app, & istr that I was texted or emailed a password which I then changed to something I can remember! 

Now I just use that code to access the app.


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## Wibs (Apr 1, 2015)

Wibs said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> Back in January, while the Social Security office in Fuengirola was not giving out appointments my Gestor used their online application facility and submitted all my forms: S1, Padron, Passport, Residencia, SS number. He received back an acknowledgement of the submission of these documents and was informed that they would be processed in due course.
> 
> ...


UPDATE:
I went in person (with a translator) to the Social Security office in Fuengirola at 11am on Wednesday. There were no people outside queuing. The door was open, but there was a security tape across the middle and behind it was a security guard, holding what looked like a clipboard with appointments on it. She asked if I had an appointment, to which we replied, 'no', but all we wanted to find out was if a six months wait after an online application had been made was not unusual. The guard replied that information of that sort could only be dealt with by the staff, and to see one of them I would need an appointment, and pointed to the notice on the door that gave the same website and telephone numbers I had been trying. We pointed out that both the website and the automated phone system were both saying that appointments are not currently available. The guard just shrugged, we pleaded a little more, and just got more shrugs in return. Returned to the house and phoned for an hour with no luck, then tried the website for an hour (at any social security office within the province of Malaga), still nothing.

I am wondering if writing a letter to them might work. If they reply that there a huge backlog of applications to process, what with Brexit and the Pandemic, and six month is not unusual, well at least that would be something.[/QUOTE]


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Wibs said:


> UPDATE:
> I went in person (with a translator) to the Social Security office in Fuengirola at 11am on Wednesday. There were no people outside queuing. The door was open, but there was a security tape across the middle and behind it was a security guard, holding what looked like a clipboard with appointments on it. She asked if I had an appointment, to which we replied, 'no', but all we wanted to find out was if a six months wait after an online application had been made was not unusual. The guard replied that information of that sort could only be dealt with by the staff, and to see one of them I would need an appointment, and pointed to the notice on the door that gave the same website and telephone numbers I had been trying. We pointed out that both the website and the automated phone system were both saying that appointments are not currently available. The guard just shrugged, we pleaded a little more, and just got more shrugs in return. Returned to the house and phoned for an hour with no luck, then tried the website for an hour (at any social security office within the province of Malaga), still nothing.
> 
> I am wondering if writing a letter to them might work. If they reply that there a huge backlog of applications to process, what with Brexit and the Pandemic, and six month is not unusual, well at least that would be something.


[/QUOTE]

There is nothing you can do. You need a local gestor who knows when the appointments are made available. They will put them on certain days between certain hours. It is ridiculous but that is what they are doing. Locals all use enchufe to find these things. Writing a letter will do no good as they provide no email address because they simply don't want to be contacted by that means. Your only chance is a local lawyer or gestor who knows how things work in your particular area.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

How deeply frustrating! I agree with Kaipa, a gestor will probably be more effective than a letter.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

I completely agree about a gestor. The OP said that they had used a gestor previously but now seems to be on their own.

I would go back to the gestor and tell them to sort it out. Is this a proper spanish gestor? 

A good gestor will, as kaipa says, most likely know when appointments are available or even have contacts there to sort things out. I'd take the whole thing back to the gestor and ask them to pull their finger out as you are unable to receive health care that you're entitled to.


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## Brangus (May 1, 2010)

Wibs said:


> [...] So my Gestor advised me to get a digital certificate from the La Cala Town Hall and then attempted to use that to download the 'Acreditativo Derecho A Asistencia Sanitaria Publica', but when he attempted to log in with the certificate it came back with an error, 'Person not Recognised'. I got the same problem with the mobile app.
> 
> Fortunately, I have been double jabbed at the Medical Centre, but they will not provide me with a vaccination certificate until I present the 'Acreditativo Derecho A Asistencia Sanitaria Publica'.
> 
> ...


The EU Digital Covid Certificate is available through the national Ministerio de Sanidad. Go to www.mscbs.gob.es and click "Solicita el Certificado COVID Digital de la UE." Your digital certificate or [email protected] will allow you to download and print the proof of vaccination.

That's how I obtained mine after experiencing a fruitless bureaucratic runaround with Sescam, the Castilla-La Mancha health system (which incidentally is home of the "CIP" number, not "SIP" or "AN" 😅). You don't need those regional numbers at the national website.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

The OP has already tried this but as they are not registered in any way and have no reference/ healthcare number it wont work


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## Brangus (May 1, 2010)

kaipa said:


> The OP has already tried this but as they are not registered in any way and have no reference/ healthcare number it wont work


?? I don't see any mention of the OP trying the website of the Ministerio de Sanidad, which is part of the national government and based in Madrid.

When one uses a digital certificate at the link I cited above, most of the personal information will be "auto filled" in the form and immutable. All that is required is to enter the date of birth and an e-mail address. One can then request the EU vaccination certificate and receive it electronically in a matter of minutes.

(There is an optional instruction on the form that might be confusing for some. It says to fill in your autonomous community and your "CIP autonómico" *if the ID document and birthdate aren´t available*. The OP already has a digital certificate, so he doesn't need to fill in those extra fields -- only the date of birth.)

I hope the OP gives it a try.


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## Wibs (Apr 1, 2015)

*FINAL UPDATE*
Sorry guys, I neglected to post the final outcome of my attempts to get a Social Security office appointment to find what happened with my application and supporting documents (S1, TIE, Padron etc) to register for medical services. As I explained in my previous post the official phone numbers were not being answered and my attempts to get an appointment online always resulted in 'No Appointments are currently available', even when I expanded the search for any appointment at any Social Security Office within Malaga Province.

Well on the 19th July I had some time on my hands, so I applied online yet again, with the same result (no appointments are currently available), but then clicked repeatedly on the resubmit button. After about 45 resubmit clicks an appointment in Campillos came up listed as available, and I accepted it straight away. I then checked my map to find out where Campillos was exactly, it was past the lakes (Caminito del Rey)!

I attended the appointment with my Gestor and they let both of us in. I showed the online application that I had made back in January, with all the supporting documents, and the Document Reference Number I received confirming the receipt of the application. He tapped away on his computer, frowned a couple of times, and said 'there is a problem'. 'What problem', I asked. He replied that the Document Reference Number is in the system, and is actually the name of a folder where the original application and scans of supporting documents, and the confirmation of receipt are all supposed to be stored, but the folder was empty! He surmised that the folder had been created but the responsible person had forgotten to copy all the files into that folder!

He asked if I had all the original documents with me, but he would need a new up-to-date Padron, and fortunately I had come prepared and had them all. He scanned all the documents, placed them in the folder and said I should hear something within 4 weeks. I actually got the email that the application had been approved by Social Security 3 August, and I then took this, again with all the supporting documents, to the Medical Centre in La Cala, and got their confirmation print-out that I was now registered in the system, and they even printed off a colour photocopy of my Digital Vaccination Certificate.

Just waiting for the plastic medical card now.

Wibs


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## DonMarco (Nov 20, 2016)

Wibs said:


> *FINAL UPDATE*
> Sorry guys, I neglected to post the final outcome of my attempts to get a Social Security office appointment to find what happened with my application and supporting documents (S1, TIE, Padron etc) to register for medical services. As I explained in my previous post the official phone numbers were not being answered and my attempts to get an appointment online always resulted in 'No Appointments are currently available', even when I expanded the search for any appointment at any Social Security Office within Malaga Province.
> 
> Well on the 19th July I had some time on my hands, so I applied online yet again, with the same result (no appointments are currently available), but then clicked repeatedly on the resubmit button. After about 45 resubmit clicks an appointment in Campillos came up listed as available, and I accepted it straight away. I then checked my map to find out where Campillos was exactly, it was past the lakes (Caminito del Rey)!
> ...


I admire your patience.......


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