Most eligible applicants take Residents Visado. It gives no-copayment cover through the Sanitas medical network (the cuadro médico / medical directory) in Spain, with cover from the effective date and no waiting periods in the Visado version.
Residents Platinum Visado adds the freedom to go outside the network — 90% reimbursement of your own doctor’s fees, up to €500,000 per insured person a year — plus USA Cover, dental and pharmacy reimbursement and home services, as separate included benefits.
Both are Spanish Sanitas policies for eligible non-EU/EEA/Swiss applicants. Neither guarantees visa or residency approval — the competent authority decides. Which one suits you depends on how you want to use healthcare, not on which visa you hold.
At a glance
Sanitas Residents vs Residents Platinum — at a glance
The same summary you saw on our homepage, with the detail behind every row explained further down this page.
Sanitas Residents versus Residents Platinum at a glance
At a glance
Sanitas Residents
Sanitas Residents Platinum
Suitable for NLV & DNV applications
✓
✓
Student visa applications
May be suitable
May be suitable
No copayments
✓
✓
Visa version — cover from day one with no waiting periods
✓
✓
Repatriation benefit included
✓
✓
Dental
Sanitas Dental 21 — 40+ included services
Dental reimbursement — 80% up to €400 per insured/year, in Spain
Emergency healthcare abroad
Up to €12,000 per insured/year
Up to €30,000 per insured/year
Freedom to use non-network doctors
Spain: standard Sanitas network
90% reimbursement worldwide, up to €500,000/year, subject to sub-limits
Pharmacy
—
50% reimbursement of eligible prescribed medicines, up to €300 per insured/year
Maximum joining age under the current product documents
75
64
Figures are per insured person per year unless stated and are subject to the current policy terms; we confirm the detail that applies to your policy before you buy. Cover from day one and no waiting periods apply to the eligible Visado versions.
Optional extras may be available with some Sanitas plans. See our Sanitas add-ons guide or ask us what is available with your quote.
Both plans deliver the same covered services through the Sanitas medical network in Spain — primary care, specialists, diagnostics, surgery and hospitalisation — with no copayments in the Visado version, subject to the policy terms. Both come in a standard and a Visado version, and both include Blua telemedicine and repatriation.
Platinum’s structural addition is that you can be treated outside the network and claim most of the cost back. Everything else it adds — USA Cover, dental, pharmacy, home services — is a separate included benefit, but the out-of-network freedom is the reason to choose it.
Who qualifies
Eligibility & the Visado version
Both are Spanish Sanitas policies designed for eligible non-EU / EEA / Swiss nationals taking out cover for a Spanish visa or residency route. EU, EEA and Swiss nationals normally use different products and routes. Acceptance is subject to Sanitas’s product rules and underwriting.
Each plan is sold in two versions under one product name:
Visado version — the visa-suitable version: no copayments, and cover from the effective date with no waiting periods.
Standard (non-Visado) version — a similarly named product with different terms, including waiting periods on certain treatments.
Every “no copayment / no waiting period / cover from the effective date” statement on this page refers to the Visado versions. If you need cover for a visa, it is the Visado version you need.
Age & underwriting
Joining ages
Residents Visado — may be taken out before the applicant’s 76th birthday (current maximum contracting age 75).
Residents Platinum Visado — may be taken out before the applicant’s 65th birthday (current maximum contracting age 64).
Both remain subject to product eligibility and underwriting. If you’re 65 or over you’re looking at Residents; if you’re 76 or over, talk to us about the alternatives.
In practice
How the network and reimbursement cover work
Inside the Sanitas network (both plans): you choose from the cuadro médico — the medical directory of doctors, clinics and hospitals — and pay nothing per visit in the Visado version, with no claim forms, for covered services subject to the policy terms.
Outside the network (Platinum only): you see any doctor you like, pay the bill yourself, and claim 90% back through Mi Sanitas, up to the annual reimbursement limit.
Worked reimbursement examples
Eligible bill
You pay
Reimbursed at 90%
Your final cost
€200
€200
€180
€20
€1,000
€1,000
€900
€100
€5,000
€5,000
€4,500
€500
You pay first — you need the cash flow to front the bill and wait for reimbursement. And €500,000 is the out-of-network ceiling, not an overall cover limit: your treatment inside the Sanitas network in Spain is provided as covered services subject to the policy terms; the €500,000 applies only to the free-choice reimbursement benefit.
Figures are illustrative. Reimbursement is subject to the eligible amount under the current policy terms.
Kept separate
USA Cover, worldwide reimbursement and emergency abroad are three separate benefits
These are three distinct benefits — not one, each with its own rules:
USA Cover (Platinum)
A separately listed Platinum Visado benefit governed by its own covered treatments, authorisation requirements, limits and exclusions. It is not unrestricted US health insurance and does not mean every treatment in the USA is covered.
Worldwide free-choice reimbursement (Platinum)
90% of eligible medical costs, up to €500,000 per insured person per year, subject to policy sub-limits and terms.
Emergency healthcare abroad (both plans)
Included on both plans on temporary trips abroad, within the applicable trip limit: Residents up to €12,000 per insured/year; Residents Platinum up to €30,000 per insured/year.
Platinum extras
Dental, pharmacy & other included Platinum benefits
Dental: Residents includes Sanitas Dental 21 (40+ included services); Platinum adds dental reimbursement of 80% up to €400 per insured per year, subject to policy terms — not an unrestricted benefit.
Pharmacy (Platinum):50% reimbursement of eligible prescribed medicines, up to €300 per insured per year, subject to terms.
Also included on Platinum: a second medical opinion (up to €400, University Clinic of Navarra), home services (blood tests, medication delivery, home physiotherapy), a hospitalisation allowance (€100 per day, per policy terms) and family premium protection (premium covered for a period on the policyholder’s death, per terms).
Who should choose Residents
You’re moving to Spain and will use doctors here
You want the lower monthly premium with no copayments in the Visado version
You’re happy choosing from the Sanitas medical network
You want the decision to be simple
Who should choose Platinum
There’s a named consultant or private hospital you want access to that isn’t in the Sanitas network
You want dental and pharmacy reimbursement, home services and USA Cover included
The premium difference doesn’t matter much to you and you’d rather have the option
Who does not need Platinum
Be honest with yourself about this one. If you’ve never chosen a doctor by name in your life, and you’re moving somewhere you don’t yet know the medical landscape, the out-of-network benefit is theoretical. Most clients who take Platinum do it for a reason they can name. If you can’t name one, take Residents.
The small print, plainly
Limits & conditions
Every benefit is subject to the plan’s sub-limits, authorisation requirements and exclusions, and to the general waiting-period rules on the standard (non-Visado) versions. Reimbursement percentages and annual caps are per insured person per year unless stated. We go through the specific limits that apply to your policy before you buy.
Visa suitability
Can both be used for a Spanish visa?
In the Visado version, both are designed to meet the health-insurance conditions that Spanish visa and residency routes apply — no copayment, no waiting period, cover from the effective date.
“The insurance must be valid for 1 year and must cover all the beneficiaries of the visa for the risks insured by Spain’s public health system, with no deductible, no copayment, no waiting period or coverage limit.” — example consular wording
They do not guarantee visa or residency approval; the competent authority decides, and requirements vary by route, authority and applicant circumstances. We confirm the current wording your route needs before you buy.
Students
The dedicated product for a Spanish student visa is Sanitas International Students. A Residents Visado plan may be suitable in some circumstances, depending on the applicant’s age, studies, route and current requirements — we confirm the appropriate product before application.
The document
Certificates & the application process
Your visa insurance certificate is a separate document from your policy schedule and payment receipt. After the required payment and policy processing are completed, Sanitas provides the individual visa insurance certificate on a working day. The certificate and payment receipt are separate documents.
Both plans are priced on age, province, number of people insured, payment basis and the tariff in force, so the only meaningful comparison is a personalised quote for your exact household. We price both plans for the same people, ages and province, so you see a true like-for-like difference rather than two headline figures on different bases.
Tell us your visa route, your ages, and whether there’s a doctor or hospital you specifically want access to. We’ll tell you which plan and which version, in English, before you spend anything.
Only if you’ll use the out-of-network benefit — it’s the one structural difference between the two plans. If you’ll use Sanitas network doctors, the dental, pharmacy and home-service extras are pleasant but rarely worth the difference on their own.
In their Visado versions, yes: no copayments and cover from the effective date with no waiting periods. The similarly named standard, non-Visado versions have different terms, including waiting periods on certain treatments.
In the Visado version both are designed to meet the health-insurance conditions Spanish visa and residency routes apply. They do not guarantee visa or residency approval — the competent authority decides, and requirements vary by route, authority and applicant circumstances.
No. USA Cover is a separately listed Platinum Visado benefit with its own covered treatments, authorisation requirements, limits and exclusions. It is not unrestricted US medical insurance and does not mean every treatment in the USA is covered. It is separate from the worldwide reimbursement and emergency-abroad benefits.
They are separate benefits. The €500,000 per insured per year is the ceiling on 90% reimbursement for free choice of doctor worldwide. Emergency healthcare abroad is separate and applies on both plans during temporary trips — up to €12,000 per insured/year on Residents and up to €30,000 on Platinum, within the applicable trip limit.
Changing product may require a new application, underwriting and different policy terms. Confirm the process before changing cover, particularly while supporting an immigration application.
Residents Visado may be taken out before the applicant’s 76th birthday (current maximum contracting age 75). Residents Platinum Visado may be taken out before the applicant’s 65th birthday (current maximum contracting age 64). Both are subject to product eligibility and underwriting.
Sanitas International Students is the dedicated student product. A Residents Visado plan may be suitable in some circumstances, depending on the applicant’s age, studies, route and current requirements. We confirm the appropriate product before application.
