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Your Spanish Visa Insurance Certificate

If you have a consulate appointment coming up, this is the document you need — and it is not the same as the policy paperwork you get when you buy. Sanitas issues it instantly, in Spanish, once your policy is active. Below: what it has to say, how to get it today, and the four reasons certificates get handed back.

I need a certificate this week →
Get this straight first

The certificate is not your policy documents

This trips up more applications than anything else on the page.

When you take out a policy you receive policy documentation — your schedule, conditions and receipt. That is proof you bought insurance. It is not what the consulate asked for.

The insurance certificate (certificado de seguro) is a separate one-page document, issued in Spanish, that states in the consulate’s own terms that your cover meets their conditions. It names the insured people, the period, and the specific conditions your route requires.

Turning up with the policy schedule instead of the certificate is a wasted appointment. Ask for the certificate by name.

The requirement

What it has to say

Consulates set their own wording, but the conditions behind it are consistent. The Los Angeles consulate states the requirement for the non-lucrative visa plainly:

“Proof of public or private health insurance contracted with an insurance entity authorized to operate in Spain. 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. It must cover 100% of the medical, hospital and out of hospitals expenses. No travel insurances with medical assistance coverage will be accepted.”

Read as a checklist, that’s five things:

What it means
Authorised insurer in SpainSanitas is a Spanish insurer regulated in Spain. A policy from your home country usually isn’t, however good it is.
Valid for one yearTwelve months from the start date, not a rolling monthly arrangement.
Covers every beneficiaryEveryone named on the visa application, not just the main applicant.
No deductible, no copayment, no waiting period, no coverage limitThis is where most policies fall down. See below.
Not travel insuranceTravel policies with medical assistance are explicitly refused, whatever the cover level.

Requirements vary by consulate and by visa route. We check the current wording for the consulate handling your application before you buy — not after.

Avoid these

The four reasons certificates get rejected

Waiting periods

The most common one, and the most avoidable. Sanitas Residents and Residents Platinum are each sold in two versions under the same product name — one with waiting periods of three to ten months, one with none. Only the version without qualifies. Sanitas describes this as “two purchase options” and leaves you to work out which one you need. Buy the standard version by mistake and your certificate shows waiting periods you were told not to have.

A copayment

Any per-visit charge, however small, fails the condition. The no-copayment plans are the ones to be looking at.

A coverage limit that looks like a cap

If you take Residents Platinum, your cover through the Sanitas network in Spain is unlimited — that’s what satisfies the requirement. The €500,000 figure is the annual ceiling on out-of-network reimbursement, a benefit sitting on top. Presented the wrong way round on a certificate, that number reads to a visa officer exactly like a cap on your cover. We make sure it doesn’t.

The wrong document

See the section above. Policy schedule ≠ certificate.

Timing

How fast can you get one?

Same day, in most cases. Once the policy is active the certificate is issued instantly — there’s no underwriting queue for it and no waiting on a postal copy.

The variable is not the certificate, it’s the policy. If your health declaration raises something that needs looking at, that adds time. Tell us at the start rather than at the end, and we’ll tell you honestly whether same-day is realistic.

If your appointment is inside a week, say so in your first message. We’ll work backwards from the date.
Tell us your appointment date →

Getting one before you move

You do not need to be in Spain, hold an NIE, or have a Spanish bank account to arrange cover and receive a certificate.

That matters because the order runs the other way round from how people expect. Insurance first, because the certificate is evidence for the visa. Visa second. NIE third, once you’re here.

Cover can be arranged with up to six months’ notice, so you can hold a valid certificate for your application well before your start date. Set the policy to begin when you actually arrive, not when you apply.

Buying health insurance before you move →
Getting Sanitas cover before your NIE →
Buying Sanitas online, step by step →

Certificates by visa route

The document is the same; what the consulate checks against it differs.

RouteGuide
Non-lucrative visaNLV insurance certificate
NLV renewalNLV renewal certificate
Digital nomad visaDNV insurance certificate
Student visaStudent visa insurance
EU registrationEU residency insurance

Which plan gives you a certificate that works

Both of these, in their visa versions:

FromNew policies up to age
Sanitas Residents€67.76/month75
Sanitas Residents Platinum€107.23/month64

If you’re 65 or over, Residents is your route — Platinum closes at 64. If you’re 76 or over, talk to us; there are other options and the answer depends on your circumstances.

Compare Residents and Residents Platinum →

Need your certificate this week?

Tell us your appointment date and visa route. We’ll tell you which plan and version, get the wording right, and issue the certificate the same day where the policy allows.

Tell us your appointment date →
Common Questions

Visa Certificate Questions

Spanish. That’s deliberate — the consulate and the immigration office both work in Spanish, and a translated version is one more thing for someone to query. We’ll walk you through what it says in English.
The certificate is issued with your Sanitas policy. We’ll confirm exactly what’s included — and anything that isn’t — before you buy, so there are no surprises.
No. The policy has to be active. What you can do is set a future start date, so the policy exists and the certificate is valid while your move is still months away.
Usually. Send us what they’ve asked for and we’ll tell you before you buy whether it can be produced, rather than after.
One certificate covering everyone named on the policy, provided every visa beneficiary is insured on it. Leaving a family member off the policy is the version of this that fails.
Talk to us about the policy rather than leaving it running. The right move depends on the reason for the refusal and on how far into the annual term you are.
Almost never for a residence visa. The insurer has to be authorised to operate in Spain, and travel policies with medical assistance are explicitly refused.