Private health insurance built for international expats living in Spain. Whether you are applying for a visa, registering as a resident or settling in long-term, Sanitas offers private health insurance options for visa applications, residency and everyday healthcare in Spain, with English-speaking support and the Sanitas medical network.
Trusted by international residents
At a glance
| Looking for... | Usually the best place to start |
|---|---|
| Non-Lucrative Visa | Sanitas Residents |
| Digital Nomad Visa | Residents or Residents Platinum |
| Studying in Spain | Sanitas International Students |
| Already resident in Spain | Más Salud options |
| Retired and over 60 | Residents or Sanitas Único |
| EU citizen registering residence | Más Salud options |
A starting point, not a recommendation. Acceptance, age limits and terms are confirmed individually.
Start here
If you are moving to Spain from outside the country — or you already live here and are sorting out cover properly for the first time — this page is the whole picture in one place. It covers how Spanish healthcare actually works, when private insurance is genuinely required rather than optional, which Sanitas plans apply to which situation, and what things realistically depend on.
Spain is unusual in that its public healthcare is genuinely good and its private sector is mainstream rather than a luxury add-on. Most new arrivals are not choosing between good and bad care. They are choosing between systems they have not used before, under time pressure, often with a visa appointment in the diary.
The honest summary: whether you need private cover depends far more on your immigration route than on your health or your budget. Get that part right and everything else follows.
The system
Spain runs a public system, the Sistema Nacional de Salud, alongside a large private sector. They are separate routes rather than tiers of the same service, and which one you can use is determined by your legal and employment position, not by what you are willing to pay.
Public access is earned, not automatic. It normally comes through paying into Spanish social security as an employee or autónomo, through a family member who contributes, through a reciprocal arrangement such as an S1 for some pensioners, or through the Convenio Especial, a paid scheme available to some residents. None of those is usually in place on the day someone first applies to move.
Private care is mainstream here. Private hospitals and clinics are used routinely rather than exceptionally, and your policy gives you access to a network of them. That surprises arrivals from countries where private medicine is a small parallel market.
Public vs private
This is not really an either/or decision. A large number of foreign residents end up holding private cover alongside eventual public access, for reasons that have little to do with the quality of public medicine.
| Spanish public healthcare | Private cover | |
|---|---|---|
| How you get access | Through social security contributions, a contributing family member, S1 or Convenio Especial | You buy it — can be arranged before you move, subject to acceptance and the policy start date |
| Available on arrival? | Usually not, until your position is established | Yes, and it can be arranged before you move |
| Accepted for visa applications | Only where a public route genuinely applies to you | Commonly the route non-EU applicants use |
| Speed of access | Excellent for serious and emergency care; waits vary for routine specialists | Generally faster for routine specialist appointments and diagnostics |
| Language | Spanish, with English varying by area and practitioner | English-language service and app access more widely available |
| Cost | Funded through contributions | A monthly premium |
The common pattern is private cover first, because it is what the paperwork needs and what you can actually use from day one, then public access later once employment or residency is established — with many people keeping private cover for speed and language.
Your route
This is the question that determines everything else, so it is worth being precise about it before looking at any plan.
| Your situation | Is private cover normally needed? | What it usually has to do |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV) | Yes | Act as your healthcare proof for the application — comprehensive, no-copay cover from a Spanish insurer |
| Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) | Depends on your employment structure | Main proof if you are employed outside Spain; supplementary if you register as autónomo and contribute to social security |
| Student visa | Yes | Cover for the study period, arranged before the appointment |
| Family reunification | Usually | Each family member named individually on the documentation |
| Work visa or employment | Often not, once employed | Public access typically follows social security registration; private is then optional |
| EU or EEA citizen | Sometimes | Registering residence may require it where no public route applies yet |
| Already resident | Optional | Chosen for speed, choice and English-language support rather than required |
Requirements vary by consulate and by route, and they change. Always confirm the current checklist for your own application. What we can do is make sure the policy matches the route you are actually on.
Not sure which route applies to you?
Tell us your nationality, where you are moving to and roughly when. We will confirm which route fits and which Sanitas options are genuinely open to you.
Find My Route →Still not sure which of the two visa plans you need?
The Residents and Residents Platinum comparison covers the differences in full.
Compare Residents vs Platinum →The plans
There is no single expat plan. Sanitas has different products for different legal positions, and using the wrong one is the most common and most expensive mistake we see.
| Situation | Usually considered | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Non-EU visa or residency application | Sanitas Residents or Residents Platinum | Designed for non-EU residency applications, with no-copay structures |
| Studying in Spain | Sanitas International Students | Built for study stays; proof of enrolment is normally needed to contract it |
| EU citizen registering residence | Más Salud, including the no-copay versions | General and EU-residency cover rather than a visa product |
| Already resident, no visa wording needed | Más Salud options | Broader plans with different copay and price structures |
| Over 60 and looking for cover | Sanitas Único | Designed for older applicants, commonly without a health questionnaire |
Plan benefits, limits, waiting periods and acceptance are subject to the current Sanitas policy terms and to underwriting. We confirm what applies to your own case before you commit.
One rule worth remembering: Más Salud is a general and EU-residency product. It is not the non-EU visa product, and it should not be used as one. Residents and Residents Platinum exist for that job.
Residents vs Platinum
For anyone on a non-EU visa route this is usually the real decision. Both are built for residency applications; the difference is how much of your life stays outside Spain.
| Sanitas Residents | Sanitas Residents Platinum | |
|---|---|---|
| Cover in Spain | Full access to the Sanitas medical network | Full access to the Sanitas medical network |
| Emergency cover abroad | Up to €12,000 per insured per year worldwide, with a limit on consecutive days away | Up to €30,000 per insured per year |
| Planned treatment outside Spain | Emergency cover only | Worldwide reimbursement — 90% of eligible costs up to €500,000 per insured per year |
| Dental | Sanitas Dental 21 included | Dental reimbursement — 80% up to €400 per insured per year in Spain |
| Pharmacy | Not included | 50% up to €300 per insured per year |
| Maximum contracting age | Higher — more open to older applicants | Lower — needs checking before applying |
Plan benefits, limits, waiting periods and acceptance are subject to the current Sanitas policy terms and to underwriting. We confirm what applies to your own case before you commit.
In practice: if you are moving to Spain and staying put, Residents is frequently enough. If you travel often for work, keep property abroad, or expect to spend meaningful time back in your home country, Platinum earns its difference.
Weighing up Residents against Platinum?
Send us your age, route and how much time you expect to spend outside Spain. We will tell you which is genuinely open to you and what each would cost.
Compare Residents vs Platinum →Copay
A copayment, copago, is a small fixed amount you pay per consultation or service on top of the premium. A no-copay plan, sin copago, includes those within the premium instead.
For general healthcare, copay plans are often cheaper if you use the service infrequently. For visa and residency purposes the picture is different: no-copay cover is commonly what is expected, because it demonstrates healthcare without additional charges at the point of use.
Waiting periods
Two separate things that get conflated constantly.
Waiting periods are the initial months during which certain benefits are not yet available. They vary by plan and by benefit — emergency care generally is not subject to them, while some surgical, diagnostic and maternity benefits are. Some plans, including the visa-focused ones, are structured to reduce or remove them, and transferring from an existing insurer without a break can sometimes carry your served time across.
Pre-existing conditions are handled by underwriting, not by waiting periods. A health declaration forms part of the application, and outcomes range from acceptance on standard terms, to acceptance with specific exclusions, to a request for further medical information, to a decline. Nobody can tell you the outcome before that assessment happens, and any agent who promises one is not being straight with you.
Cost
There is no single expat price, and any site quoting one is guessing. Premiums are set by Sanitas and depend on a handful of factors.
We do not create special pricing — Sanitas sets the premiums. What we do is make sure you are applying for the plan that actually fits, which is where real money is usually won or lost.
By situation
Most people arrive at this page from one of a handful of positions.
Usually the Non-Lucrative Visa route, so Residents or Platinum. Age matters here — maximum contracting ages differ between plans, so the options narrow as you get older and need checking case by case.
Read more →The Digital Nomad Visa route, where the answer depends on whether you are employed outside Spain or registering as autónomo. Settle that first; it changes which plan makes sense.
Read more →Everyone is assessed and priced individually, and everyone who needs to appear on the paperwork must be named. Start dates need to line up, or the file shows a gap for one person.
Read more →Sanitas International Students is built for study stays and normally requires proof of enrolment. Longer courses and older students are reviewed against other options.
Read more →Public access typically follows social security registration, so private cover often becomes a choice rather than a requirement — held for speed, choice and English-language support.
Read more →No visa route, but registering residence can still require cover where no public route applies yet. Más Salud rather than the visa products.
Read more →Avoid these
Decide
If you want to shortcut all of the above, answer these four in order.
If you can answer those four, we can tell you which Sanitas options are genuinely open to you.
Answered those four?
Send them over and we will come back with the Sanitas options that are genuinely open to you, and what each would cost.
Tell Me Which Sanitas Plan Fits →For the full background before you choose, our complete guide to Spanish health insurance covers the public system, private cover, visas, costs and the buying process in 15 chapters.
Why Sanitas
Sanitas is one of Spain’s largest private insurers and has been part of the Bupa group since 1989. For people arriving from abroad, the practical draw is usually the size of the medical network and how much of it works in English.
Network access, benefits and available services depend on the plan you hold and where you live.
The process
Most people arrive here unsure whether they are ready to buy anything. You do not have to be — the first two steps cost nothing and commit you to nothing.
Very fast and responsive to my requirements. Neil was an excellent communicator who guided me through the process with ease.
Alan B. · Verified Google review
No. There is no additional fee for using our service — our remuneration is paid by Sanitas. We will confirm the exact premium for your circumstances when we prepare your quote.
We help you choose the right plan, explain the differences, assist with the application, help with visa certificates where applicable, and remain your point of contact after your policy starts.
Yes. We are an Official Exclusive Sanitas Agent and work directly with Sanitas.
Yes. We are native English-speaking advisers and handle everything in English, from your first enquiry through to your policy and its renewal.
Yes. Once your policy is active you can use all normal Sanitas services, including the Mi Sanitas app, customer service and your local medical network. We are also here if you need assistance.
Sanitas sets the premiums. We do not create special pricing, but we can help make sure you are applying for the most suitable plan for your circumstances.
Why request a quote from us?
Get a personalised Sanitas quote for your circumstances — in English, with no obligation.
Whether you are applying for a Non-Lucrative Visa, moving to Spain permanently, retiring, studying or working remotely, we will help you compare the right Sanitas options in English.