Working and entitlement to healthcare

Morning Karen,

If your husband is paying - or has paid for him - Autónomo, he will be entitled to a tarjeta de Salud and cover under the Spanish health system.   Autónomo is the Spanish equivalent of National Insurance; after 15 years it gives you a pension, after 6 months of payment you can claim unemployment.

If your husband is employed by someone here on a contrato de empleo, they are obliged to pay Autónomo for him.  The good news is that the new government has promised to crack down on part time contracts which underpay Autónomo.

If he is self-employed, he will be responsible for payment of Autónomo himself.  In either case he will require a Social Security number, obtained from the TGSS office in Huércal-Overa, then either an offer of employment or proof of self-employment which will allow him to obtain Residencia.  Once he has Residencia, he can obtain the all important Tarjeta de Salud.

He will be able to get a social security number on his passport, but it is only “valid” for three months.  Within that period he MUST obtain Residencia then return to TGSS and have passport number swapped for NIE.

Many thanks Dario.  He will continue to be self employed, working from home and travelling back to UK once a month.  This information is extremely useful, thank you. Karen 

Glad to be of service.  Two bits of advice - engage a good Asesora to guide you through paperwork of both Residencia and setting up a business / paying Autónomo.  A good one is worth their weight in gold and will tell you that a self-employed person starting to pay Autónomo can apply for a business development grant of 2.600€ from Junta de Andalucia.  This is not a loan - it’s a start-up grant; I can give more info on that if needed.

Secondly, whilst there is no issue going to TGSS and getting a Social Security number yourself - it’s a quick process - but either take a Spanish speaker with you or have sufficient Spanish yourself to be understood.  There is only one person there that can speak English, and that person has been known to tell non Spanish speakers to “go away and come back when you can speak Spanish”. Aye, bigotry I know .... but be prepared.  The rest of the staff are absolutely lovely and will bend over backwards to help - it’s just this one person, if you catch them on a bad day.

Starting a business and registering for Autónomo, once you have Residencia is a bit of a bureaucratic nightmare, but once you have been to the various places, registered, had the right pieces of paper stamped an issued, it’s pretty plain sailing thereafter (I went self-employed in November after being on a contrato de empleo with another place, so everything I tell you is drawn from my experience)

I cannot underscore enough though the importance of getting an Asesora to assist not just with Residencia, but registering as Autónomo and getting the subvención (grant)

Fabulous.  Thanks for the ‘Heads Up’ re the TGSS!  There’s always one!  We start Spanish lessons next week but I doubt we will be near the standard expected by that time (although my hubby lived in Spain for a while as a young man and has a good ear for the language).  Me on the other hand ..... I can but try!  Is there anyone in particular you could recommend to help us with the language barrier?  Many many thanks for your advice so far.  It is very much appreciated.  Karen

I would say when you get here find a translator - Traductor - you like and feel comfortable with.  A translator should cost around 5€ an hour or thereabouts.

Then settle in to finding a REALLY good Asesora - not just a Gestor, who is kind of a facilitator, but an Asesora - an “advisor” who generally takes on Tax and financial matters.  You’ll need one if your running your own business and it makes sense to get someone who can help you with EVERYTHING (experience speaking here again)

I have an absolutely fantastic Asesora who has taken us on as clients, BUT ... 1) she is in Vera and 2) speaks no English whatsoever

Are you actually settling in Arboleas? If so I can ask her for a recommendation of someone there

Hi Dario  We are looking at Arboleas and Huercal-Overa.  We would, I’m sure, need someone who speaks English.  We have our first Spanish lesson tonight so I doubt we will be able to do it by ourselves ... lol! 
Kind regards and many thanks.  Karen & Phil

Ok then - anyone following this thread can recommend a GOOD Asesora in Arboleas / Huércal-Overa?  I know Juan Rubio in HO speaks reasonable English - but I also know he can get pretty snowed under and can take aaaaaaages to respond to emails etc