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GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE 'CONVENIO ESPECIAL' FOR THOSE WITH HEALTHCARE CONCERNS
Super helpful member
Following work by the British Ambassador, the Consul and the healthcare team, applications for the Convenio Especial are now open once again in the Andalucía region of Spain. The scheme was put on hold in the region in July last year which affected the ability of some UK nationals to register as a resident, as they needed to be on the scheme in order to meet the healthcare requirements.
If you live in Almeria, please see details from this link to a letter from the Embassy:
https://www.ecreu.com/pdfs/embassy-health-letter-july-19.pdf
The Embassy does advise that the letter only applies to Andalucía. The
Convenio Especial should be functioning as normal in all other
autonomous communities in Spain.
Dear Partners,
You may be aware
that the Servicio Andaluz de Salud has recently changed its policy
regarding the application of the Convenio Especial in the region. We
understand this has been an important issue for UK nationals in the
region, in particular for residents who are early-retirees, and for
those who are in the process of trying to complete their residency
paperwork. With that in mind, we thought you might find it useful to
receive some information about the current situation regarding the
Convenio Especial in Andalusia.
Background information:
• The
Convenio Especial was put on hold in July 2018, after Andalusia began
implementing the new Royal Decree-Law for Universal Healthcare. Those
who were paying into the Convenio Especial were transferred over to the
Universal Healthcare system, and applications for the Convenio Especial
were closed.
• The Convenio Especial is a key way to access
healthcare, particularly for the early retiree group who aren’t working,
but aren’t yet claiming a state pension either. You can be accepted on
the scheme if you have pre-existing conditions, so if you can’t get
private health insurance because of your medical history then this is a
good option for you.
• The Convenio Especial can also be used as proof of access to healthcare for the purposes of residency applications.
• Prescription costs are not subsidised on this scheme, they are charged at 100%.
• To be eligible to apply you need to have lived in Spain for a minimum
of one year (and be able to prove this – see our blog for further
details) and currently registered on the padrón.
Current situation (July 2019):
The Servicio Andaluz de Salud has confirmed that applications for the Convenio Especial in Andalusia are now open.
For more details about eligibility requirements and the application
process, we have written and published a blog on our healthcare website
which gives clear and detailed information for UK nationals who wish to
apply for the scheme. Any UK national who encounters difficulties in
applying for the Convenio Especial can contact our Healthcare Team (part
of the UK Department of Health and Social Care) based in the British
Embassy, Madrid:
[email protected]
placing ‘PLEASE CONTACT ME’
in the subject line.
Should you have any further
queries relating to the Convenio Especial, or any other healthcare
related queries, please do not hesitate to contact us using the contact
details above.
We hope you find this information useful
Yours sincerely,
Alexis Aguilera, DHSC/DWP International Teams, Spain & Portugal
