Spanish SIP card

Tadd:  

The nationality of the spouse, (husband or wife) is not relevant,

If the UK spouse dies first then the surviving spouse is I believe only covered for another 12 months.

Thank you John

Well it seems a case of who answers the telephone at DWP. This week first one ‘’HE’’ said ‘’oh your non EU wife has never been resident in UK’’ so no S1, go away. Told him my non EU wife had UK 2 year settlement visa a few years back, still told no, go away, no Bob Hope.

I thought about this and went on UK GOV immigration website. UK settlement visa is described everywhere as ‘’resident visa’’. So I rang back and spoke to Debra this time. She had not a clue, ‘’I will pass it to my supervisor’’.

How can they not know, or do they just make it up to fob you off?.

Tadd.  This may be useful to quote when you find DWP personnel haven't a clue

http://healthcareinspain.eu/living-in-spain/

extract
UK state pensioners or can register for healthcare in Spain by applying for an S1 (E121) form from the Overseas Healthcare Team (+44) 191 218 1999. Those in receipt of a long-term sickness benefit can apply through the  International Pension Centre (IPC) (+44) 191 218 7777. The form can take up to 28 days to arrive at your Spanish address so it is highly recommendable to apply for it before moving to Spain. If any of your family members need to receive healthcare as your dependent because they may not be entitled to any healthcare cover in Spain in their own right, then they will also need to apply for a separate S1 form as your dependent

Good luck,  John

Thank you John, I will persevere.

Seems like Brian might have gone back to work in Newcastle.

I find this remarkable. I have a neighbour, he is mid 70s, he is definitely non resident. Holiday villa only. Without being registered as resident and no S1 form from DWP he has obtained a Spanish SIP card. He did go and get a Padron from the town hall, which shows they will give them out to anyone! Then he went everywhere possible with his passport and pardon, pleaded he did not understand any Spanish and just made a nuisance of himself until they issued him a SIP card.   

I have been working part time in Spain for an employer since 2014. I will loose my job end of this month due to financial problems of the business. Will I still be able to use my SIP? I am on the Padron and am resident.

Goto Social security and ask for a temp sip card, valid 6 months. take all your docs. Originals only

kim64

Once you have a SIP card then it's yours and never heard of anyone having it withdrawn. After all, you are resident and that doesn't run out so you don't have to do anything.

And if you've been legally employed for 12 months out of the last 6 years and paying social security then you can also claim unemployment benefit.

Not true. You can have your card withdrawn. Even rumours about ex-pats being classed as Third country residents after Brexit. SIP card status still unknown.

Hello Kim, a bit of a long shot but have you thought of asking at the offices of the state insurance authority (Seguridad Social).

compaid

Not true. You can have your card withdrawn. Even rumours about ex-pats being classed as Third country residents after Brexit. SIP card status still unknown.

And  I don't think that's true for someone who has been working and paying social security for the last 14 years. Anyone who was resident before (I think April) 2012 was allowed to retain full access to healthcare and retained their SIP cards regardless of age. It was only when the PP changed the rules in 2012 that EU residents under retirement age had to show access to private healthcare but those already residents didn't have to do that. 

Pointless saying what might happen after the B word as nobody yet knows.

Same as getting a temp SIP card for 6 months which is based on your EHIC as we "might" not have those either.

compaid

Not true. You can have your card withdrawn. Even rumours about ex-pats being classed as Third country residents after Brexit. SIP card status still unknown.

And  I don't think that's true for someone who has been working and paying social security for the last 14 years. Anyone who was resident before (I think April) 2012 was allowed to retain full access to healthcare and retained their SIP cards regardless of age. It was only when the PP changed the rules in 2012 that EU residents under retirement age had to show access to private healthcare but those already residents didn't have to do that. 

Pointless saying what might happen after the B word as nobody yet knows.

Same as getting a temp SIP card for 6 months which is based on your EHIC as we "might" not have those either.

The problem here is that Kim is asking an important question about a vital issue. Amateur guessers with answers including ‘’think, could, maybe, BREXIT, my mate Agnus’’ are not of any great value.

Hi All,

Newbie here. More info on profile. I read the below post by Mariedav with interest. 

Re Post:mariedav 17 May 2019 10:57

''compaid

Not true. You can have your card withdrawn. Even rumours about ex-pats being classed as Third country residents after Brexit. SIP card status still unknown.

And  I don't think that's true for someone who has been working and paying social security for the last 14 years. Anyone who was resident before (I think April) 2012 was allowed to retain full access to healthcare and retained their SIP cards regardless of age. It was only when the PP changed the rules in 2012 that EU residents under retirement age had to show access to private healthcare but those already residents didn't have to do that. 

Pointless saying what might happen after the B word as nobody yet knows.

Same as getting a temp SIP card for 6 months which is based on your EHIC as we "might" not have those either.''

My Specific Situation

I'm considering returning to live in Spain before 31st Dec. 2020. Single Female 54. Scenario for now - I won't be officially working. Lived in Alicante region 2004-2006. Had one official employment contract for a few months.  Was by the book so got NIE, Social Security No., Padron, Residencia, and SIP card. Kept the paperwork. The SIP card has no expiry date and is for Generalitat Valenciana. I appreciate nobody might know the answers to my 2 questions 100% but:

1. I'm wondering if this SIP card will be sufficient for the TIE application form? (which I will review soon).

2. I can't decide whether to live in Alicante province or Murcia province this time. Would this SIP card (if still valid) also be valid in Murcia province? 

All knowledge welcome. Thanks. I will also shortly look into quotes for Private Healthcare just in case!

I doubt it as you have not renewed your padron for a long time. I think 14 years may be pushing it.

From National News Aug 2017

Many expats living in Spain have SIP cards and are entitled to free medical treatment and medicines at
drastically reduced prices. The Spanish medical system is first class and rated as one of the best in the world and
many expats owe their lives to the treatment they have received. There is a direct link between SIP cards, the
padrón and NIE numbers. Central government has now decided that expats who received medical treatment but
whose padrón is out of date will be invoiced for that medical treatment.

Residency also expires if you have been out of Spain for 5 years and the TIE simply replaces residency.

However, as in all things, get legal advice beforehand. 

If it is valid, then the card you had would only have been valid in the Valencian region. They changed the system (and the card) a couple of years so it is now valid in most other Spanish regions. We were told we didn;t have to change to the new red card and our old green ones would be valid outside Valencia but we still have to update our padron every 5 years to keep the SIP card valid.