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British state pensioners resident in Spain are entitled to an EHIC which will provide basic medical care if you travel to another EEA country (EU countries plus Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Iceland). It will not cover you for trips to the UK – even if you paid National Insurance (NI) contributions in the UK for 40 years!
The EHIC will shortly be renamed Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC), but an EHIC will remain valid until it expires, when you will be able to apply for a GHIC. Paul Whitelock has the details.
How do you get an EHIC?
If you fall into one of the categories below, you are eligible for an EHIC.
You can apply if you’re:
- a UK State Pensioner or receiving some other exportable benefits, and you have a registered S1 form or E121
- a frontier worker (someone who works in one state and lives in another) by 31 December 2020, for as long as you continue to be a frontier worker in the host state, and you’re eligible for an S1 form or E106
- a worker posted to work in another EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland by your UK employer, where the country has agreed to let the posting continue
- an eligible family member or dependant of one of the above
- a UK student studying in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland by 31 December 2020
Bizarrely you have to apply to the NHS in the UK, even though we are leaving the EU on 31 December 2020. You can do this online – see below.
I completed the application online a few weeks ago and received my card in the post yesterday. It is free of charge. Don’t be tempted to use a website offering to do it for you. You will have to pay for their services.
Here’s the link: https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/healthcare-abroad/apply-for-a-free-ehic-european-health-insurance-card/
