What Brits in Spain need to know about the GHIC health card

Find out all about the UK's Global Health Insurance Card, when and where you can use it in Spain and specifically what for.

GHIC stands for UK Global Health Insurance Card, it enables those who are usually resident in the UK to get necessary healthcare in the European Economic Area, including Spain.

This is not be confused with the EHIC which is the European Health Insurance Card for citizens or residents in the EU. If you have residence in Spain and are covered for public health here, you can apply for this instead and use this when you travel to other countries participating in the scheme.

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Who is GHIC for?

It’s designed to be used for UK nationals on holiday or who are temporarily in Spain.

It could also be used during your first three months of living in Spain before you get issued residency permit or visa such as before you apply for the digital nomad visa.

It cannot be used if you live here full time and have residency. In this case you will either have access to the public healthcare system if you pay into the social security regime or you will have to get private health insurance.

What type of healthcare does the card cover?

It's important to remember that it is not a replacement for travel insurance and the UK government still recommends that you don’t travel without some type of health insurance. This is because the card does not cover:

Repatriation or flights back to the UK for treatment
Treatment in a private medical facility
Ski or mountain rescue

It’s also not designed to be used for regular visits to the doctor for minor health complaints like a GP appointment. It should instead be used for emergency healthcare.

It specifically covers:

Emergency treatment and visits to the emergency room
Treatment for routine medical care for long-term or pre-existing medical conditions
Routine maternity care, but not if you're deliberately coming to Spain to give birth

If you do need treatment for ongoing pre-existing conditions such as kidney dialysis for example, you will have to organise this in advance of your trip, you can’t just turn up to a hospital in Spain and expect to be treated.

The same applies for maternity care, unless you feel like there’s a problem, in which case you can go to the emergency room.

How to apply for the card

A UK GHIC can be applied for through the NHS website and every member of your family needs their own card.

It is completely free if applied for through the official channel and lasts for up to 5 years.

According to the website, you must include the following data:

full name
address
date of birth
National Insurance number
Health and Care number (if you're from Northern Ireland)

After you've submitted your application, you will be e-mailed within 24 hours to say whether it has been approved or not. Once it has been approved, you will receive your card in the post within 15 working days.

If your card has expired, you can apply for a new card up to nine months before your current card runs out.

If you are already in Spain and you need emergency treatment, but haven’t applied for your GHIC card or forgot it, you can request a Provisional Replacement Certificate or PRC from the Overseas Healthcare Team. You or the hospital can request one by emailing: [email protected]

Remember, when getting treated you will need to show your card along with your passport.

How to claim a refund if you’ve been charged incorrectly

If you have been charged for treatment in Spain even though you have GHIC or PRC, the NHS says that you should ask for a copy of your invoice and make sure you get a receipt.

To claim a refund for healthcare that is supposed to be covered, you can download the form here and send it to NHS Overseas Healthcare Services. You need to attach your receipts and any other necessary documents from the hospital.

You may need to include information such as: