You just moved to Madrid, or will be relocating soon to Spain, and have a Spanish job. You are then entitled to the same health care and insurance as all other Spaniards.
One thing is missing though: you do not still have this precious official card which gives you access to the entire Madrid health system, without anyone asking “where do you come from?”.
I will then present all the mandatory steps to get it as quickly as possible:
1. Obtain the official proof of your social security rights – “Documento de Afiliación a la Seguridad social“
To prove you pay social security taxes in Spain, you need to show a proof that you have a social security number. This is called a “Documento de Afiliación a la Seguridad social“. You got this when you first got your social security number.
If you do not have a social security number, read my post about how to get this essential number. And also check if in fact you have the right to health care in Spain. In a nutshell, if you don’t pay for anything in Europe, if you don’t pay any kind of social security tax in Europe, well then you are not entitled to get anything. You get what you pay to sum up !
If you know you have one, but lost this document, you can get a new “Documento de Afiliación”, by going to the closest “Tesorería de la Seguridad Social” – complete list here – and asking for one with your ID.
2. Get the Padrón
Then, you have to obtain un “Certificado de empadronamiento”, nicknamed “Padrón“– it means “local registration” and demostrates that you are living officially in such neighbourhood of Madrid. This will enable them to define to which “centros de salud” or “health centers” you should be asignated to.
To obtain a padrón, follow my step by step guide.
3. Go to your local health centre to have your card delivered
Find where is the nearest “Centro de Salud” or “health center”. This is the typical question you can ask to a neighbour to practice your Spanish, or you can just have a look at this official Madrid site to find your Centro de Salud.
One you know where is your “Centro de Salud” or “ambulatorio” as many call then, go there with:
- Your ID, passport and NIE (Foreigner’s registration- if you have one), originals and photocopies (I was once asked to go and get my own photocopies and lost 1 hour wating in the queue for this…prepare your photocopies before just in case)
- Your “Documento de afiliación a la Seguridad social”, proof of your social security number, originals and photocopies
- Your “Padrón”, proof that you belong to this Centro de Salud.
- Your job contract and last salary, just in case – some ask for it for confirmation.
The administrative people at the Centro de Salud will then give you a paper stating that you are officially entitled to use this Centro de Salud. You will then receive the blue madrid card I showed you at the start of the post by the post.
If you need help to move to Madrid without stress nor time wasted, do not hesitate to contact us for a consultation !
Madridly yours,
Pierre Waters & The Moving2Madrid Team