Non-Lucrative Visa Health Insurance 2026: What Consulates Require

For the non-lucrative visa you need a health policy from an insurer authorized to operate in Spain that covers what the Spanish public system covers, with no copayment, deductible, waiting period or coverage limit. The regulation itself only says you need “un seguro de enfermedad” (RD 1155/2024, art. 61.2.b). The detailed standard comes from each consulate, and it is stricter than most travel or expat plans.

What the regulation says and what consulates add

The immigration regulation sets the requirement in one line. You must have health insurance when you apply (art. 61.2.b), and you must have kept it, and still have it, when you renew (art. 64.2.c). It says nothing about copayments or limits.

Those come from the consulates, which check the file. Three of them, read for this guide:

Consulate	What the page says about insurance
Los Angeles (updated 11 February 2026)	Public or private insurance with an entity authorized in Spain. Valid for 1 year, covering all beneficiaries for the risks the public system covers, “with no deductible, no copayment, no waiting period or coverage limit.” Must cover 100% of medical, hospital and out-of-hospital expenses. Travel insurance with medical assistance is not accepted.
New York	Certificate of public or private insurance with an authorized entity. Must cover all risks insured by the public system. “Unlimited coverage with no co-payment (or deductible).” Original and copy.
London (page dated 6 July 2026)	Original and copy of the certificate, from an authorized entity, covering all risks insured by the public system. A receipt of S1 form registration on the Social Security website is also accepted.

The London page does not list the no-copay wording that the two US pages do. That does not make a weaker policy safe. Use the standard of the stricter consulate unless yours says otherwise in writing.

What the policy and certificate have to show

Putting the three pages together, the file should make these points clear:

1. Authorized insurer. The company must be authorized to operate in Spain. The Washington consulate, on its digital nomad page, points to the Spanish insurance regulator’s register at rrpp.dgsfp.mineco.es for checking.
2. Covers the public system’s risks. All of them, not a list of selected treatments.
3. No copayment, deductible, waiting period or cap. Los Angeles lists all four.
4. Covers 100% of medical, hospital and out-of-hospital costs.
5. Duration. At least one year, which matches the first permit, and it must cover every family member on the application.

Two things the consulate pages do not settle. The Los Angeles page does not say the certificate must be in Spanish. Ask the consulate and your insurer before you pay for a policy. The pages also do not say whether you may pay monthly or must pay the full year up front.

The pages ask for a certificate from the insurer and say travel insurance is not accepted, so plan for a certificate that states the points above.

Renewal

Renewal happens at the immigration office in Spain, not the consulate. You apply in the two months before the permit expires (art. 64.1). Insurance is one of the listed conditions: you must have kept health insurance during the permit and continue to have it (art. 64.2.c), and the file must include proof of it for the renewal period (art. 64.3.b). The renewed permit lasts two years (art. 64.7).

The regulation sets no copayment or waiting-period rule for renewal. Check with your immigration office what proof it expects. Plan for a policy that runs across the full two years or renews without a gap. The other renewal conditions, including more than 183 days in Spain a year, are in the non-lucrative visa guide.

Convenio especial as a later option

Spain has a public-system scheme for people who have no other access to it: the convenio especial de prestación de asistencia sanitaria, created by Real Decreto 576/2013. The Ministry of Health describes it as for economically inactive foreign nationals. The conditions it lists:

• At least one year of continuous effective residence in Spain immediately before applying.
• Registration at a Spanish town hall at the time of applying (see empadronamiento).
• No access to public health protection by any other route.

The monthly fee is €60 if you are under 65 and €157 if you are 65 or older. You apply to the regional health service where you are registered.

The year of residence means this cannot replace a private policy for the first visa. Whether an immigration office accepts it as insurance at renewal is not stated in the regulation or on the consulate pages, so ask before you cancel a private policy. For general coverage questions, see healthcare in Spain for expats.

If you are in the UK system

The London page adds a route that the US pages do not mention. A receipt showing registration of the S1 form on the Spanish Social Security website is accepted as health insurance for the non-lucrative visa. The S1 form itself comes from the UK side and depends on your pension or other entitlement, and the consulate page does not explain who qualifies. If you think it may apply to you, check with the UK authority that would issue it and with the London consulate before you buy a private policy.

Mistakes that get files returned

• Buying a policy before reading your own consulate’s list.
• A policy with a copayment, a waiting period or a cap.
• Covering only the main applicant when family members apply too.
• Travel insurance, even with medical assistance (Los Angeles rejects it explicitly).
• A policy shorter than one year.

This guide does not rank or recommend insurers. The consulate looks at what the certificate states, not at the brand.