Digital Nomad Visa Insurance Spain: Why Travel Insurance Isn't Enough

Because travel insurance — including Schengen travel insurance — only covers emergencies and limited temporary assistance, and that fails to meet, from the ground up, what Immigration requires for any residency: a complete health policy, equivalent to the public healthcare system's service portfolio, taken out with an insurer authorized to operate in Spain, and, in addition, with no copays and no waiting periods. At the office we see this often with digital nomad or labor roots (arraigo laboral) profiles: organized people who already paid for a good annual travel policy and assume it will work. It's one of the most common reasons for rejection, and the worst part is when you find out: months later, after paying the fees, with a negative decision. The only situation where Schengen travel insurance is the right document is a tourist stay of under 90 days. To work, work remotely, or reside in Spain, you need a health policy like this one.

Before submitting anything, check these six points, which — with small variations by country — are what every consulate and Immigration office reviews: the insurer must be authorized to operate in Spain, coverage must be complete across the whole national territory, no copays, no waiting periods, repatriation included, and the annual premium paid in advance. If your current policy fails on any of these, the application can fall through. There's a seventh detail many people overlook: it's not enough to meet them, the certificate must say so explicitly, with the exact wording 'no copays and no waiting periods' that officials look for when reviewing. This policy meets all six points and its official certificate lists them one by one, along with the receipt for the annual premium paid and the policy conditions. And if your consulate has a specific requirement — some ask for the certificate in English — we check it against the official list with you before issuing it.

Almost certainly yes: the certificate is issued within 24 hours of taking out the policy, guaranteed, and in practice it's often even faster — Antonio, one of our clients, mentions in his Google review that we sent it to him on the spot while he was on the phone with the office. You receive it by email as a PDF signed by Sanitas, with every statement your consulate or Immigration office requires: complete coverage, no copays, no waiting periods, and repatriation included. Along with it comes the receipt for the annual premium paid, which most consulates require as proof of first-year coverage. If your consulate wants it on paper or in English, we handle that too; we issue it in both languages. One piece of office advice for tight appointment dates: check the certificate's details as soon as you receive it, because any typo is corrected and reissued immediately, but it's better to catch it with time to spare.

Plan to pay the full annual premium in one go: the first year cannot be paid in installments, because almost every consulate and Immigration office requires proof of the annual premium paid in advance as part of the initial application. This isn't a Sanitas commercial condition, it's a requirement of the procedure itself — they want to see the full twelve months of coverage guaranteed — and the receipt for that annual premium is part of the documentation we hand over along with the official certificate. To do the math, the reference price from €67.76 a month gives you a base to calculate the initial annual amount that applies to you. The good news comes at renewal: if your specific procedure no longer requires the annual premium paid upfront — for example, because you already have your TIE and are just maintaining coverage — you can switch to installment payments. At the office we lay out the full payment schedule before you sign, so there are no surprises in your moving budget.

Not necessarily: if your visa is denied and the policy hasn't taken effect yet, we handle the cancellation and premium refund according to Sanitas's conditions, and we deal with the insurer directly on that process. It's a very reasonable question when you've just paid a full annual premium upfront for an application outcome that isn't up to you, and it's also where the difference between working with a physical office versus an online comparison site really shows: if the application goes wrong, you have a real person who helps you through the cancellation, reviews what went wrong, and, if you decide to reapply, issues a new certificate within 24 hours. Either way, our work runs in the opposite direction: we go through the consulate's checklist with you before issuing anything, precisely so the application is approved the first time.

The rule set by Immigration is one policy per person: each family member being reunited must show their own insurance meeting the same requirements as the main applicant — complete coverage, no copays, no waiting periods, and repatriation included — so a single generic 'family' policy won't work. What you can do, and what we do at the office, is arrange the whole family under the same contract: the multi-insured discount of 5-8% from the rate schedule applies depending on the number of people, and an individual official certificate is issued for each family member in the application, each one within 24 hours, guaranteed. There's an added benefit that pays off years later: by taking out the policies together, all renewal dates stay aligned, so we only need to notify you once before renewing each person's NIE or TIE. Bring us the name, date of birth, and passport for each family member and we'll prepare a joint quote with the certificates ready.

It meets the requirements for several types of application at once, not just one: non-lucrative residency visa, Type D study visa and permit, social, labor and family roots (arraigo social, laboral y familiar), digital nomad and remote work visa, and family reunification and Golden Visa. This is useful because many people aren't sure exactly which legal category fits their situation — for example, someone working remotely for a foreign company may be unsure whether they fall under digital nomad status or labor roots, depending on how long they've been in Spain — and the policy meets the same minimum Immigration requirements (no copays, no waiting periods, complete coverage) in every case on the list. If your specific procedure isn't named exactly this way, or if you're unsure which legal category applies to you, tell us your situation at the office: we'll review the exact requirements for your application with you before you submit the documentation to Immigration.

The policy covers the entire Spanish territory, not just the province where you submitted your application or where your employer is based, with 24-hour emergency care and hospitalization with no limit on days, wherever in Spain you happen to be. This has an important practical implication for digital nomads or labor roots profiles: if your job lets you change cities, move for a new contract, or live in different provinces for periods of time, you don't need to notify the insurer or take out anything additional — coverage stays the same anywhere in Spain. The only thing that changes, as with all Sanitas health policies, is the pricing zone used to calculate your premium based on your declared postal code of residence, but that affects the price only, never the actual coverage you receive if you need to use the insurance.

Yes. The policy renews annually, and every time you renew your NIE or TIE you need to submit an updated certificate proving the insurance is still in force on the date of your appointment — the original certificate from when you first applied for your visa isn't enough. This is something many people discover too late, once they already have their renewal appointment set and the certificate they kept has expired. To prevent that, the office tracks when each policy is due and gives advance notice before it expires, so the insurance renewal is completed and the new certificate is ready before your Immigration appointment arrives. If you have a NIE/TIE renewal appointment already set and you're not sure whether your insurance is still valid, contact the office and we'll check it with you.

From €67.76/month, with the full annual premium that most consulates and Immigration offices require for this type of procedure. The exact price that applies to you depends on three factors: your age, your declared postal code of residence in Spain, and the number of people included in your application — relevant if you're processing a family reunification and need to insure your partner or children under the same approved policy as well. Each reunited family member needs their own insurance meeting these same requirements, though they can benefit from the discount based on number of insured people if taken out together. The calculator on this page gives you your exact figure without asking for any personal data and with no obligation, so you can run the numbers before deciding to take out the policy or comparing it with other options.