In short
All 21 Spanish consulate pages I've read ask for the same minimum: an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, and cover matching the Spanish public health system. Beyond that, it depends on the consulate. For the non-lucrative visa, the English pages of Los Angeles, New York and Miami rule out co-payments, and so do Bogotá and Buenos Aires. London and Mexico City don't mention them.
I'm Tomás Schwaighofer, an exclusive Sanitas insurance agent in Mallorca. To build this checker, on 22 October 2026 I read the non-lucrative, student and digital nomad visa pages of seven Spanish consulates: London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Bogotá, Buenos Aires and Mexico City. The next day I read the English pages of Los Angeles, New York, Miami and London too, because on several points they ask for more than the same consulate's page in Spanish.
Pick your visa and your consulate, then answer a few questions about your policy. The result goes through it point by point: what meets the page, what doesn't and what you still need to check, with a link to the page and, wherever something fails, the exact wording that asks for it. Your answers about your policy never leave your browser. It's guidance, not a ruling: the consulate decides.
I only sell Sanitas. The checker compares your policy with the consulate's page, whoever your insurer is.
Checker
Your answers about your policy never leave this browser.
First, your visa and your consulate
Which visa are you applying for?
What does Spanish law require for each visa?
It depends on the visa. For the non-lucrative visa, the immigration regulation only says you must have health insurance. For the student visa, it adds an insurer authorised in Spain, cover similar to the public system's and cover for your whole stay. For the digital nomad visa, the law asks for an insurer authorised to operate in Spain.
| Visa | Law | What it says about insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Non-lucrative | Royal Decree 1155/2024, article 61.2.b | «Contar con un seguro de enfermedad» (have health insurance) |
| Student | Royal Decree 1155/2024, article 35.i | Insurance from an insurer «autorizada para operar en España», with cover similar to the Spanish National Health System's basic services, valid for the whole planned stay |
| Digital nomad | Law 14/2013, article 62.3.e | Public insurance or private health insurance with an insurer «autorizada para operar en España» |
Everything else (co-payments, waiting periods, how long the cover runs, who signs the certificate) is added by each consulate on its own page. That's why the checker asks for your consulate: the same policy can pass in London and fail in Bogotá.
What does each consulate ask for?
All seven pages for each visa ask for an insurer authorised to operate in Spain and cover matching the Spanish public system. After that they split, and four consulates have two pages to read: Los Angeles, New York, Miami and London publish an English page that asks for more than their page in Spanish.
For the non-lucrative visa, Los Angeles asks for cover «with no deductible, no copayment, no waiting period or coverage limit», valid for one year. Miami's English page rules out any «deficiency, copayment, or coverage limit», and since «deficiency» could mean a waiting period or a deductible, the checker counts both. New York asks for «Unlimited coverage with no co-payment (or deductible)». Bogotá and Buenos Aires rule out co-payments and waiting periods on their Spanish pages. London and Mexico City mention neither, and London accepts a registered S1 form instead of private insurance.
Bogotá is the most detailed: it also rules out reimbursement, deductibles, caps on cover, travel insurance and policies marked «renovación automática» (automatic renewal), and wants cover for the twelve months after your travel date.
The student visa splits differently. Los Angeles, New York and London rule out co-payments on their English pages, and London also reimbursement and waiting periods. New York and London accept a policy with a cap, as long as the limit is at least €30,000, and London accepts the UK GHIC instead of insurance. Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Mexico City want cover from a month before your course starts until 15 days after it ends. Mexico City, which asks for none of this for the non-lucrative visa, requires no co-payments, waiting periods or deductibles for students.
For the digital nomad visa, all seven Spanish pages say the same thing, and give two ways round private insurance: being registered with Spanish Social Security, or a certificate of coverage under a social security agreement between your country and Spain. Miami's English page adds no deductible, no co-payment, no coverage limit and no travel insurance, and London's accepts a registered S1 form.
Non-lucrative visa
| Requirement | Required by | Not mentioned by |
|---|---|---|
| Insurer authorised to operate in Spain | All seven | None |
| Full cover, like the Spanish public system | All seven | None |
| Not travel or bank-card insurance | Los Angeles, Miami and Bogotá | London, New York, Buenos Aires and Mexico City |
| No cap on medical costs | Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Bogotá and Buenos Aires | London and Mexico City |
| No co-payments | Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Bogotá and Buenos Aires | London and Mexico City |
| No deductible (excess) | Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Bogotá | London, Buenos Aires and Mexico City |
| No waiting periods | Los Angeles, Miami, Bogotá and Buenos Aires | London, New York and Mexico City |
| No reimbursement: the insurer pays | Bogotá | London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Buenos Aires and Mexico City |
| Covers the period required | Los Angeles, Miami, Bogotá and Buenos Aires | London, New York and Mexico City |
| No “renewal” wording | Bogotá | London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Buenos Aires and Mexico City |
| Certificate from the insurer itself | Bogotá | London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Buenos Aires and Mexico City |
| Certificate in Spanish | All seven (with a nuance) | None |
| Repatriation | None | All seven |
Non-lucrative visa pages, read on 22 October 2026: London · Los Angeles · New York · Miami · Bogotá · Buenos Aires · Mexico City
The same consulates' pages in English, read on 23 October 2026: London · Los Angeles · New York · Miami
Student visa
| Requirement | Required by | Not mentioned by |
|---|---|---|
| Insurer authorised to operate in Spain | All seven | None |
| Full cover, like the Spanish public system | All seven | None |
| Not travel or bank-card insurance | London, Los Angeles, Bogotá and Buenos Aires | New York, Miami and Mexico City |
| No cap on medical costs | Los Angeles, Bogotá, Buenos Aires and Mexico City; London and New York (with a nuance) | Miami |
| No co-payments | London, Los Angeles, New York, Bogotá, Buenos Aires and Mexico City | Miami |
| No deductible (excess) | Los Angeles, New York, Bogotá and Mexico City | London, Miami and Buenos Aires |
| No waiting periods | London, Los Angeles, Bogotá, Buenos Aires and Mexico City | New York and Miami |
| No reimbursement: the insurer pays | London and Bogotá | Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Buenos Aires and Mexico City |
| Covers the period required | London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Bogotá and Buenos Aires; Mexico City (with a nuance) | None |
| No “renewal” wording | Bogotá | London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Buenos Aires and Mexico City |
| Certificate from the insurer itself | Bogotá | London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Buenos Aires and Mexico City |
| Certificate in Spanish | All seven (with a nuance) | None |
| Repatriation | None | All seven |
Student visa pages, read on 22 October 2026: London · Los Angeles · New York · Miami · Bogotá · Buenos Aires · Mexico City
The same consulates' pages in English, read on 23 October 2026: London · Los Angeles · New York
Digital nomad visa
| Requirement | Required by | Not mentioned by |
|---|---|---|
| Insurer authorised to operate in Spain | All seven | None |
| Full cover, like the Spanish public system | All seven | None |
| Not travel or bank-card insurance | Miami | London, Los Angeles, New York, Bogotá, Buenos Aires and Mexico City |
| No cap on medical costs | Miami | London, Los Angeles, New York, Bogotá, Buenos Aires and Mexico City |
| No co-payments | Miami | London, Los Angeles, New York, Bogotá, Buenos Aires and Mexico City |
| No deductible (excess) | Miami | London, Los Angeles, New York, Bogotá, Buenos Aires and Mexico City |
| Certificate in Spanish | Buenos Aires (with a nuance) | London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Bogotá and Mexico City |
| Repatriation | None | All seven |
Digital nomad visa pages, read on 22 October 2026: London · Los Angeles · New York · Miami · Bogotá · Buenos Aires · Mexico City
The same consulates' pages in English, read on 23 October 2026: London · Miami
On the non-lucrative and student pages, the language point works the same way everywhere: they don't reject a certificate in English, but they want a translation with it. The Spanish pages show no last-updated date, and they change without notice. What counts is your consulate's page on the day of your appointment.
If your current policy meets your own consulate's page, you don't need to change it to meet another's. If you're buying a new one, a policy with no co-payments and no waiting periods also meets the pages that don't ask for that. The reverse isn't true.
How do I check my insurer is authorised in Spain?
Look it up on the public register of insurers kept by Spain's insurance regulator, the DGSFP, at rrpp.dgsfp.mineco.es. It's the link the Bogotá page gives. If your insurer isn't there, the policy fails a requirement that all 21 pages share, however good the cover is.
Search by the company name on your policy documents, which isn't always the brand you bought from. Spanish insurers have a code starting with C, M or P. Insurers from other European Economic Area countries that operate in Spain appear with E, if they have a branch here, or L, if they sell into Spain under freedom of services.
The consulate pages don't distinguish between them. If yours is listed with an E or L code and you're unsure, ask the consulate before your appointment.
Does my international health insurance qualify?
It does if the insurer is on the DGSFP register and the policy meets what your consulate's page asks for. With an international plan, check three things in particular: how it pays bills (Bogotá doesn't accept reimbursement), whether it has a deductible or a cap on cover, and what language the certificate is in.
A US plan or a UK private policy only meets the first requirement if the company is authorised to operate in Spain.
On travel insurance, the answer is shorter. The Bogotá page says it plainly: «No se admiten seguros de viaje o bancarios» (travel or bank-card insurance is not accepted). For students, Buenos Aires rules out «los seguros de viajero ni asociados a tarjetas de crédito», and the English pages of Los Angeles and London rule it out too. For the non-lucrative visa, so do the English pages of Los Angeles and Miami, and Miami's digital nomad page does as well. The other pages don't name it, but they all want cover for everything the Spanish public system covers, and travel insurance is built for emergencies on a trip.
What should the insurance certificate say?
It has to come from the insurer itself and, if it isn't in Spanish, go with a translation: all 14 non-lucrative and student pages ask for every foreign document to be translated, and legalised or apostilled. Bogotá doesn't accept insurance proposals or certificates from intermediaries or agents, and rejects policies marked «renovación automática».
For students, Bogotá wants the certificate to show the policy number and particular conditions, with a digital signature and verification code.
My practical advice: make sure the certificate states in writing what your consulate's page asks for, such as no co-payments, no waiting periods and the exact dates. At the desk, the official only sees the paper. With Sanitas Residents for visas, Sanitas itself, as the insurer, emails the certificate to the policyholder as soon as the policy starts.
Does the policy need repatriation cover?
Not on the pages I've read. None of the 21 (non-lucrative, student and digital nomad, in London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Bogotá, Buenos Aires and Mexico City) asks for it, and Miami's English page says so in writing: «it is not necessary to cover repatriations and/or evacuations». If someone tells you it's required, check whether your consulate's page says so.
Sanitas Residents for visas includes it anyway, along with no co-payments and no waiting periods.
What if my consulate isn't on the list?
Choose «Another consulate» in the checker. It tells you what the law requires for your visa and, point by point, what the strictest pages I've read ask for. Then open your own consulate's page on exteriores.gob.es, under visas, and look for the same conditions, on the English page too if it has one. I haven't read Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, Edinburgh or Manchester yet.
If you spot a difference from what I describe here, message me and I'll update the checker with the date of the change.
Your next step
If the checker marked anything «Doesn't meet it» or «Check this», you have two options: ask your insurer to fix it (a translated certificate, or one without the word «renovación»), or switch policy.
For the second, there's Sanitas Residents for visas: no co-payments, no waiting periods, repatriation included. Living in Madrid, it costs €117.98 a month at 40 and €217.71 at 62, and the price changes by province. The non-lucrative visa insurance guide explains how the policy works. To see the price for your ages, answer a few questions, or message me on WhatsApp.