Does anyone know how to get your Spanish Social Security card if you are a legal resident but don't yet have a job in Spain?

I am a US citizen who recently married a Spaniard and already have my residency/NIE all sorted and in hand. My husband has private medical insurance at work, which has been extended to me, but I was wondering how to get my Social Security card for the public health system. I understand that the public hospitals are actually much better than the private ones because of their facilities and resources, even though the customer service issues (waiting time, etc.) are much worse.

Check out the Seguridad Social web site.

On the left select "Formularios / Modelos"
then
"Solicitudes de afiliación"

then, in the center, select
"Modelo TA.1 - Solicitud de afiliación a la seguridad social, asignación de número de seguridad social y variación de datos en castellano"

and choose the languge (flag) that you prefer (English is not one of them).

Print and fill in the form (if only for the practice).

Then head off to your local Seguridad Social office to sign up for a number (you're not signing up for any particular type of Social Security, just a number).
See Offices - Direcciones y teléfonos and choose a nearby one. They told me that you can got to any office you like.

As usual, when going to any government office, take along your DNI/NIE card and at least 2 recent passport type fotos.

And lots of time to kill!!

Thanks...I really appreciate the help!

Hi,

I'm also a US citizen married to a Spaniard, with a question about social security. Thanks in advance for reading this message -- I realize it's a bit complicated. Here's my situation:

After several years living together here in Seville, my Spanish boyfriend and I just married last month. For the past couple of years, I've had private insurance through Sanitas. I would now like to use the social security system -- especially for things not covered by my private insurance (like dental care). Yesterday, we talked with a lawyer from the Associacion de Mujeres Progresistas here in Seville (a free service in Seville- very helpful) about this and other issues. Much to my dismay, she told us that it will take about **four months** to process my residency (I'm not currently working, so I'd be getting this via my husband's DNI) and that, UNTIL then, I'm not legally entitled to use the system except to go to the emergency room.

But there is something that worries me even more. Apparently, I will need to apply for a new residency card here in Spain every five years for the rest of my life -- unless I'm willing to FORMALLY RENOUNCE my US citizenship in order to become a Spanish national (I love my husband, but to permanently close the door on the land of my birth just seems too risky -- what happens if we end up divorcing ten years from now? Will I have lost the right to go home?). AND, if I ever need to leave the country for six or more months at a time, I will automatically LOSE my residency and have to apply all over again -- with no health insurance or right to work in the meantime.

I can think of a thousand situations in which we could end up spending less than six months of any given year here in Spain. Let's say my husband and I find a way to split our time 61/59 between the US and Spain (this might be possible with his current job). Let's say I am pregnant and have been working in the US for seven consecutive months. Upon my return to Spain, will I not be able to see a doctor except via the emergency room? Will I be unable to work in Seville during the remaining four months of every year, while I wait for my residency to go through?

Can this be right? It just seems so wrong!!

Has anyone else been through these issues? If so, I'd appreciate your comments/ advice.

thanks again,
Laura

Hi Laura --

I am going to try and answer a few of your questions as I have been through what you are going through.

1. Although the lawyer told me that you cannot legally use the public health system until you have your residency, you should be able to use it through your husband´s card. At least that is what I did before my residency was granted. On top of that, the public health system, as far as I understand it, has the obligation to provide services to anyone who needs it (unless the laws have very recently been changed). This is why there is such a problem in large cities such as Madrid... the system has "collapsed" because of the number of illegal immigrants that use the system. Obviously that is not your situation and you should be able to use the services demonstrating that you are married, perhaps even providing your libro de familia the first time you go to your "medico de cabecera".

2. I don´t see the problem with this situation, nor do I think its worrisome. It is designed precisely for the reasons that you further described (in case of divorce, etc). You have to renew your drivers´ license every x number of years. You have to renew your passport every x number of years, what is the problem with your having to renew your right to live in Spain every x number of years if you aren´t a full citizen?

That leads me to my next point, the issue of dual citizenship is sketchy. My husband (spanish citizen) wants me to apply for citizenship and I haven´t for the reasons that you haven´t. Because I am not clear on whether I have to renounce my US citizenship. Many people have told me that in the case of being married, I don´t have to renounce anything. I simply apply and receive the additional citizenship. It´s something that I look into every now and then but don´t see it as a pressing issue. I get just as many benefits as a resident as does a citizen... the only difference that bothers me is that I cannot vote in the national elections (understandably so).

3. Residency precludes that you will be residing most of the time in x country (this case, Spain) during any given year. Therefore it makes perfect sense to have to spend the majority of the time in Spain. I have a Swiss friend who has a US residency. Since she now lives in Switzerland, she has to take a trip back to the States every now and then to maintain her residency.

I suppose it´s a matter of having your cake and eating it too. In some situations, such as residency in foreign countries, this just isn´t possible. I wouldn´t worry about it, just accept it and then cross those meddlesome bridges when you get to them! In the meantime, enjoy your life in Spain!

Regarding possible loss of your US citizenship if you naturalize as a Spanish citizen. Please look at the current information available from the State Department website on this issue:

Hi Chica and ChrisR, thanks for your replies!

Chris, I will check out the web site. Many thanks.

Chica, your comments are interesting. Thank you for taking the time to write all of that down. Just to clarify, the worrisome thing for me about having to apply for residency every 5 years is precisely the *long wait* one has to go through every time, with the consequent inability to work or access social security during this time (except thru emergency room, which as you say is already available to anyone in Spain, married and non-married, resident and non-resident alike). This is quite different from having one's driver's license renewed every few years - something that can easily be mailed-in or walked thru and taken care of in a mere half-hour, without requiring that one actually*stop driving* for several months each time.

In my opinion, marriage is a status that cannot be likened to mere residency-- it implies a very different kind of commitment. When I married a Spaniard, I did not do so merely in order to gain residency in Spain (nor did he do so merely in order to gain residency in the US). Rather, I and my husband made this decision because we love each other would like to spend our lives together and have children, whether that be here or in the US, or a combination of both. In a modern democratic state, we ought to have the right to stay together legally in EITHER of our two countries while we are married, without having to comply with a rigid obligatory residency schedule that would curb that right for one of us, or force him/her make a drastic, life-altering citizenship decision.

In other words, I believe that our being married to each other should not require either of us having to live in the other person's country for a given period of time each year in order to receive the rights of forming part of that country-- because marriage makes you that already, and not in the way that an application for residency does. It makes you a part of your spouse's life and vice-versa. People of the same country who marry acquire a different status and different rights than their single selves had, because marriage legally unites them. For those couples, this is not an issue of residency in any *place*, but of one's personal right to choose how and with *whom one* would like to spend one's time. Of course, people live in places, and that is where residency comes in. But the important thing is the act of marriage itself, a mainstay of any modern state.

You may perceive this as "having your cake and eating it too," but I just don't. To me, international marriages are build upon a lot of give-and-take, and there should be a middle ground here to accomodate that need. Both partners must be willing to leave behind their family, friends and homeland if and when the other one needs it. I and my husband are prepared to make those sacrifices & have basically stated so in the eyes of law and society. So why shouldn't we be able to enjoying the same rights as any other non-international married couple living in Spain/ the US? Why *should* I have to renounce my citizenship --a statement much more permanent in its effects than marriage often is these days-- in order to be treated like any other married person here, who has the right to come and go as she or he pleases without losing their right to work and health care? Of course, I would never except to be able to keep those same rights were we to divorce- but that's another issue.

Obviously, things are the way they are. I'll repeat though: it just seems *wrong* to treat a marriage like a mere residency application!!

more later, and thanks again,
Laura**

Hi Laura --

I hope you didn´t interpret my post as cold or flippant as that wasn´t my intention.

I think we might be misunderstanding each other on something here. You indicated that one must "re-apply" every five years for residency and I used the term "renew". Now, I could be grossly mistaken, but I believe the renewal process is nothing like the application process (I have yet to renew my residency). Nor do I believe that you have to stop working. It´s more of a question of not letting your residency expire and simply renewing it when the time comes. I see it more as a formality and do not, in any way, liken it to the more profound emotional committment of marriage.

I, too, believe in the sanctity of marriage and the idea of getting married for love. However, one must realize that in international relationships, international politics get in the middle of everthing (Folks, please DO NOT start a political debate here! ) and therefore *inconvenient things* such as citizenship and residency also get involved.

I suppose we are looking at this from two different angles. Here in Spain, you aren´t obligated nor forced to change your citizenship.

You, as a resident of Spain, have more rights than your husband, as a legal resident of the USA would have. For example, you will be allowed to vote in local elections. You will have *free* healthcare available to you. Just as you are facing these issue for Spain, your husband will have to face them for the USA.

I fully agree with you that international marriages are built upon a lot of give-and-take and that there should be some room for accomodation. This is something that needs to be brought to the attention of the government. I don´t see this on their list of priorities at the moment (please, I´m not cynical... just realistic). Unfortunately it isn´t something that you or I can change overnight, if ever.

Oh, if only we could solve the world´s problems on this forum!

FYI --

From the State Department´s website:
ChrisR -- This is what I mean by being sketchy. The language used on the State Department´s statement about dual nationality is interesting.

In some countries, citizenship is automatic upon marriage. The way I understand it, in Spain it isn´t. You must apply for it. A person applying for it through marriage has a shorter period of time to wait before they can apply than someone who is applying for it for other reasons. Which is why it isn´t clear to me.

Maybe I am reading too much into this?

Do you have further knowledge on the topic?

Thanks in advance!