Has anybody recently applied for a health card in Spain ? I´m just doing it for the first time and thought I had all my documents in order . My passport , my NIE number , my certificate of residency AND my certificate of enpadronamiento .. But they tell me I ALSO have to go to another municipal office for a " Documento de afiliacion a la seguridad social " ... I´ll be going to the office today , but nobody has mentioned this document before .

Ok I went to the social security office near the Plaza de Toros and got my form .. Aaaaaargh ... Now just got to work on what I have to fill in and what I don´t have to fill in ! Back to the Centro de Salud tomorrow ... another waiting queue !
On the upside .. I´m promised my beautiful , expensive , black velvet jacket " lost " by the dry cleaner has been found .. 6 pm today i´ll find out for sure .
And despite a frustrating first half of the day , I had a big smile on my face when a lady I was chatting to in Opencor ( a supermarket ) said it made her happy to hear a not native Spanish speaker speaking Spanish so well !

Welcome to the bureaucracy

It's not just Spain! If you are a Spanish National, w/Spanish Passport, permanent resident of the U.S., and you want to go back to Spain for a visit, you may have to get a 'Tax Clearance' from the IRS or the Social Security Administration. And either of those Organizations can be a Bureaucratic nightmare.

My (late) Mother-in law had to do that when she was living with us in the U.S.

well I got my social security number .. and they were suprisingly helpful , quick and efficient . Then I walked to the Centro de Salud and had a meeting with a woman who really had no interest in talking to a foreigner even though I was speaking in Spanish .
She first told me I needed a copy of the contract for my apartment and I protested , shoving a piece of paper under her nose from her colleague telling me I just needed the passport , NIE number , social security number and certificate of enpadronamiento . She made a phone call and eventually agreed .
It took a good 15 minutes for her to record all my details and print out , literally , about 12 documents for me to sign . Which I did , and she stamped .
But the forms requested an approximation of income available .. I told her I wasn´t working yet but that I had money in the bank and she seemed to suggest I should just indicate some idea of money I had ( I did but underestimated it ) .. I´m sure this can´t be right !
She then said something about the fact that I would either receive the Tarjeta Sanitaria through the post or a letter of refusal .
On getting home I see she got my name wrong : Peter Robinson Steven , instead of Steven Peter Robinson .
What a disaster ... I need to go back with a fluent Spanish speaker to maybe slap her around the face a bit ( metaphorically ) and work out what´s going on .
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Also Steve, while I'm not sure in your case, there's a good chance your actual card will appear/be correct. They (probably) have you registered as "Peter Robinson, Steven" (with the comma) so your card may well turn out to show "Steven Peter Robinson".

But prepare yourself when they call your name the first time while you're waiting your turn to see your doctor because they'll likely call you as "Peter Steven". This is what they do to me, call me by my middle name first and then my first name - because they assume my middle name to be my first last name.

Saludos, MadridMan

Thanks MM for the info . Though the woman seemed to think there was a good chance I would be refused the card because I wasn´t in employment ... If I am refused I WILL be going back to argue it .
Today I have to go to my bank . They replaced my card after it was stolen , but 10 days later have still not set me a PIN number .
I Can´t beleive the amount of bureaucracy I´ve had to deal with lately !!
At least my trip ( for 2 weeks ) to England will be an escape ! Though I know i´ll be champing at the bit to get back to Madrid ! Buy it´ll be nice to see mum , my brother , his wife and my 3 neices all over from Russia , and even an old school friend .

Have you got your health card yet Steve?

nope !!!!!

Hi
Any news of the tarjeta sanitaria?
I have tried to get one about a year ago and got a refusal...I was not employed.
Does that mean unemployed people are not supposed to travel abroad?
I have also got private health insurance but still I would like to know ..
Has anybody inquired further?
Saludos Tina