Barcelona Mum

Applying for a health card

The process to gain access to public healthcare is outlined below (according to your residency/work status). Please note that European citizens no longer need to apply for residency permits if you have a NIE number

If you have a residency permit and job contract
If you have a residency permit and a job contract you have the right to health, pharmaceutical care and social benefits. The company you work for will normally take the necessary steps to obtain a social security number and you will receive a “cartilla medica” , a medical health card. You can include your relatives up to 2nd degree as beneficiaries. For more information please visit your nearest social security office, the “Tesoreria General de la Seguridad Social”. In order to apply for the individual health card "Tarjeta Santaria Individual" or "TSI", the following documents will be needed:
Passport or personal identification.
"Libro de familia” (a book of birth and marriage certificates).
“Cartilla de la Seguridad Social” (a document detailing your social security number).
An individual health card "Tarjeta Santaria Individual" or "TSI" will be sent to your home for each of the beneficiaries on the “cartilla”. This card is the documentation you will be asked for when you attend a clinic or hospital. If you do not receive it, you should ask for it in your doctor’s surgery “Centro de Atencion Primaria” (CAP).

If you have a residency permit but no job contract
If you have residency but no work contract you have the right to health and pharmaceutical care. You should take the necessary steps to obtain the
“Tarjeta Sanitaria Individual (TSI)”
Go to your nearest doctor’s surgery and present the following documents:
Passport or personal identification.
Residency permit.
Certificate of registration on the electoral role “el empadronamiento”.

If you have no residency permit
If you do not have a residency permit you should go to your nearest doctor’s surgery and present the following documents:
Passport or personal identification.
The certificate of “empadronamiento”(registry on the electoral role at the Town Hall).

People with financial resources
People with financial resources who are excluded from or not covered by the public healthcare system may also have access to the public healthcare system.These people must fulfill the following requirements:
They must be registered with any town hall in Catalonia and be able to provide proof of their residence by means of the registration certificate issued by the town hall.
They must not be legally obliged to pay contributions to the Social Security system or any other public healthcare system.
They must be unable to legally access a public healthcare protection system. 
They must not be a beneficiary of a public healthcare assistance system. 
They must make a regular financial contribution to gain access to public healthcare assistance. 

The amount of the financial contribution to be paid by the cardholder is equivalent to the amount established for medical and pharmaceutical care for common illnesses paid by groups that do not belong to the Social Security system. The monthly amount established for 2007 is €87.34. The financial contribution may be paid monthly, quarterly or annually by direct bank debit.

Beneficiaries
The following people may access the public healthcare system as beneficiaries of the main cardholder: the spouse, descendents, adoptive children, brothers and sisters and ascendants, provided these family members live with the cardholder, do not have remunerated employment and do not receive income or a pension for an amount that is twice that of the minimum interprofessional salary.
How to apply
Applicants must submit the original and a photocopy of the following documents to the citizen service unit in their healthcare region:
For applicants over the age of 14, an identity document (Spanish Identity Card DNI, Foreigner’s Identity Card, NIE, passport, etc.).
The identity documents or passports of the beneficiaries.
The family register (llibre de família) in the case of minors.
A residency permit in the case of foreigners. 
A certificate from the town hall where the applicant lives certifying that the applicant and his/her beneficiaries are registered with the town hall.

Information kindly provided by Barcelona City Council