Help choosing cover that reflects the published insurance requirements for your visa route and application office — NLV, DNV, student and family applications.
Is this page for you?
If you are applying for a Spanish long-stay visa and you need to know what health insurance the consulate will actually accept — this page is for you. Here are the three groups we help most often.
BLS International handles Spanish visa document submissions in the UK and across many US cities. It checks your documents against the requirements published for your application before the file reaches the consulate. We help UK and US applicants understand what those documents need to show and arrange cover where private insurance is the pathway.
Published checklists commonly ask for cover from an insurance company authorised to operate in Spain, which a US-issued policy will not usually satisfy however good the cover. We explain what the checklist for your consulate asks for and arrange cover where private insurance is needed.
Whether you are applying from Ireland, Canada, Australia, Germany or elsewhere, the published requirements are broadly similar but not identical between offices. We support applicants of any nationality and will look at the checklist that applies to your application.
Inside the consulate review
When you submit your visa application, the consulate officer — or BLS representative — will review your health insurance documentation against a set of criteria. Understanding those criteria is the first step to ensuring your application does not hit a wall.
Requirements for long-stay visa health insurance come from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and are published as a checklist by each consulate. Those checklists are broadly similar but they are not identical, and they do not all address the same points — one non-lucrative checklist specifies unlimited cover and no copayment while saying nothing about repatriation or territory, and one study checklist states repatriation cover is not necessary. The checklist published by the office handling your application is the one that matters.
The first thing checked is the insurer. Published checklists ask for cover from an insurance company authorised to operate in Spain, and the insurer should appear in the register kept by the DGSFP (Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones), Spain's insurance regulator. A policy from an insurer without that authorisation may not satisfy the requirement however comprehensive the cover is, which is why international plans bought from a non-Spanish provider are commonly declined.
The second is copayments. Spanish private health insurance often includes a small per-visit charge that keeps premiums down. Many published checklists exclude copayments so that there is no financial barrier at the point of use, and look for wording such as sin copago on the certificate. Not every checklist addresses this, so check the one that applies to your application.
The third is scope and waiting periods. Checklists commonly ask for comprehensive cover rather than emergency-only or travel-style cover, across Spain rather than a single region, without waiting periods that would exclude care in the early months. A policy with a six-month wait for specialist consultations is unlikely to satisfy that.
Beyond the policy itself, the certificate (the proof-of-insurance document you submit with your application) must be formatted correctly and contain specific information. A policy schedule or generic membership card is rarely sufficient. The certificate needs to be a formal document prepared specifically for visa submission purposes.
The certificate must state the insured person's full legal name and date of birth — exactly as they appear on the passport being used for the visa application.
The start and end dates of the policy must be clearly stated. The policy period must cover at least the initial duration of the requested visa.
The certificate should explicitly state that the policy has no copayments — ideally using the phrase "sin copago" or equivalent English wording that is clear to a reviewing officer.
The geographic scope must be stated — cover must apply across the whole of Spain (todo el territorio nacional), not just one region or city.
Checklists commonly expect the insurer to be identifiable from the certificate, with its authorisation to operate in Spain verifiable from the DGSFP register.
The certificate should indicate that coverage is comprehensive — including primary care, specialist consultations, hospitalisation, diagnostic tests, and emergency care — rather than emergency-only.
Avoid these pitfalls
These are the most common reasons consulates and BLS flag health insurance policies during visa applications. Each one is entirely avoidable when you work with a specialist.
The policy is issued by an insurer without authorisation to operate in Spain. This is a common reason for documents being queried.
Where a checklist excludes copayments, even a small per-visit charge can be enough for the policy to be queried. Check the wording that applies to your application.
Travel insurance or emergency-cover-only policies do not meet the requirement for comprehensive health insurance. The consulate expects full, everyday cover.
Policies with extended waiting periods for specialist care or certain treatments can be rejected as they do not provide genuine coverage from the policy start date.
A policy may be technically acceptable but the certificate submitted does not include the right information or phrasing. Certificate format matters as much as the policy itself.
If the policy end date falls before the requested visa duration, the consulate may query or reject the application. Policy dates must align with the visa period sought.
UK & US applicants — important
If you are applying for a Spanish long-stay visa from the United Kingdom — or from many parts of the United States since 2024 — you will almost certainly be dealing with BLS International rather than the Spanish consulate directly. Understanding this distinction is important for managing your application correctly.
BLS International is a third-party visa and passport services company contracted by the Spanish consulates in the UK and, since 2024, by Spanish consulates across the United States (including Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington DC) to handle the collection and initial processing of long-stay visa applications. Rather than booking an appointment directly at the Spanish Consulate General in London — or the smaller Spanish consulates in Edinburgh or Manchester — most UK-based applicants now submit their documents to a BLS International service point. The same pattern now applies in much of the US, where the Spanish consulates in Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington DC have transitioned visa intake to BLS International (BLS Spain Visa USA).
BLS International does not make the final decision on your visa — that decision is made by the Spanish consulate. What BLS does is receive your application, conduct a documentary check to ensure all required items are present and in the correct format, and then forward the complete package to the consulate for determination. If your health insurance certificate does not pass the BLS document check, your application may be sent back to you before it even reaches the consulate, adding significant delay and frustration.
BLS checks your documents against the requirements published for the consulate handling your file, so check that consulate's current checklist — the detail is not identical everywhere. BLS International centres in the UK can be found in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and other cities. In the US, BLS centres operate in or near each contracted consulate city. Check the BLS International website for current locations and appointment availability, as these can change.
Your consulate
Published requirements differ between offices in both detail and emphasis. Below are the consulate city pages we have prepared. If your consulate is not listed yet, contact our team directly — we support applications through all Spanish consulates worldwide.
The main processing point for UK applicants. Covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Most UK NLV and DNV applicants go through BLS London.
Health insurance for London applications → 🇺🇸Covers a large portion of the northeast US. Most New York applicants now submit through BLS International (BLS New York) rather than directly at the consulate. US-issued health insurance is not accepted.
Health insurance for New York applications → 🌍Applying through Los Angeles, Miami, Dublin, Toronto, Sydney or elsewhere? Published requirements differ between offices, so check the current checklist for the one handling your application. Contact us for guidance.
Contact our team for your consulate →Why choose us
We are a specialist expat insurance agent, not a comparison website, not a general insurer, and not a call centre that handles hundreds of different product types. Spanish expat insurance is what we do, every day.
We arrange health insurance for visa applicants every week and can explain what an insurer's certificate shows, so you can check it against the requirements published for your application.
Preparation times depend on the insurer, the completed application and any underwriting required. Tell us your appointment date and we will ask the insurer what is achievable for your case.
Every call, email and explanation is in plain English. No confusing insurance jargon, no trying to decipher Spanish documents. We handle all of that.
Visa applications do not only happen on weekdays. Our team is available Saturday and Sunday too — important when BLS appointments and consulate slots are in short supply.
Avoid these errors
Many well-known international health insurers are not authorised to operate in Spain. The policy may be excellent by every other measure, but published checklists commonly ask for an authorised insurer, so a certificate from an unauthorised one may not satisfy the requirement. Check the DGSFP register before purchasing, or ask us to check for you.
A valid policy certificate and a visa-submission certificate are not always the same document. Some insurers issue a membership card or a generic summary that does not include all the information a consulate needs to see. Ask specifically for a visa letter or visa certificate when arranging your policy.
Arranging insurance two days before a BLS appointment and expecting the certificate to be ready is risky. Most certificates take one to three working days. Plan ahead, and if your appointment is imminent, contact us urgently — we will do our best to expedite.
At visa renewal, you need a fresh insurance certificate covering the new period. Simply renewing your existing policy is usually fine — but you need to request a new certificate for submission. Many applicants forget this step until they are preparing their renewal documents.
Frequently asked questions
The most common questions we receive from applicants trying to navigate consulate health insurance requirements.
Published checklists commonly ask that cover comes from an insurance company authorised to operate in Spain, covers the territory of Spain, and is comprehensive rather than emergency-only. Many also exclude copayments and waiting periods, though not every checklist addresses the same points. The certificate is generally expected to state the policyholder's name, policy dates, cover scope and insurer details clearly. Check the checklist published for your application. Requirements can vary slightly between consulates and visa types.
BLS International is a third-party visa processing company that handles Spanish long-stay visa applications in the United Kingdom on behalf of the Spanish consulates. Applicants in the UK submit their visa documents — including health insurance certificates — to BLS International rather than attending the consulate directly. BLS conducts an initial documentary review against the requirements published for the consulate handling your file, before forwarding the application to that consulate.
Documents are commonly queried where the insurer is not authorised to operate in Spain, where the policy includes copayments or waiting periods that the applicable checklist excludes, where cover is emergency-only rather than comprehensive, or where the certificate does not contain the wording the checklist asks for.
No. No insurance agent or insurer can legally guarantee consulate acceptance, as the decision rests with the consulate officer reviewing your application. We place cover with insurers authorised to operate in Spain and will explain what the certificate shows, so you can check it against the requirements published for your application.
Not necessarily. Many consulates accept certificates in English, particularly UK and US consulates processing applications from English-speaking applicants. However, some consulates prefer bilingual or Spanish-language certificates. We will advise you on the appropriate format for your specific consulate when arranging your policy.
The certificate should cover at least the initial visa period — typically one year for a first NLV or DNV application. Some consulates ask for the certificate to be valid from a date close to your intended entry date into Spain. We coordinate the requested policy and certificate dates with your application timeline, subject to insurer processing and issuance.
247 Expat Insurance helps applicants from across the world, including those applying through consulates in Ireland, Canada, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and many other countries. Published requirements are broadly similar between offices but are not identical. Contact our team and we will look at the checklist that applies to your application.
Need health insurance for a Spanish visa application? Request a quote and we’ll arrange the policy and certificate options available through 247. If you also need help with the visa process, we can discuss the relevant visa services after your insurance enquiry.
Related pages
Everything UK applicants need to know about health insurance for visa applications through BLS London and the Spanish Consulate General.
American applicants: why your US health insurance will not be accepted, what you need instead, and how to request the required certificate.
The complete guide to visa health insurance for Spain — all visa types, requirements, certificate process and how 247 Expat helps.
Detailed guides for applicants in specific countries, by consulate, by submission centre, by visa route, by appointment city and by common problem.
