5. EU nationals without sufficient resources nor health coverage As provided in Article 3, §3 of Law 16/2003 (introduced by the Royal Decree-Law 16/2012) and the second additional disposition of the Royal Decree 1192/2012, EU nationals who spend more than 3 months on the Spanish territory must have a residence permit in order to obtain an individual health card and therefore to access healthcare services free of charge. Consequently, every EU national who doesn’t have a residence permit and who stays more than 3 months in Spain will find himself in the same situation as undocumented migrants. EU/EEA nationals only have the unconditional right to reside in Spain during three months (Article 6 of Royal Decree 240/2007 of 16 February 2007 which translates European Directive 2004/38/CE of 29 April 2004). To be able to obtain a residence permit (Article 7, §1 of Royal Decree 240/2007) they have: -
To be employed as a paid or non-paid worker ;
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To have sufficient resources and health coverage ;
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To be enrolled as a student with sufficient resources and a health coverage ;
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To be a family member of an EU national who is in one of the aforementioned situations.
EU nationals who have lost the authorisation to reside in Spain must subscribe a “special provision”, under the same conditions as undocumented migrants to reintegrate the Spanish National Health System.
6. Children of undocumented parents / unaccompanied minor asylum seekers Article 3ter, al. 4 of Law 16/2003 (introduced by Article 1 of Royal Decree-Law 16/2012) provides that “in any case, foreigners who are less than 18 years old receive healthcare under the same conditions as Spanish citizens”. This provision states clearly that all minors in Spain, whatever their administrative status, will be granted access to healthcare services, under the same conditions as Spanish minors (free of charge). Regarding more specifically unaccompanied minor asylum seekers, Article 47 of Law 12/2009 points out that minors seeking international protection and who are “victims of any form of abuse [...] or victims of an armed conflict, receive [all healthcare as well as necessary specialised and psychological care”.
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