Medical insurance for students in Spain: what the visa rule says and what consulates ask

In short: the medical insurance for students in Spain who need a visa must be health insurance (seguro de enfermedad) with an insurer authorised to operate in Spain (RD 1155/2024, art. 35.i). It has to give benefits similar to basic public healthcare and stay valid for the whole planned stay. The expressions «no copays» and «no waiting periods» are not in the rules: they come from the pages of several consulates.

In person or by representative? You buy the policy from the insurer and the rules do not regulate how. The visa is requested at the consulate, in person or through a representative (art. 36.1). From Spain it is requested at the immigration office (oficina de extranjería), in person, through a representative or electronically. You can do that if you already hold a residence authorisation or, for higher studies and specialised health training (art. 58), if you are lawfully in Spain and of legal age (art. 54.1 and 54.3). The rest of the procedure is in the student stay card.

What the rules say. Art. 35.i sets four conditions for the insurance:

• It is health insurance (seguro de enfermedad).
• It is taken out with an insurer authorised to operate in Spain.
• It gives benefits similar to the basic common portfolio of healthcare services of the National Health System (SNS), that is, the basic package public healthcare offers.
• It is valid for the duration of the planned stay.

The authorisation lasts as long as the official programme for higher studies and, in other cases, at most 1 year (art. 55.1). In general it starts 1 month before your studies begin and runs until 15 days after they end (art. 55.2).

What the rules do not say. Art. 35.i does not mention «copay» (paying part of each medical act) or «waiting period» (months of waiting before you can use the cover). It does not mention travel insurance either. Those conditions appear on the pages of some consulates. To compare with other visa types, see health insurance for a residence visa.

How consulates ask for it (practice, not a rule; «Visado de estudios» pages in Exteriores consular services, checked on 7 October 2026):

• Bogotá (Colombia): asks for comprehensive health-care insurance. Travel, bank and reimbursement policies are not valid. It requires cover of 100 % of medical costs, «sin limitación, sin carencias o franquicias y sin copago» (a franchise is the part you pay of each cost before the insurer starts paying). It asks for the insurer's certificate with a digital signature and verification code, and for cover of the whole study period. The insurance must be valid from the month before the studies start until 15 days after they end; if it does not cover those 45 days, the consulate does not add them to the visa. It does not accept policies that need renewal or state automatic renewal during the studies. If the studies last more than 1 year, it accepts cover for at least the first year.
• Lima (Peru): asks for health insurance, not travel insurance, covering the whole catalogue of SNS benefits (art. 7 and following of Law 16/2003, the SNS cohesion and quality law). The insurer must be authorised, and the page points to the DGSFP register, the body that supervises insurers. No waiting periods, copay, cover limit or reimbursement: 100 % of medical, hospital and out-of-hospital costs.
• Kyiv (embassy in Ukraine): its page repeats the text of the rules and, in what we read, does not mention copays, waiting periods or travel insurance.

All three pages ask for the original and a copy of the certificate, and none listed repatriation as a requirement. We have not checked other consulates, London included: they may ask for something else. If your consulate's page is unclear, ask it in writing before paying for the policy.

When the requirement counts as met or does not apply

• If you already work on the authorisation and are registered with Social Security, the requirement counts as met through that registration (art. 57.5). The text speaks about someone already in work and does not say it replaces the policy when you apply for the visa: confirm with your consulate.
• If you are an EU citizen, the student stay is not your route (the EU regime applies). Your healthcare cover is a different case that this card does not cover.
• The seguro escolar is not this insurance: it provides no healthcare and only refunds costs up to limits.

Family and extension

• For higher studies, your relatives (for example, spouse or partner and minor children) can apply for their visa or authorisation while at least 90 days of your authorisation remain (art. 56.1). They also need health insurance (art. 56.3.5), and the Bogotá page lists insurance among the documents for family members.
• For the extension, in the 2 months before the authorisation expires, you must prove the insurance again together with your passport and financial means (art. 55.3). Each extension lasts at most 1 year, and for higher and post-compulsory studies up to 2 are allowed (art. 55.5).

Deadlines: the visa is requested at least 2 months before your studies start, unless there is a justified reason (art. 36.1), and the insurance certificate goes with the application. After that, the immigration office decides on the authorisation within 7 days at most (no answer counts as unfavourable) and the consulate issues the visa within 1 month at most (art. 36.3 and 36.4).

What to check before paying for the policy

• It is health insurance (healthcare), not travel or bank insurance.
• The insurer is authorised to operate in Spain.
• The cover is similar to basic public healthcare and, if your consulate requires it, 100 % with no copays or waiting periods.
• It covers the whole study period with the dates your consulate asks for, and has no renewal clauses if your page rejects them.
• The certificate carries the signature your consulate requires (for example, a digital signature with verification code in Bogotá) and the policy number.

Steps:

1. Work out how you will apply: visa at the consulate or application from Spain, and whether family joins you.
2. Open the «Visado de estudios» page of your consulate and note what it requires from the insurance (copays, waiting periods, type of certificate).
3. Take out health insurance with an authorised insurer that meets that page and covers the whole study period.
4. Ask the insurer for a certificate with the cover dates and the signature your consulate requires, and submit it with the application at least 2 months before your studies start.
5. Keep the insurance active and prove it again when you ask for the extension, in the 2 months before the authorisation expires.

Official source: RD 1155/2024, arts. 35, 36, 54-58 (BOE-A-2024-24099) · Information sheet «Student stay» (Inclusión) · Exteriores consular pages.

Informational only; check the official source, your consulate and a professional for your specific case.