Question
“What are people doing about buying health insurance 2-3 months before they leave since you have to buy for the BLS Spain Non Lucrative Visa appointment. Do we just pay for a couple months we can’t use? Thanks in advance.”
Answers
These were the answers of Spanish Non Lucrative Visa group members:
“You have to pay for a one year policy starting on the date that you put on your NLV application as your expected date to arrive in Spain.”
“We post dated ours to start 3 months from when we signed the contract. We paid for a month we didn’t use but that amounted to ~$100.”
“We used the company/broker recommended by our attorney who helped us get our NLVs. We went with Adeslas.”
“Spainguru recommends Adeslas exclusive agent Carlos Blanco. He is not only an expert in Spanish Visa-compliant health insurance policies but also an experienced immigration lawyer with in-depth knowledge of any Spanish visa process.
Carlos can provide tailored recommendations based on your specific needs, ensuring your policy aligns perfectly with visa requirements and the application process. He can also delay the health insurance start date.”
“I started my insurance 4 weeks after my appointment date. Best guess. Otherwise you will eat some time. I had a visa declination which set us back 6 weeks, so I asked if I could reset the start date, as they said I could, but they said all I could do was cancel.
The consulate never said a word because they already had a voucher I paid for the year, so obviously they do not verify.
So then when I received my visa I asked them to start it up again and they made me reapply and it took 4 weeks to get it started.
If I did it again, I would pay immediately and eat the months because the MRIs, surgeries, etc don’t kick in for 8 months, so I would rather start that clock earlier.”
“I’ve just taken out a policy that starts on 1 August with Asisa with my NLV date being 1 August.”
“Ours started on 1st Feb but still haven’t received our NLV yet.”
“I think you can pay for it & stipulate a start date? I think someone put that their visa was dated to start on the medical insurance start date. I stand to be corrected though & would be interested in knowing for sure, as we will start our application in a couple of months.”
“Please be advised that the date of the visa start will be the same as your ‘intended date of entry.'”
“Yes it would. However the issue still seems to be that most insurers will only allow you a two month window before policy starts (some may push to three).”
“In addition to the certificate of coverage, the consulate required a recibo (receipt from the insurance company) showing prepayment for 12 months of coverage.”
“We haven’t been asked for a receipt. We submitted the certificate showing annual medical cover.”
“Yes. We had already had the health insurance for a year, had an updated certificate of coverage, showed automatic renewal and they still required a receipt for prepayment for 12 months. This was at the Edinburgh consulate.”
“I’ve seen people say their visa was refused because they used (A Health Insurance policy with reimbursement clauses). Make sure the insurance is Visa compliant.”
“Seen plenty of Facebook posts that indicate people rejected with this company.”
“Why take a 50/50 chance (with an insurance with reimbursement clauses) if you do not need to. Plenty of Spanish insurers out there who have 100% track record for visa Adeslas, Sanitas, DKV, Axa.”
“You can buy insurance with Sanitas now, with Starting date June.”
“I have a question: is it ok if there is a gap of 4 months between the purchase date of the policy and the start date? The policy is needed for Spanish NLV.”
“I had appointment on 23 August with an entry date as 1st October. Sanitas policy commenced 1st October so at time of BLS appointment was not up and running but was accepted.”
“Our agent sold us a year but then she said to ASK BLS if we could change it to begin when we arrive… they said yes and she rolled our coverage back so we had a year from arrival.”
“I just purchased mine and it is for 1 year.”
“Carlos Blanco can also extend the visa start date as needed, according to your visa application process.”
“I am currently asking a number of insurers about longest allowable period to start date in order to avoid this waste situation. i.e., What is the earliest I can buy/pay for an annual policy with a view to it starting in Sept/October. I will let you know what I get back.”
“I believe 3 months is the max.”
“That’s what we did. You tell the insurance company the starting day, say 3 months in the future to account for the BLS waiting period.”
“Yep paid in advance – get comfortable with spending money that seems silly. This won’t be the first or the last time. It honestly helps you manage some of the future frustrations.”
“You have to guestimate your departure date and start insurance on that date… with Sanitas we were able to modify our start date after a delay at the San Francisco consulate when it transitioned to BLS.”
“The insurance has to be paid and active for 1 year at your BLS appointment date, it definitely has to be active before you enter Spain so a 1 year insurance policy won’t cover your first year in Spain, you will need to renew before your year 2/3 renewal with no lapse of cover.”
Conclusion
According to Spainguru’s Facebook community, health insurance for the Spain non lucrative visa must typically be purchased and paid in full for one year before the BLS appointment.
Most members report that the insurance start date should match the intended entry into Spain, but policies can often be postdated up to 2–3 months depending on the insurer.
However, experiences vary between consulates—some accept forward-dated policies, others demand active coverage at the time of appointment.
Some providers like Adeslas, DKV, Sanitas, and AXA are consistently recommended for being visa-compliant, while companies receive mixed reviews: accepted in some consulates and rejected in others, due to having reimbursement clauses.
The community advises choosing reliable insurers with proven track records and budgeting for a few unused months of insurance if necessary.
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