In order to understand the answer to this question, you need to be aware of several rules on who has the right to public healthcare in Spain. 

In Spain, you have the right to access public healthcare under the following circumstances:

• You are an employee or self-employed and are affiliated and registered with the social security system
• You receive Spain’s state pension
• You are the recipient of benefits, including unemployment benefits or subsidies.
• You have exhausted your unemployment benefit or subsidy or other benefits of a similar nature and are unemployed and residing in Spain
• Children under the age of 15
• Students under the age of 26

You also have the right to healthcare if your spouse pays into the social security system or if you’re pregnant.

READ ALSO: Does permanent residency in Spain equal free public healthcare?

But what happens if you are an employee, but you only work part-time, does the number of hours you work affect whether you have the right to public healthcare coverage?

Even if you work part-time (or media jornada in Spanish), you will still be paying into the social security system automatically – part of it from your salary and part of it from your employer.

Therefore you will be affiliated in the social security system as in point one above. 

According to stats from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), a total of 6.6 percent of men in Spain in 2022 worked part-time and 21.6 percent of women. In September 2023, there were 2.9 million part-time employees in the country.

As far as social security is concerned, those who work part-time benefit the same as those working full-time when it comes to national healthcare, regardless of the length of their day. Part-time contributions count as one full day when it comes to paying social security.

READ ALSO: What to be aware of before accepting a part-time job in Spain

This rule, equating part-time work to full-time work was brought into force on October 1st 2023 in order to try and help reduce the gender pay gap in Spain, but was designed with the pension system in mind rather than national health coverage.

The advantage is that it also benefits those who want to work part-time and still be able to access healthcare. Even before this was brought into force, however, those working part-time and paying social security were still covered. 

All this means that there isn’t a specific number of hours you must work in order to be able to be covered under the Spanish healthcare system, and as long as you’re paying social security or fall into one of the categories above, you will be able to benefit from it.

Remember that if you’re not employed or self-employed in Spain and don’t have a spouse who is either, then you may not be covered.

To get around this you can either join a programme such as the S1 scheme for British pensioners or pay the convenio especial in order to benefit from public healthcare. For this, you will pay a monthly fee of €60 if you are under 65 and €157 if you are over 65. 

If none of these options are available to you or the requirements of your visa say so, then it’s necessary to get private health insurance instead.