Hi Everyone,

I recently moved to Mallorca in July with the intention of staying here long term. This is still my intention god willing. I should at this point state that I run my own small UK registered internet company that I am able to run from Mallorca with access to the internet. I pay taxes in the UK both for my company and for my personal income just as I would if I was still living there.

My problem is that around 6 weeks ago I developed a severe herniated (slipped) disc. This is something that also happened to me around 5 years ago that I had several operations for that although not completely curing the pain left me able to conduct a relatively normal life. However, 6 weeks ago it happened again to a different disc and this has left me in the most immense pain 24/7.

I am unable to sit for longer than 5-10 minutes before the pain becomes unbearable, even on the strongest painkillers the doctor will give me. I can walk short distances but standing still is very painful as well. The only position that takes the pain down is lying flat on my back or on my front. It is ruining my life as you can imagine.

I do not have health insurance and would not have been covered anyway for this due to the fact that I have a history of back trouble so I have been paying out of my own pocket to receive treatement from various doctors and orthopaedic specialists to the cost of nearly 2000 euros so far. It has nearly wiped out my savings that were supposed to be a safety net for me in my new life here.

The problem is that the specialist now says that my back is so bad that the only option is to have a discetomy operation in whch they will trim off the part of the disc that is pressing on my nerve and causing the pain down my leg. He has quoted the cost of this operation at between 6000-8000 euros which is way beyond my means.

I am in a catch 22 situation. I cannot fly back to the UK and get this done on the NHS because the flight is impossible due to my inability to sit down. My doctor has seriously advised me against sitting for any length of time due to the pain and the further damage the compression will cause on my disc. Quite apart from that advice I just simply couldnt make the flight due to the pain, I can?t even travel in a car for more than a few minutes so a 3hr flight? Its just out of the question.

My question is as follows:

1. Is it possible to get my operation done on the Spanish state health service.
2. If yes then what exactly do i need to be registered for etc?

I have not registered for a residencia or anything like that yet due to the fact that I haven?t really considered myself as working in Spain. Its more like a long vacation at present (or it was until this happened to me). I have applied for an European Health Insurance Card from the UK which i was told would cover me for care on the state system here but other people have told me it won?t as i do not pay tax in Spain.

Any advice anyone could give me would be very much appreciated, I am very desperate :(.

TIA.

edited as the go poster can be bothered to reply, I’ll remove my post.

You need to be careful about this, as Lobo said, you would have to take on the tax responsibilities as a self employed person, Tax returns IVA declarations etc… and as there is a minimum period that you have to pay social security before you are entitled to a pension,  if you only pay 10 years you would be under this limit and therefore you would not be entitled to a pension from the Spainish Government. I think it would be cheaper to take out a private insurance, but if you need more specific advice taking into consideration all of your circumstances you would be wise to contact a professional. There’s a box in the legal section of eye on Spain for free advice try that.