An English-speaking optician in Puerto de Mazarrón

You do not need a prescription in Spain

In the UK you cannot buy spectacles or contact lenses without a valid prescription. Spain works the other way round: no referral, no doctor, no waiting. You book straight in with us.

Bring the prescription you already have, whatever country wrote it, or simply the glasses you are wearing. We read them on the focimeter, so we know exactly what you are seeing through today and we start the eye test from there.

What your S1 covers, and what it does not

The S1 gives you access to Spanish state healthcare “on the same basis as a Spanish citizen”. That sentence is worth reading twice, because the second half is the half that matters.

Spanish state healthcare does not cover glasses or hearing aids for adults. So the S1 does not cover them either. It puts you on exactly the same footing as your Spanish neighbour, and your Spanish neighbour pays for his glasses too. On the NHS, hearing aids are usually free of charge; the Spanish system simply does not work that way for adults, S1 or no S1.

The GHIC, formerly the EHIC, is a different thing altogether. It covers medically necessary treatment during a temporary stay. It does not cover a routine eye test or hearing test, and it does not cover optical goods.

What is worth doing is asking your private insurer, if you hold a policy, whether optical or audiology costs are reimbursable. We give you the itemised invoice they will ask for.

How the appointment works

There are three of us, and between us we work in three languages. Say English when you book and the same person looks after you from the front door to the report.

It is not a courtesy. In a speech understanding test you repeat words back, and those words have to be in your own language. Otherwise what gets measured is your Spanish, not your hearing.

If your cover is German

A German pensioner resident in Spain is entitled to the benefits of the country of residence, not those of Germany. Since Spain does not cover hearing aids for adults, the German hearing aid subsidy is effectively lost on moving here.

There is a reimbursement route, the Kostenerstattung under §13 SGB V. It requires a prescription from an HNO-Arzt, a written quotation and the express authorisation of the Krankenkasse, all three of them before anything is bought.

Put plainly: some funds may reimburse part of the cost if authorisation is requested before the purchase. None is obliged to, and we cannot promise it. What we do is prepare the quotation and the invoice with the breakdown the fund asks for, and wait for their answer before ordering anything.

The paperwork you leave with

You get all of this on the day and at no cost, whether you buy from us or not.

• An itemised invoice, with frame, lenses and coatings priced separately; or hearing aid, earmould and fitting priced separately
• A written report of the eye test with your full prescription
• The audiogram for both ears, air and bone conduction
• A written quotation before anything is ordered, in case your insurer wants one to authorise the claim

Where our advice stops

This is what we have learned across the counter from foreign residents, and each country changes its rules. We are not insurance advisers: confirm the conditions with your fund or insurer before you buy.

If you need a written quotation in order to ask them, we will write one and it commits you to nothing. It costs half an hour at the counter and it saves buying first and asking afterwards.