Healthcare if you have an exportable benefit
You may be entitled to an S1 if you receive a UK State Pension or some other exportable benefits and either:
- you live in an EU country or Switzerland
- you live in Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein and you’re covered under the Withdrawal Agreement
An exportable benefit is a benefit you can claim while living outside the UK.
If you think you might be entitled and you live in Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein, you can contact us to find out if you’re covered under the Withdrawal Agreement.
If you receive a pension from the country that you live in now as well as your UK State Pension, you may not be able to get an S1. The country you live in may be responsible for your healthcare.
If you receive a UK State Pension and a pension from an EU country, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, we’ll check which country you paid contributions to for the longest. For example, if you live in Spain but have a state pension from the UK and France, we need to know how long you paid contributions to both countries. The country you paid contributions to for the longest is responsible for your healthcare.
Read more about claiming benefits if you live, move, or travel abroad on GOV.UK.
How to apply for an S1
You can contact us to apply for an S1.
Telephone: 0191 218 1999
Telephone from outside the UK: +44 191 218 1999
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm (GMT)
Find out about call charges
Email: s1applications@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
You can apply for an S1 up to 90 days before you start to receive your UK State Pension or before you move to live in an EU country.
You can ask us to send the form to your UK address if you need it for your visa application.
For an S1 to be issued, you need to have an address in the EU country you're moving to. This can be a temporary address. Once you've moved to your permanent address, you'll need to contact us to let us know your new address. You also need to notify the relevant authority in the country you're living in. This prevents important confidential information being sent to the wrong address.
Posted workers
If you're a worker temporarily posted by a UK company to an EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, you may be entitled to health cover funded by the UK in the country you're posted to.
You'll need to apply for a certificate of entitlement known as an S1. S1s show that your state healthcare is paid for by the UK if you live in an EU country or Switzerland.
You can find out more from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC):