The SIP Health Card in the Valencian Community

Covers: the Valencian Community (a regional service). Other regions have their own rules.

This guide is for internationals who have recently moved to the Valencian Community and need access to its public health system. After reading it, you will know what the SIP system is, which documents each type of newcomer is asked for, how to register online or at a health centre, and what route exists for people without Social Security cover.

• What the SIP system and card are
• Before you register
• Registering online
• Registering at the health centre
• Cover for people without Social Security registration
• FAQ

What the SIP system and card are

The Sistema de Información Poblacional (SIP, the Population Information System) is the register run by the Valencian health department, the Conselleria de Sanidad. According to the official procedure page, it holds administrative and health information on residents of the Valencian Community and on non-residents who use the Valencian Health System. This includes how your right to cover is accredited and, where relevant, your assigned centre and doctor.

Once registered, you receive either the tarjeta sanitaria individual SIP (the individual SIP health card) or a documento de inclusión (an inclusion document, often issued for temporary stays). The health card information page explains that the card shows your SIP number, your assigned centre, doctor and nurse, and an expiry date after which it is no longer valid.

The same page notes that deciding who has the right to publicly funded care is an exclusive competence of the Spanish State. The Valencian card only accredits the level of care you have been recognised. Holding a card does not in itself give you that right, and it does not change any obligation you or a third party have to pay for care.

Before you register

To register as a habitual resident of a Valencian municipality, you need to be on that town hall’s padrón (the municipal register of residents). Registering, known as empadronamiento, is handled by your city council, which sets its own procedure.

The health department can check your empadronamiento with the INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, the national statistics office) and your health care rights with the national health system, unless you have expressly objected to these electronic checks. If you have objected, you take a certificado de empadronamiento (certificate of registration) to your health centre. Until it is verified, you are recorded as not registered on the padrón.

Your entitlement itself usually comes from the INSS (Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social, the national Social Security institute). For several of the groups below, the health centre asks for the INSS document confirming your right to care.

Registering online

The Valencian government’s online procedure, “Alta o reactivación en el SIP”, covers new registrations and reactivations. The procedure page sets out these requirements:

• A digital certificate, such as the electronic DNI or a certificate from the FNMT (the Spanish Royal Mint) or the ACCV (the Valencian certification authority). The State’s Cl@ve permanente login is also accepted, for individuals only.
• The Autofirma application on your computer, if you sign with a digital certificate.
• Your date of birth, sex and country of nationality.
• The length of your stay in the Valencian Community, or habitual residence in one of its municipalities, which requires empadronamiento there.

Anyone applying on your behalf must first register in the ACCV Register of Representatives or the State’s Electronic Register of Powers of Attorney.

After the online request, you go to the health centre for your place of residence to collect your card or inclusion document. The page does not state a fee or a maximum time for a decision. Questions can be sent to consulta_sip@gva.es.

Registering at the health centre

The health department’s frequently asked questions page says that if you have no digital certificate or Cl@ve, you can go to the health centre nearest your home. The documents depend on your situation:

• Registered with Social Security, with health cover: your DNI or NIE (foreigner identity number). The page recommends also bringing a current certificate of empadronamiento (valid for six months) and the INSS document confirming your right to care.
• Family members of an insured person: you request an appointment on the INSS website to be included as a beneficiary. Foreign nationals bring their NIE.
• Citizens of another EU country: you obtain the European Health Insurance Card in your home country and take it, or the Provisional Replacement Certificate, to the health centre. You are entitled to a temporary inclusion document, which you carry whenever you attend a health centre or hospital.
• People covered by the bilateral agreements with Chile and Andorra: identity documents plus proof of cover under the agreement. This also leads to a temporary inclusion document.
• Newborns: the hospital will very probably have arranged a provisional SIP registration valid for three months. If not, you take documents identifying the baby to the health centre.

Cover for people without Social Security registration

Foreign nationals who are neither registered nor authorised to reside in Spain can apply for publicly funded care under Real Decreto 180/2026 of 11 March, a national regulation. The Valencian FAQ page lists the requirements:

• Being an unregistered and unauthorised foreign national, with proof of effective residence in Spain for at least 90 days.
• Having no obligation to prove health cover by another route, such as EU law or bilateral agreements.
• Being unable to export health cover from your country of origin, with no third party obliged to pay.
• Being on a padrón or proving habitual residence in Spain.
• Not being recognised by the INSS or the ISM (Instituto Social de la Marina, the seafarers’ social security body) as insured or as a beneficiary.

In the Valencian Community, you apply at the counter of the nearest health centre. Staff provide the form, which includes a declaración responsable (a signed statement that the information is true), and you return it signed. Identity is shown with a passport or official identity document from your country of origin. Failing those, another document from that country’s authorities with a photograph is accepted. Minors without either may use a birth certificate or family book, among other documents. You then receive a SIP inclusion document showing your current cover and a receipt for your application.

After a visit to hospital emergency services, the page says to go to your nearest health centre as soon as possible and ask for an appointment with the health social worker.

FAQ

Can I use my SIP card outside the Valencian Community?

Yes, within Spain. The FAQ page states that the card is valid at public health centres throughout Spain. It gives no rights abroad. For EU or European Economic Area countries, the European Health Insurance Card is requested from the INSS.

Do I need to show the card every time?

In the Valencian Community, the card must be presented whenever you request or receive care at public health centres and pharmacies. Centres may also ask for an official identity document to confirm you are the cardholder.

I am from another Spanish region and staying temporarily. What do I bring?

You bring your DNI or NIE and the health card issued by your own region. The centre issues an inclusion document for your stay. If you already hold one, you bring it as well so it can be reactivated.

When does a SIP card stop being valid?

According to the card information page, it stops being valid when it expires, when a new card is issued, when it does not match the SIP record, or when it no longer reflects your identity or cover. Misuse leads to the card being retained and withdrawn.

Sources: gva.es · san.gva.es · san.gva.es

Last verified: 10 November 2026 against the pages linked above. Rules and fees change; the responsible authority always has the final word.

This is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. For your own situation, ask the office that handles your case (the Oficina de Extranjería, your ayuntamiento, the Seguridad Social or the Agencia Tributaria), a lawyer (abogado) or a gestor administrativo.