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ARCHIVED - Essential social services in Spain guaranteed for foreigners and new residents
New residents to Spain or those who spend time away will no longer be excluded from services
A new social services law has been approved this week that will guarantee essential resources for all residents, be they Spanish or non-national, regardless of how long they have been registered in Spain.
This is the first decree of its kind in the country and aims to offer residents access to social services in much the same way as healthcare is delivered: people are entitled to access public health service at any time, even outside of the community they are registered in.
The draft law will have to be passed by the Council of Ministers before it becomes clear what exactly the government is classifying as ‘essential social services’ but an official statement has explained that the legislation aims to “modernise services” by establishing "a common minimum service floor throughout the territory and a common system information".
Most importantly, the requirement for people to be registered or resident in a region for a minimum period of time before they can avail themselves of these services will be scrapped, which will benefit Spanish citizens from other communities and foreigners who have just moved to Spain.
Once it’s passed by Congress, a catalogue of essential services will be created which regional governments will have to guarantee for everyone.
Furthermore, the draft text states that "foreigners, whatever their administrative situation, will have access to the basic services and benefits included in the catalogue of essential benefits and services".
People will also be allowed to continue using these community and central services even if they spend a considerable amount of time outside of their home town.
Image: Ione Belarra on Twitter
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