Writer, healthcare, education and daily life
Degree in Journalism, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid
Emilia Perez writes the guides on healthcare, schools and everyday life in Spain for Americans and Britons settling in. Her work covers the practical questions that fill the first months: registering with the public health system and choosing private cover, the health card, enrolling children in school and childcare, and the routines that decide whether a new country starts to feel like home.
She studied Journalism at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, where she focused on public-service reporting and how institutions communicate with citizens. She has lived in Madrid for most of her adult life, and her guides draw on the same offices and forms her readers will meet: the centro de salud, the town hall's padrón office, the regional education department.
Her method is the site's: every figure and deadline comes from the competent authority's own page, is linked in the text and carries its date. Where regions apply a rule differently, which is common in healthcare and schooling, she says which region she checked.
Her work is practical information, not medical or legal advice. When a situation needs a doctor, a lawyer or the school itself, she says so and helps you arrive prepared.
Writes on: Spanish public healthcare, Schools and childcare, Daily life in Spain, First weeks in Spain
How a dog, cat or ferret gets from Great Britain into Spain: microchip, rabies wait, the animal health certificate, the Spanish point of entry, then the Spanish registry and dog rules.
How Britons draw the UK State Pension in Spain, keep its yearly increase, request the S1 and register it with Spain's INSS, and what changed for voluntary National Insurance in April 2026.
The non-lucrative money test stream by stream, what each U.S. consulate accepts as proof, health coverage from the private policy to the convenio and Medicare, and when Spain taxes you.
Six Spanish cities side by side on official figures only: the region that taxes you, median rents, stressed zones, the language of your child's school, AEMET climate normals and recorded crime.
No recognition of UK studies up to fourth of ESO, then apostilles, homologation and UNEDasiss for GCSEs and A-levels, plus six regions' admission windows and how empadronamiento scores.
How a Briton moving to Spain gets health cover: why the GHIC covers visits only, the visa's private insurance rule, public access under RDL 7/2018 and the convenio especial at 60 or 157 euros a month.
Which permits still need a private policy after arrival, what Spain's insurance contract law gives you at signing and renewal, how premiums are taxed, and how to complain to the insurer and the DGSFP.
What a U.S. prescription is worth in a Spanish pharmacy, how much medicine to bring, the AEMPS permit for controlled drugs, ADHD medicines, refills and buying online.
What the public system pays for by age and region, why a non-lucrative permit usually keeps you out, and how to check a private clinic, get an estimate, finance safely and complain.
What an American needs for a Spanish number and home internet: unlocking, SIM identification, contracts, switching, cancelling, complaints, roaming, 112, ES-Alert and the universal service.
Where each of Spain's languages is official, public Spanish classes and their 2026 fees, the DELE and SIELE, regional language courses, and the language rules for your residence file and children.
What a Spanish bar or restaurant may put on your bill: taxes, cover and bread charges by region, tipping, tap water, leftovers, allergens, card and cash rules, smoking and complaint forms.
What a parcel from the United States costs in Spain in 2026: import VAT, the 3 euro duty, carrier fees, gifts, moving boxes, banned items, USPS rules, certified letters and electronic notices.
The order that gets a dog or cat from the U.S. into Spain in 2026: microchip, rabies shot, USDA endorsement and airport checks, then the regional registry, boosters and breed rules.
Who holds the right to public care in Spain, why a non-lucrative permit keeps you on private insurance, how to apply to the INSS and get the health card, and what prescriptions cost.
What Spain's consulates in 9 U.S. cities ask of a long-stay visa health policy, how to check the insurer, what renewals need, and what Medicare Parts A, B and D do once you live in Spain.
The 60 and 157 euro monthly fees, the one-year residence rule, what the basic portfolio leaves out, and how Madrid, Catalonia, Valencia and Andalusia handle the file and the cancellation.
Public and concertado schools, the 2026-2027 spring windows of four regions, the birth-year rule, placement of pupils schooled in the U.S., mid-year admission and Spanish support.
Homologation to the Spanish Bachiller, the state apostille and sworn translation, the 49.76 euro fee, the volante for conditional enrollment, and university access through UNEDasiss.
Homologation or equivalence under Royal Decree 889/2022, the apostille on U.S. documents, sworn translation, DELE B2, the 166.50 euro fee, the 6-month clock and where a PhD goes.
The FBI check, its apostille, the medical certificate and your U.S. accounts, sequenced so nothing expires before your consulate appointment.
The costly mistakes after a move to Spain come from rules that apply on a date. Eight of them, from tax residency to the padrón, with the official rule and the fix.
The residence card deadline runs from your entry into Spain. How to sequence the TIE appointment, the padrón and your address in the first weeks.
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