Healthcare arrangements with Gibraltar

Special arrangements on healthcare exist between the UK and Gibraltar. Any medical treatment that is needed by UK pensioners who live or go to live in Gibraltar is provided by the Gibraltar authorities without payment of insurance contributions. You will have to pay prescription charges. A UK pensioner is someone who gets long-term Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, State Pension, widow’s benefits or bereavement benefits.

Urgent medical treatment is also covered and applies only to visitors to Gibraltar for stays up to 30 days. See Access to healthcare abroad on the Department of Health website for more information. If you are sent to Gibraltar to work for more than 30 days, you should get in touch with the Gibraltar Health Authority. They will tell you if you can stay covered by the agreement or if you will need to pay into the Gibraltar Group Practice Medical Scheme. To find out more about the Gibraltar healthcare system, write to:

Gibraltar Health Authority,
17 Johnstone’s Passage,
Gibraltar.

If you go to live in Gibraltar and you are not a UK pensioner, you are not covered by the special arrangements and you must either

• join the Gibraltar Group Practice Medical Scheme, or
• take out private medical insurance cover,

otherwise you will have to pay your own healthcare costs.