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Getting your CatSalut health card (TSI) in Barcelona

How to request your first individual health card (TSI) from CatSalut in Barcelona: the padró requirement, when Social Security has already recognised your entitlement, applying online or at your CAP, the provisional CIP code, and adding babies and family members.

Checked 8 Oct 2026
Applies to
Anyone who lives in Barcelona (or elsewhere in Catalonia) and wants to use the public health system: workers, their families, pensioners and other residents. Each family member needs their own card.
Effort
Low effort
Time needed
About 20 minutes to apply; the physical card arrives by post later
Cost
The first card is free; CatSalut posts it to your address at no charge.
When
As soon as you are registered in the padró and, if you work, registered with Social Security. If you return to Catalonia after living elsewhere, you must apply again as if for the first time.
Where
Barcelona, Spain
On this page
  1. Overview
  2. Before you start
  3. Documents you need
  4. Step by step
  5. Watch out
  6. Common mistakes
  7. Tips
  8. Frequently asked questions
  9. Official links
  10. In your plan
  11. Sources
  12. Related guides

In Catalonia the public health service is run by the Servei Català de la Salut (CatSalut). Your individual health card (targeta sanitària individual, TSI) identifies you at primary care centres (Centres d'Atenció Primària, CAP), hospitals and pharmacies, and gives access to subsidised prescriptions.

CatSalut's rule is simple: everyone must be registered in the padró of a Catalan municipality. Beyond that, the route depends on whether Social Security has already recognised your entitlement.

Before you start

  • Registration in the padró of a Catalan municipality (the basic requirement for everyone)
  • Entitlement to public health care (automatic for workers, pensioners and benefit recipients)

Documents you need

  • Identity document (DNI

    required

  • Padró registration certificate issued within the last three months

    Not needed if you authorise CatSalut to check it online and Barcelona offers the online check.

    optional

  • Social security number

    optional

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Register in the padró

    Register at your Barcelona address first (see Registering in the Barcelona padró). CatSalut checks the registration with the city council; if you apply at the CAP and the council's data cannot be checked online, bring an original certificate issued within the last three months.

  2. Step 2: Check your entitlement

    • Workers, pensioners and people receiving Social Security benefits are already registered with the INSS and are entitled to health care without any prior application. Go straight to the next step.
    • Babies: first register the baby as a beneficiary of a parent with the INSS (this can be done from the hospital if you agree), and register the baby in the padró. Then request the card.
    • Other foreign residents without access through the INSS: CatSalut still lets you request the card and assigns a level of cover according to your circumstances.

  3. Step 3: Apply online or at your CAP

    • Online: use CatSalut's first TSI request form. By submitting it you authorise CatSalut to check your data with other administrations (padró, INSS). If approved, you receive by email a provisional receipt with your personal identification code (CIP), which lets you use public health centres until the physical card arrives. Some requests are left pending for checks and resolved in the following days.
    • In person: go to the CAP that corresponds to your address (use CatSalut's CAP finder), fill in the request form and either authorise the online checks or bring your ID and padró certificate. If you apply for someone else, bring proof of representation, such as a birth certificate or family book.

  4. Step 4: Receive your card and get to know your CAP

    CatSalut posts the card to your home free of charge. Your CAP is where you see your family doctor and nurse; it refers you to specialists. For health questions and administrative help, call 061 Salut Respon; in a life-threatening emergency call 112.

Watch out

Keep the provisional CIP receipt on your phone until the card arrives; you need it at the CAP and pharmacy.

If you leave Catalonia and later return, your old card is not reactivated automatically; apply again.

Common mistakes

  • Applying before registering in the padró.
  • Not adding children and a partner as beneficiaries with the INSS when they are not working themselves.
  • Relying only on private insurance at work. Barcelona International Welcome notes that only a public health system doctor can authorise paid sick leave.

Tips

  • Apply online if you can; the email with your CIP code usually comes before the card.
  • Each family member, whatever their age, needs their own card.
  • 061 Salut Respon offers service in other languages; check the SEM page for details.

Frequently asked questions

Editorial answers written by our team, based on the sources below.

I have private insurance. Do I still need the TSI?

If you are entitled to public care, it is worth having. Your private insurer cannot issue the sick-leave certificates that employers and Social Security require.

How long does the card take?

CatSalut does not give a fixed time on its page. The online route gives you a provisional CIP code by email once the request is approved, so you can use the public system while waiting.

In your plan

  • Request your CatSalut health card (TSI)
  • Register in the Barcelona padró

Sources

Written and checked by HomiStart editorial against the official sources below. Next scheduled check: 6 Apr 2027.

  1. Servei Català de la Salut (CatSalut)Official source
    Obtenció de la primera Targeta Sanitària Individual (TSI) (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026

    Page updated 27 November 2025. Padró requirement, INSS entitlement, babies, online form, CIP, CAP application, free postage.

  2. Ajuntament de Barcelona – Barcelona International WelcomeOfficial source
    Access to public healthcare (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026
  3. Generalitat de Catalunya – Sistema d'Emergències Mèdiques (SEM)Official source
    061 Salut Respon (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026

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