OK I've read everything I can find that has been posted so far and think I've grasped the basics but I've still got one or two doubts on whether to go down this route.

This is what I think I've learned so far. Please correct me if I am wrong.

To be covered by the Spanish National Health Service I either have to be employed or self-employed (autonomo). As I don't actually intend to do any work I can register as self-employed, pay the 230 euros a month (apparently if you are over 50 with a private pension elsewhere you can opt out of the 'state pension part and pay slightly less) and this will then get my wife and I into the system. I will then need to get a gestor to submit 3 monthly vat returns showing zero turnover and for this i will probably pay the gestor about 200 euros a year.

The bit I am still missing is - How / where do I register as self-employed? What documentation will I need? Is there a cost involved in registering?

Can anyone help please?

You might ask - why not just take out private medical insurance if it is only health cover I am after? The answer is that private medical insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions

Regards from sunny Mallorca

Deanscroft