After you have registered you received a registration card (tarjeta sanitaria), similar to a credit card, usually by post around four to eight weeks later. A married couple with one partner working are covered by the same number, as are all dependants (children under 16), but each dependant receives a separate social security card.

When applying for benefits or for social security reimbursements, you must apply to the office listed on your social security card and quote your social security number or produce your card. Note that there is a compulsory waiting period before a new subscriber can claim certain social security benefits, which varies depending on the particular benefit.

If you contribute to social security, your dependants will receive the same benefits. Dependants include your spouse (if he or she is not personally insured); your children supported by you under the age of 16 (or under the age of 20 if they are students or unable to work through illness or invalidity) and ascendants, descendants and relatives by marriage supported by you and living in the same household. Separated, divorced, and widowed people continue to receive benefits for at least one year after the “event”, or in the case of separated people, for as long as their spouse is employed providing they are not eligible for benefits from other sources.