It’s official: the new requirements for families to request aid of up to 100 euros for glasses and contact lenses for their children up to 16 years old

The Ministry of Health has published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) a modification of the agreement that regulates the VEO Planthe direct aid program for the purchase of glasses, prescription lenses or contact lenses for minors up to and including 16 years of age with refraction problems. This aid allows you to deduct up to 100 euros, VAT included, from the cost of the visual aid system purchased.

The new addendum introduces changes in the requirements that families must meet to access these aids, especially in relation to the obligation to prove that the minor is not a beneficiary of other visual aid benefits included in the common portfolio of the National Health System. This condition will be declared through a responsible declaration signed by the father, mother or guardian of the minor.

The aid may be applied to the purchase of visual aid systems as long as they have not been acquired before the entry into force of Royal Decree 902/2025, of October 7, nor after December 31, 2026. In addition, the minor may not have previously received a help from the VEO Plan for another visual aid system within a period of less than 365 days.

Who can request help of up to 100 euros for glasses and contact lenses

According to the BOE, minors who are 16 years old or younger at the time of requesting aid and who have a refraction problem that can be corrected with glasses, prescription lenses or contact lenses will be able to access the VEO Plan.

In order to benefit from this aid, it will be necessary to meet the following requirements:

• Be 16 years old or younger at the time of applying for help.
• Have the right to health care charged to public funds from the National Health System.
• Have a refraction problem that can be corrected with glasses, prescription lenses or contact lenses.
• Accept the quote offered by the participating optical establishment.
• Not be a beneficiary of visual aid benefits included in the common portfolio of the National Health System.
• Not having purchased the product before the entry into force of Royal Decree 902/2025 or after December 31, 2026.
• Not having purchased another visual aid system subsidized by the VEO Plan in the previous 365 days.

The right to health care must be accredited by means of the Individual Health Card, an insurance certificate from the National Institute of Social Security or the Social Institute of the Navy, or any document issued by the competent health authorities.

How to access the VEO Plan according to the age of the minor

The BOE differentiates the ways to access aid depending on the age of the minor and whether they have previously been a beneficiary of the VEO Plan.

In the case of children under 5 years of age or younger who request help for the first time, access will be through a prescription for glasses, prescription lenses or contact lenses issued by an ophthalmology professional, either through the National Health System or the private health system.

For children under 6 years of age or older, access can be done in three ways:

• Through the National Health System, with a prescription from an ophthalmology or optical-optometry professional.
• Through the private healthcare system, also with an ophthalmology or optical-optometry prescription.
• Through the optical health establishments participating in the VEO Plan, by prescription from a practicing registered optician-optometrist, provided that a pathological origin of the refraction problem has been ruled out.

If the professional suspects that the visual problem may be due to a pathology, he or she must recommend that the family go to a doctor from the National Health System or the private health system for an evaluation.

What documentation will families have to present?

To request help at a participating optical health establishment, the minor or his or her father, mother or guardian must provide a series of documents and information. Among them, a refractive prescription will be necessary in an appropriate prescription format, which includes at least the name and surname of the minor, the identification of the health professional who issues it, their professional category and membership number, as well as the validity date.

The BOE also establishes that no more than six months may pass between the validity date of the refractive prescription and the moment in which access to aid is requested. If this period is exceeded, it will be necessary to obtain a new prescription.

You must also provide:

• Name and surname of the minor beneficiary.
• Name and surname of the responsible father, mother or guardian.
• Identification document of the minor, if available.
• Identification document of the father, mother or guardian.
• Document accrediting the right to healthcare from public funds.
• Signed Annex I, where the budget is accepted and the responsible declaration is included.

In this annex, the family must declare whether the minor is not a beneficiary of other visual aid benefits included in the common portfolio of the National Health System and whether or not he or she has received other subsidies, aid, income or resources to purchase a similar visual aid system.

How much money does the aid for glasses and contact lenses cover?

The VEO Plan aid covers up to 100 euros, VAT included, of the cost of glasses, prescription lenses or contact lenses purchased by the minor. This amount is applied to the cost of the visual aid system, so it is not an aid that the family charges directly into their bank account, but rather a contribution linked to the purchase of the product in participating establishments.

Once the file is completed, the General Council of Colleges of Opticians-Optometrists will review the documentation. If everything is correct, the file will go to the liquidation phase. In the event that information is missing or there are errors, the optical establishment will have a period of 10 business days to correct the defects.

The Ministry of Health will pay the corresponding amounts after verifying the supporting account presented, and subsequently the General Council of Colleges of Opticians-Optometrists will distribute the funds to the optical health establishments participating in the VEO Plan.