By Dr Andrew Smith | Medical Director, Wilmer Health | Published: 11 February 2025 | Last Update: 20 April 2026
This guide is reviewed regularly to reflect current Spanish consulate requirements. Last updated April 2026 by Dr Andrew Smith, Medical Director, Wilmer Health. For specific advice about your individual application, contact us at hello@wilmerhealth.com.
The medical certificate is one of those things that looks straightforward on your visa checklist — until you realise there’s more to it than just the certificate itself. Most applicants end up paying for three separate things: the certificate, the apostille, and a Spanish translation. And if you don’t know that going in, the final bill can be higher than expected.
This guide breaks it all down clearly — what each part costs, what the market looks like, and how to get everything sorted without overpaying or cutting corners. For the full picture on how the Spanish visa medical certificate works, read our complete guide — Spanish Visa Medical Certificate in the UK: Everything You Need to Know (2026).
A Spanish visa medical certificate isn’t just one document — it involves up to three steps, each with its own cost:
The certificate: This is the letter from a licensed UK doctor confirming you’re free from any serious infectious diseases. It’s the document the Spanish consulate asks for — but on its own, it’s not enough.
The apostille: An official stamp from the UK government (the FCDO) that makes your certificate legally recognised in Spain. Without this, the consulate won’t accept it — full stop.
The Spanish sworn translation: If your certificate is in English, it needs to be translated into Spanish by an officially registered sworn translator. This is separate from the certificate and the apostille, and it’s often the cost people forget to budget for.
Some providers charge for each of these separately. Others bundle them together. Knowing this upfront makes it much easier to compare prices properly.
NHS GP: Some NHS GPs might do this for free or for a small fee. But here’s the problem — most aren’t registered with the FCDO, which means the certificate can’t be officially stamped (apostilled) for use in Spain. You’d end up needing extra steps to fix this, which costs more time and money than just using the right provider from the start. Read our full guide on getting a Spanish visa medical certificate through the NHS if you want to learn more.
Private GP or clinic: Private clinics usually charge between £50 and £150 for the certificate. Prices vary a lot depending on where you are and whether you need an in-person appointment. Always check the doctor is FCDO-registered before you book — otherwise the same problem applies.
Online specialist providers: This is the most straightforward option for most people, and usually the most affordable. Prices for the certificate alone typically range from £59 to £75. At Wilmer Health, it’s £59 — and it comes in both English and Spanish as standard, so you don’t need to pay for a separate translation.
The FCDO themselves charge around £50 for an apostille — so that’s the bare minimum you’ll pay if you go direct. On top of that, if you use a specialist legalisation service to handle it for you, there’ll be an additional fee. So in practice, expect to pay £50 or more depending on how you go about it.
Turnaround time is worth factoring in too. The FCDO’s standard processing often takes longer than people expect — delays are common, particularly during busy periods. If your consulate appointment is coming up, don’t bank on a quick turnaround when going direct.
One thing to be aware of: the apostille can only be applied to certificates signed by FCDO-registered doctors. If your doctor isn’t on that list, you’ll need an extra step called notarisation first — which adds cost and time before you can even get the apostille. It’s one of the main reasons using a specialist provider from the start saves money overall.
When the apostille is part of a combined package — as it is with Wilmer Health — everything is handled by specialists who have direct access to the FCDO counter in Milton Keynes. This is why we can offer 10, 5, and 4 working day turnarounds on our full packages, while applicants going through the standard FCDO route directly can find themselves waiting significantly longer with no guaranteed timeline. If you want to learn more about the legalisation process, read our full guide on how to get an apostille for your Spanish visa medical certificate.
A sworn translation — done by a translator officially registered with the Spanish government — typically costs between £60 and £100 in the UK. Sometimes more, depending on the translator and how quickly you need it.
This is often the cost that catches people out. A Google Translate version or a bilingual friend won’t be accepted — it has to be an official sworn translation.
The simplest way to avoid this cost entirely is to use a provider that issues bilingual certificates. At Wilmer Health, your certificate comes in both English and Spanish as standard — so there’s no translation to arrange and no extra cost. Compared to getting a sworn translation separately, that’s a saving of around £75 or more. Find out more about the benefits of a bilingual Spanish visa medical certificate.
Yes, if issued in English. It must be a sworn translation — carried out by a translator officially registered with the Spanish government. An informal translation or one done by a bilingual friend won’t be accepted.
A bilingual certificate — issued in both English and Spanish — removes the need for a separate translation entirely. At Wilmer Health, our certificates come in bilingual format as standard, which means no separate translation, no extra wait, and typically a saving of £75 or more. For NLV applicants coordinating multiple documents at once, having one less thing to organise is genuinely valuable.
Read our full guide on getting your Spanish visa medical certificate translated in the UK.
If you add up the certificate, apostille, and translation separately, the total usually comes to somewhere between £150 and £250, depending on which providers you use and how fast you need things done.
At Wilmer Health, our packages cover all three in one go:
No hidden extras. No juggling multiple providers. Everything arrives together, in the right order, ready to submit.
Let’s put some rough numbers on it. If you were to sort everything separately
Total: roughly £170–£250 or more — and that’s before the time spent coordinating three different providers, making sure they’re all working in the right order, and chasing anything that’s running late. Factor in FCDO processing delays and the total timeline can stretch significantly too.
Wilmer Health’s full package at £149 sits at the lower end of that range — and because everything is handled together, you don’t have to worry about the order or the timing. It’s all sorted for you.
For most people, a combined package isn’t just more convenient. It genuinely works out cheaper.
Each person applying needs their own certificate, apostille, and translation — including children. The costs above apply per person.
At Wilmer Health, we can handle all family members at the same time, so everything arrives together and nothing gets out of sync.
The costs above apply whichever Spanish long-stay visa you’re applying for. For guidance specific to your visa type, read our dedicated medical certificate guides for the NLV, Student Visa, and Digital Nomad Visa.
We keep our pricing simple and transparent — what you see is what you pay. Our doctors are GMC-registered and FCDO-verified, our certificates come in English and Spanish as standard, and our apostille team works directly with the FCDO, which means faster turnaround times than most standalone services.
Everything is done online, and we’re on hand seven days a week if you need us. Got a question before you apply? Drop us a message at hello@wilmerhealth.com — we’re always happy to help.