By Dr Andrew Smith | Medical Director, Wilmer Health | Published: 14 May 2026
This guide is reviewed regularly to reflect current Spanish consulate requirements. Last updated in 2026 by Dr Andrew Smith, Medical Director, Wilmer Health. For specific advice about your individual application, contact us at hello@wilmerhealth.com.
Applying for a Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV) from the USA can be confusing. By the time you’re looking at the medical certificate, you’ve probably already spent weeks working through IPREM income thresholds, health insurance requirements, and BLS appointment availability. You may be coordinating a home sale, a retirement date, or a major life transition. You don’t need this part of the application to be a problem.
The good news is that the medical certificate itself is straightforward. The complications, when they come up, tend to be the same handful of things: getting your US doctor to cooperate, handling certificates for family members, and timing it correctly when you’ve got multiple documents to organise.
This guide covers what US NLV applicants specifically need to know about the medical certificate requirement and how to avoid rejection. For the general guide on how to get a Spanish visa medical certificate from the USA, see our complete guide for US applicants. This article focuses on what’s specific to NLV applicants in the USA.
At Wilmer Health, you can get a Spanish visa medical certificate in English and Spanish, signed today by a licensed doctor.
✓ Issued the same day, no appointment needed
✓ Issued on the official bilingual template – saving you $100+ on translation
✓ Hand-signed by a licensed doctor (MD)
✓ Original copy shipped to you by priority courier, anywhere in the USA
✓ $149 flat fee, with a money-back guarantee
✓ Accepted at all 9 Spanish consulates in the USA
Or, if you’d like to understand the process in more detail, please read on →
Yes. A medical certificate is a mandatory part of every Spanish NLV application. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how recently you had a physical. The Spanish consulate requires this document, with specific wording, before your application can be processed.
Get the certificate right, and it’s one document you don’t have to worry about. Get it wrong, and it can hold up the entire application.
To see a full walkthrough of what a properly-formatted Spanish visa medical certificate looks like, see our Spanish visa medical certificate example.
This is one of the most commonly overlooked aspects of the NLV application. If you’re applying with a spouse, civil or registered partner, or dependent children, each person needs their own medical certificate.
A single certificate doesn’t cover a family. Each applicant gets their own, with their own name, their own doctor’s signature, and their own date of issue. All certificates need to be within the same 3-month validity window when you submit, which has implications for timing if you’re coordinating multiple appointments.
The medical certificate for an NLV is the same document required for any other Spanish long-stay visa. Spanish consulates have specific requirements about what it must say, who must sign it, and how it must be presented.
Your certificate must include:
For the full breakdown of each requirement, including exact wording and consulate-specific format notes, see our Spanish visa medical certificate requirements checklist.
No. US applicants do not need an apostille for the medical certificate.
This is a significant difference from UK applicants, who do need an apostille (via the FCDO) for their certificates. For US applicants, the certificate is accepted by Spanish consulates without any additional legalization, provided it meets the standard format requirements (correct wording, doctor’s signature, license number, letterhead, etc.).
Same answer: if your certificate is issued in bilingual format (English and Spanish on the same document), no separate translation is needed. Every US Spanish consulate accepts the bilingual model.
If your certificate is issued in English only, you’ll need a sworn translation by a certified translator registered with the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This adds cost and time. The simpler route is to get a bilingual certificate signed by your doctor from the start.
The medical certificate is valid for 3 months from the date it’s signed. The certificate must still be within that window when you submit your application at your BLS appointment.
The practical rule for NLV applicants: order your medical certificate 2 to 4 weeks before your BLS appointment, not earlier.
This matters more for NLV applicants than for some other visa types because:
If you’re applying with family members, time everyone’s certificates together so they’re all in date for your BLS appointment. It’s the simplest way to keep things straightforward.
You have three realistic options for getting a Spanish NLV medical certificate from the USA.
If you have an established relationship with a primary care doctor who’s willing to sign the certificate using the IHR 2005 wording, this can be a workable option. You’ll need to:
If you’d like to take a template along with you, you can download the bilingual templates used at Spanish consulates in the USA.
Many US NLV applicants think of urgent care as a quick alternative when their PCP isn’t an option. There are two things to be aware of:
Urgent care can work if you find a location with an MD or DO on duty who’s willing to produce the certificate with the correct wording. In practice, this can be a difficult combination to find.
This is the route most US NLV applicants choose, especially when timing is tight or family members are involved. Specialist services like Wilmer Health issue certificates the same day, in bilingual format, hand-signed by a licensed MD, with the original shipped to your US address by priority courier. The IHR 2005 wording is consulate-approved as standard, so there’s no coordination required.
For NLV applicants specifically, the specialist route has some particular advantages:
For most US NLV applicants, the medical certificate becomes a problem only when family applications need coordinating across multiple certificates, or when the consulate’s specific wording requirements aren’t met. Both problems disappear with a specialist service that handles these every day.
If you’d like us to handle yours, our US service is $149 flat fee per applicant, same-day, hand-signed by a licensed doctor, and shipped to your US address.