By Dr Andrew Smith | Medical Director, Wilmer Health | Published: 5 February 2025 | Last Update: 18 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.
So, you’re planning to move to Spain — whether you’re already researching neighbourhoods, working out what to do with your furniture, or just trying to figure out how to fit a year abroad into one very optimistic suitcase — and somewhere in that chaos, you’ve landed on a page about medical certificates. Not the fun part, we know.
The good news is that a Spanish visa medical certificate is actually one of the more straightforward documents in your application — as long as you know what you need and where to get it. The bad news is that it’s also one where mistakes are surprisingly common, often because applicants use the wrong provider, end up with incorrectly worded certificates, or get the order of steps wrong.
This guide is here to make sure none of that happens to you. We’ll walk you through everything — what the certificate is, who needs one, what it has to say, how to get it apostilled and translated, how much it all costs, and when to time it. Where a topic has its own in-depth guide, we’ll link you there — this page gives you the full picture at a glance.
The medical certificate requirements themselves haven’t changed for 2026 — your certificate still needs to follow the International Health Regulations (2005) and be issued by a GMC-registered, FCDO-verified doctor. What has changed is the environment around it. Spanish consulates are busier and scrutinising applications more carefully than they used to, which means getting every document right the first time matters more than ever. This isn’t the place to cut corners.
A Spanish visa medical certificate is an official document from a licensed doctor confirming that you don’t have any disease that poses a serious public health risk — specifically in line with the International Health Regulations (2005). It is a mandatory requirement for most Spanish long-stay visa applications, including the Non-Lucrative Visa, Student Visa, Digital Nomad Visa, Work Visa, and Family Reunification Visa.
It’s worth knowing that it isn’t a full medical examination. It’s a professional declaration based on your medical history. The doctor isn’t examining you head to toe — they’re confirming, based on your medical history, that you meet the health requirements set by Spanish immigration authorities.
Most long-stay Spanish visa applicants need one. Here’s a quick overview by visa type:
Yes, you’ll need one. The NLV is the main route for people planning to live in Spain without working — retirees, people living on savings or passive income — and the medical certificate is a standard part of the document pack. Our NLV medical certificate guide covers the specific requirements in detail.
Yes. Whether you’re heading to a Spanish university or a language school, the medical certificate is on the standard document checklist. Everything specific to students is covered in our student visa medical certificate guide.
Yes. Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa — designed for remote workers employed by non-Spanish companies — also requires a medical certificate. The two-route application process has some specific timing implications, which we cover in our Digital Nomad Visa medical certificate guide.
Yes — for most work visa routes. Given the employer-led application process, timing the certificate correctly matters more than most people realise. Our work visa medical certificate guide explains why.
Yes — for the main applicant, and usually for dependants joining them too. If you’re bringing a family to Spain, our family reunification visa medical certificate guide covers everything including how to coordinate multiple certificates.
Yes — children applying alongside a parent typically need their own medical certificate too. Our guide on Spanish visa medical certificates for children covers what’s involved.
One thing worth saying: the actual certificate is the same across all these visa types. What differs is everything else around it — the other documents, the financial requirements, the consulate processes. So if you’re not sure which visa type applies to you, don’t worry — sorting your medical certificate works the same way regardless.
The certificate must meet specific requirements to be accepted by the Spanish consulate. Getting the wording or format wrong is one of the most common reasons certificates are rejected — even when issued by well-meaning doctors unfamiliar with the requirements.
At a minimum, your certificate must:
A bilingual certificate — issued in both English and Spanish — is worth considering. It removes the need for a separate sworn translation later, which saves time and money. Find out more about the benefits of a bilingual Spanish visa medical certificate.
Yes — and this catches a lot of people out. For your certificate to be apostilled (which it needs to be before Spain will accept it), the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office needs to be able to verify your doctor’s signature on their register. If your doctor isn’t on that register, you’ll need to get the certificate notarised first — which adds an extra step, extra cost, and extra time you probably don’t want.
Choosing a provider whose doctors are already FCDO-registered — as is the case here at Wilmer Health — removes this complication entirely.
It’s not impossible, but it’s rarely a good idea. Most NHS GPs don’t offer this service — it sits outside standard NHS provision — and the ones who do are often not FCDO-registered, which creates the notarisation problem above. On top of that, many NHS GPs simply aren’t familiar with the exact wording Spanish consulates require, which increases the risk of the certificate coming back rejected.
If your GP has offered to do it, it’s worth checking their FCDO registration before you go ahead. Read our full guide on getting a Spanish visa medical certificate through the NHS — including why a private provider is usually the faster, simpler option.
Yes, always. An apostille is the official stamp from the FCDO that makes your UK-issued certificate legally recognised in Spain. Spain is signed up to the Hague Apostille Convention, which means any official document issued in the UK needs to go through this process before Spanish authorities will accept it.
No apostille, no valid certificate — it’s as simple as that. Find out exactly how to get your apostille in the UK.
Yes, if it’s issued in English. And it needs to be a sworn translation — done by a translator officially registered with the Spanish government. A Google Translate version, a bilingual friend, or an unaccredited freelancer won’t be accepted.
If you use a provider that issues bilingual certificates, you can sidestep this entirely. At Wilmer Health, our certificates come in both English and Spanish as standard — which means no separate translation, no extra wait, and typically a saving of £75 or more compared to getting it done separately. For more on the translation process, read our full guide on getting your Spanish visa medical certificate translated in the UK.
Yes. The Spanish consulate needs the original, physical copy of your medical certificate — not a scan, not a photocopy. This is because the original wet ink signature is what gets apostilled, and the consulate will check the document’s authenticity in person at your appointment. Read our full guide on original copies, wet ink signatures, and what the consulate actually checks.
A Spanish visa medical certificate is valid for three months from the date of issue — so your certificate needs to have been issued within the 90 days before your consulate appointment.
It sounds simple, but timing this right is genuinely important. Get it too early and it could expire before your appointment. Leave it too late and you might not have enough time for the apostille and translation.
As a rule of thumb, aim to get your medical certificate four to six weeks before your consulate appointment. That gives you enough time to get the certificate issued, apostilled, and translated — without running the risk of it expiring before you actually need it.
You’ve got a few options:
The most convenient route for most people. A specialist service like here at Wilmer Health lets you complete everything online — no appointments, no waiting rooms. You fill in a medical history form, one of our FCDO-registered doctors reviews it, and your certificate is issued and posted to you. We can also handle the apostille and sworn translation in the same process, so it’s all sorted in one go.
Some private GP clinics offer this service. If you go this route, make sure you ask upfront whether the doctor is FCDO-registered — otherwise you’ll hit the notarisation problem mentioned above.
Possible in some cases but not the recommended route, for the reasons above.
UK applicants submit their Spanish visa applications through BLS International centres in London, Manchester, or Edinburgh — depending on where you live. The medical certificate requirements are identical whichever centre processes your application.
Costs vary depending on what you need and how quickly you need it. At Wilmer Health, we offer a few options so you can choose what works for your timeline and budget:
No hidden extras, no chasing multiple providers. For a full breakdown of costs across all providers, read our guide on how much a Spanish visa medical certificate costs in the UK.
Children applying for a Spanish visa alongside a parent will typically need their own medical certificate. The process is the same as for adults, though there are a few specific considerations around consent and format. Read our full guide on Spanish visa medical certificates for children.
It can — and it happens more often than people expect. The most common reasons are incorrect wording, a doctor who isn’t FCDO-registered, a missing stamp or letterhead, or a certificate that’s expired by the time of the consulate appointment.
Most of these issues are completely avoidable if you use a specialist provider who knows the requirements inside out. But if you’ve already had a certificate rejected, don’t panic — it’s usually fixable. Read our full guide on why Spanish visa medical certificates get rejected and how to fix it.
Head straight to the guide that’s right for you:
We set up Wilmer Health because we kept seeing the same thing — people applying for their Spanish visa, doing everything right, and then hitting unnecessary delays because their medical certificate wasn’t quite right. Wrong wording, wrong doctor, wrong order of steps. Avoidable problems that cost time and money at exactly the moment you don’t need the stress.
That’s what we’re here to fix. Our doctors are GMC-registered and FCDO-verified, our certificates are issued in bilingual format as standard, and we handle the apostille and sworn translation in the same process — so everything arrives together, in the right order, ready to submit.
It’s all done online, and we’re available seven days a week. Most of our customers tell us the process was simpler than they expected — which is exactly how it should be.
If you have any questions before you get started, drop us a line at hello@wilmerhealth.com. We’re happy to help.
