By Dr Andrew Smith | Medical Director, Wilmer Health | Published: 26 April 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.
If you’re applying for a Spanish long-stay visa from the UK — whether that’s a Non-Lucrative Visa, a Student Visa, a Digital Nomad Visa, or another long-stay route — a medical certificate is one of the documents you’ll need. But it’s not just any letter from a doctor. The Spanish consulate has very specific requirements for what the certificate must include, who can issue it, and how it needs to be prepared before submission.
Get any of these wrong and the certificate will be rejected — even if everything else in your application is perfect. This guide covers exactly what’s required, from start to finish.
For the full picture on the whole process, read our complete guide — Spanish Visa Medical Certificate in the UK: Everything You Need to Know (2026).
It’s a letter from a licensed UK doctor confirming that you don’t have any serious infectious diseases that could pose a risk to public health in Spain. It’s not a full health check — it’s a specific declaration that follows a format set by the Spanish government. The wording, the doctor, and the preparation all need to meet strict requirements before the consulate will accept it.
This is the most important requirement and the most commonly got wrong. The certificate must state that you don’t suffer from any disease with serious public health implications in accordance with the International Health Regulations (2005). The exact phrasing matters — a generic letter from your doctor saying you’re in good health won’t be accepted. Read our full guide on what your Spanish visa medical certificate should say.
In the UK, only doctors registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) can issue a valid Spanish visa medical certificate. This rules out non-qualified practitioners and means you need a fully registered UK doctor.
This is where a lot of people become stuck. For the certificate to be apostilled — which is required before Spain will accept it — the issuing doctor must be registered with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). Most NHS GPs are not on this list. If yours isn’t FCDO-registered, an extra notarisation step is required before apostille, which adds time and cost.
The doctor’s signature must be handwritten in ink — not printed, not digital, not stamped. The FCDO checks this signature when applying the apostille. No wet ink signature means no valid apostille.
The certificate must carry the doctor’s or clinic’s official stamp, confirming the identity and credentials of the issuing doctor.
The certificate must be issued on the doctor’s or clinic’s official letterhead — not on a plain sheet of paper.
Once the certificate has been issued, it needs an apostille — the official FCDO stamp that makes your UK-issued document legally recognised in Spain. Without it, the consulate won’t accept the certificate regardless of how well it’s been prepared. Find out more about how to get an apostille for your Spanish visa medical certificate.
The consulate needs the certificate in Spanish. If yours was issued in English only, you’ll need a sworn translation from a translator officially registered with the Spanish government. If your certificate is bilingual — English and Spanish on the same document — you’re already covered and don’t need to arrange a separate translation. Find out more about getting your certificate translated.
The certificate is only valid for three months from the date it was signed. It must have been issued within the 90 days before you submit your visa application. If it’s older than that, the consulate will reject it and ask for a new one.
A scan, a photocopy, or a PDF won’t be accepted. The consulate needs the original paper document — the one with the doctor’s actual wet ink signature on it. Everything needs to arrive together at your appointment.
Don’t panic — most issues are fixable, but it’s important to act quickly. If the wording is wrong or the certificate has expired, you’ll need a new one. If the apostille or translation is missing, those can often be sorted without starting from scratch.
Read our guide on what to do if your Spanish visa medical certificate has been rejected, or if your appointment is coming up soon, read our guide on how to get your certificate sorted fast.
Every certificate we issue meets all ten requirements as standard — correct wording, GMC-registered and FCDO-verified doctors, wet ink signature, official stamp, headed paper, and bilingual format. We handle the apostille through direct access to the FCDO counter in Milton Keynes, which means faster turnaround than the standard route.
Everything is done online, and we’re on hand seven days a week. Got a question? Drop us a message at hello@wilmerhealth.com — we’re always happy to help.