Everything You Need To Know About Getting A Medical Certificate For Spanish Residency

This guide explains which visas need the certificate, the exact wording, who can sign it, the apostille and translation rules in the UK, Ireland and the US, what it costs and the mistakes that get applications sent back. Every rule was checked on the consulates’ own pages and in the official gazette on 29 October 2026; the sources are listed at the end.

Which visas need a medical certificate?

Spain’s immigration regulation, in force since 20 May 2025 (Real Decreto 1155/2024), requires the certificate for two groups of visas:

The visas under the entrepreneurs law (Ley 14/2013), which include the digital nomad visa, list their own requirements, and a medical certificate is not among them; they do require health insurance with an insurer authorised in Spain. For applications made in Spain, the immigration authority confirmed in its management criterion 5/2025 of 12 September 2025 that no medical certificate is needed. The golden visa, which used to have its own rules, was abolished on 3 April 2025.

What the certificate must say

The certificate has to state, in substance, that you do not suffer from any disease that could have serious public health repercussions under the International Health Regulations of 2005. Consulates publish the wording they expect. The London consulate gives:

“This health certificate states that Mr./Mrs. (...) does not suffer from any of the diseases that may have serious public health repercussions in accordance with what is stipulated by the International Health Regulations of 2005.”

and, for a certificate issued in Spain:

“Este certificado médico acredita que el Sr./Sra. (...) no padece ninguna de las enfermedades que pueden tener repercusiones para la salud pública graves, de conformidad con lo dispuesto en el Reglamento Sanitario Internacional de 2005.”

The certificate does not need to list diseases or test results; the consulates ask only for the statement. It should be on the doctor’s or clinic’s headed paper, signed and stamped, with your full name as it appears in your passport.

How recent it must be

The regulation itself sets no period, so each consulate decides. London, Edinburgh and Miami ask for a certificate issued within three months before the date you apply; Washington and Los Angeles say within 90 days. If your consulate’s page does not say, work to three months. Book the doctor’s appointment last, once your other documents are ready and you have a consulate appointment date, so the certificate is still in date on the day.

Who can sign it

• In the UK: any registered medical practitioner at a public or private medical centre in the UK, or a doctor in Spain. The London consulate does not recommend particular clinics, and it refuses certificates issued in any other country.
• In the US: a physician, not a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, with the clinic’s stamp, the doctor’s signature and licence number, on letterhead or on the consulate’s own template (Washington).

Some NHS family doctors do not write these letters, or charge for them as private work. Private clinics, including online services, sell them; the consulates do not say whether a certificate after a video consultation is acceptable, so prefer an in-person examination if in doubt, and check before paying that the doctor’s signature can be apostilled.

The apostille

An apostille is the international stamp that proves a signature on a public document is genuine.

• UK: the Spanish consulates in London, Edinburgh and Manchester require it. In the UK it is issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office through GOV.UK, for £45 (paper) or £35 (electronic). The London consulate adds an important detail: the apostille must cover the doctor’s own signature. An apostille on a solicitor’s or notary’s signature, which some services use, is not accepted in London.
• Ireland: the Dublin consulate asks for the certificate to be legalised or apostilled, which in Ireland is done by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
• US: the consulates in Washington, New York and Miami do not ask for an apostille on the medical certificate (they do on other documents, such as the FBI record). Check your own consulate’s list.

A certificate issued by a doctor in Spain needs no apostille.

Translation

• UK: a certificate in English must be translated into Spanish by a sworn translator (traductor jurado). The apostille itself does not need translating if Spanish is one of its languages. The London consulate publishes a list of sworn translators.
• Ireland: check the Dublin consulate’s checklist for your visa; plan for a sworn translation unless it says otherwise.
• US: Washington and Los Angeles publish a bilingual English and Spanish template; if your doctor completes it, no translation is needed. Elsewhere, attach a sworn translation.

What it costs

Prices in the UK in October 2026, as published by the providers, are a guide only:

• a private or online medical certificate: about £59 to £69;
• packages including the apostille: from about £149;
• the GOV.UK apostille on its own: £35 to £45;
• a sworn translation: priced by each translator, usually per page.

Step by step (UK)

1. Check your consulate’s current checklist for your visa (London, Edinburgh or Manchester, depending on where you live).
2. Book your visa appointment. Spanish consulates in the UK and several in the US take applications through BLS International visa centres.
3. About four to six weeks before the appointment, get the certificate from a registered doctor, with the consulate’s wording, on headed paper, signed and stamped.
4. Apostille it at GOV.UK on the doctor’s signature.
5. Have it and the apostille translated by a sworn translator.
6. Take the original, the translation and a photocopy to your appointment.

Common reasons it is rejected

• Older than three months on the day you apply.
• Wording that does not mention the International Health Regulations of 2005.
• No stamp, letterhead or signature, or a name that does not match the passport.
• An apostille on someone other than the doctor (London).
• No sworn translation of an English certificate (UK).
• Issued in a third country when applying in London.

You will also need health insurance

The non-lucrative, student, family and digital nomad visas all ask for private health insurance with full cover in Spain, usually with no co-payments and no waiting periods. Our page on health insurance for Spanish visas explains which Sanitas plans the consulates accept, with a price in a few seconds; students can see health insurance for student visas.

More on the visas themselves: the non-lucrative visa, the student visa, the digital nomad visa and the criminal record certificate.

Sources

All checked on 29 October 2026. Boletín Oficial del Estado: Real Decreto 1155/2024, the immigration regulation (articles 34, 35, 37 and 38), Ley 14/2013 (article 62, visas under the entrepreneurs law) and Ley Orgánica 1/2025 (end of the golden visa). Dirección General de Gestión Migratoria: management criterion 5/2025 of 12 September 2025 (applications from inside Spain). Spanish consulates: London (non-lucrative residence visa, updated 6 July 2026), Edinburgh (updated 22 October 2026), Manchester, Dublin, Washington, New York, Los Angeles and Miami visa pages. GOV.UK: apostille service and fees. Prices: the published price pages of UK online medical certificate providers.