How to Get a Medical Certificate for a Spanish Visa

To get a medical certificate for a Spanish visa, book an appointment with a licensed physician (MD or DO), bring the consulate’s bilingual template, and have the doctor complete it with the specific declaration required by Spanish consular rules: that you are free from drug addiction, mental illness, and any disease that could cause serious repercussions to public health under the International Health Regulations of 2005. The certificate must be signed, stamped, and dated within 90 days of your visa submission. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants cannot sign it.

Which Spanish Visas Require a Medical Certificate

Most long-stay visas require one. The Spanish consulate in Washington, D.C. lists a medical certificate as mandatory for all student visa applicants regardless of study length.¹ Employee (work) visas carry the same requirement.² Non-lucrative residence visas also require one.³

Short-stay Schengen tourist visas (90 days or less) generally do not require a medical certificate. Requirements can vary slightly between consulates, so check your specific consulate’s document checklist before assuming one way or the other.

What the Certificate Must Say

Wording is where most rejections start. Consulates want a specific declaration, not a general “clean bill of health” letter. The certificate must state that you are free from drug addiction, mental illness, and do not suffer from any disease that could cause serious repercussions to public health according to the International Health Regulations of 2005.⁴ The reference to the International Health Regulations of 2005 must appear by name. A certificate that only says you are healthy, without citing IHR 2005, will likely be rejected.

The exam itself is a general check-up. Your doctor is not testing you for each disease named in the IHR 2005 framework; the certificate language confirms they found no evidence of such conditions.⁵

Format, Signature, and Timing Rules

The physical document has to meet several requirements at once:

Printed on the doctor’s or hospital’s official letterhead, or completed on the consulate’s provided template.²
Signed by the physician in ink, with an official medical stamp, the doctor’s license number, and the date of issuance.¹
Issued within 90 days of your visa application submission.³
Your full name identical to your passport, including middle names and spelling.⁴

One detail catches people out: if your doctor fills out the consulate template directly rather than using their own letterhead, the medical stamp is not optional. Without it, the template is considered invalid, and the doctor would need to transfer the information onto their own letterhead instead.⁶

Who Can Sign It

The certificate must be signed by a physician holding an MD or DO. Spanish consulates explicitly state that certificates signed by a nurse practitioner or physician assistant will not be accepted.² If an NP or PA handles your usual care, you will need to see an actual doctor for this document. The physician also has to be licensed in the country where the examination takes place.

Where to Get the Certificate

Several options work. The best one depends on your timeline and whether the provider is familiar with Spanish consular requirements.

Your Primary Care Doctor

If your regular doctor is an MD or DO, this is often the simplest path. The appointment is essentially a general check-up. Most primary care physicians rarely see requests for Spanish visa certificates, so print the consulate’s template beforehand and bring it with you, along with a short summary of the required declaration.

Travel Health Clinics

Clinics that specialize in international health tend to know the format and required language for various countries, including Spain. They cost more than a standard office visit, often ranging from around $150 to several hundred dollars depending on the clinic and location.

Online Telemedicine Services

Several platforms connect applicants with licensed physicians who specialize in visa medical certificates. These can help if you are in a rural area, running short on time, or dealing with local doctors unfamiliar with Spanish consular requirements. Confirm two things before booking: that you will be seen by an MD or DO (not an NP or PA), and that the service delivers a physical, signed, and stamped document. A digital-only certificate will not work.

Consulate-Recommended Providers

Some Spanish consulates list recommended doctors or clinics on their websites. Check your consulate’s visa information page before scheduling anywhere else. A provider on that list has likely issued the certificate many times and knows exactly what the consulate expects.

Use the Bilingual Template

Most Spanish consulates offer a downloadable bilingual (English and Spanish) medical certificate template on their websites. Using it is the single best shortcut available. The required IHR 2005 language is already printed on the form, so your doctor only fills in your details and signs. And if you use the bilingual template, you do not need a separate sworn translation into Spanish.¹

Send the template to your doctor’s office ahead of time. They can print it on their letterhead or complete it directly on the template. Directly on the template is fine, provided the office stamp appears; without the stamp, the template is invalid.⁵

Translation and Apostille

If your certificate is written only in English and you did not use the bilingual template, you will need a sworn or certified translation into Spanish.² That means an official translator, not a machine translation or a bilingual friend. Sworn translations typically run between $20 and $70 per page depending on location and turnaround.

An apostille is generally not required for the medical certificate when applying from the United States. US consulate pages list apostille requirements for criminal background checks but not for medical certificates.² Consulates in other countries may handle this differently, so verify with the one processing your application.

Preparing for the Appointment

Bring three things:

Your passport, so the doctor uses the exact name that appears in it.
A printed copy of the consulate’s template, even if your doctor plans to use their own letterhead. It shows them the exact wording to include.
A printed summary of your consulate’s medical certificate instructions, with the IHR 2005 reference, the stamp requirement, and the MD/DO-only rule highlighted.

Tell the doctor upfront that the certificate is for a Spanish visa, and walk through the required declaration before the exam. Getting it right in the room is easier than scheduling a follow-up to fix a missing line. Review the completed certificate before you leave the office. Confirm the IHR 2005 reference appears, the doctor’s license number is listed, and the document is signed, dated, and stamped.

Bring both the original certificate and a photocopy to your visa appointment.⁵ Consulates keep one and return the other, depending on the office.

Common Reasons Certificates Get Rejected

Missing the IHR 2005 reference. “Patient is in good health” without the specific citation gets sent back.
Signed by an NP or PA rather than an MD or DO. Consulates check credentials.¹
No stamp on a template-based certificate.⁶
Certificate older than 90 days at submission. Count backward from the submission date, not the appointment date, and schedule the exam later in your preparation rather than earlier.
Name mismatch with the passport. A missing middle name or different spelling can trigger rejection.⁴
The drug addiction and mental illness language is missing. Some certificates cite IHR 2005 but omit the separate declaration on drug addiction and mental illness. The bilingual template includes both, another reason to use it.

If a certificate is rejected, the consulate will not fix it. You will need a new one, and in most cases a new visa appointment as well. Build a buffer of at least two weeks before submission so there is time to redo the certificate if something is off.

Applicants Under 18

The medical certificate rules for minors are the same as for adults: same wording, same format, same physician restrictions. Minors also face additional documentation. If a student turns 18 after applying for the visa but before the visa’s validity period begins, a notarized authorization from both parents must be submitted.⁷ Check the consulate’s minor-specific checklist for other required parental consent forms and supporting documents.

1
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation. Study Visa
2
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation. Employee Visa
3
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation. Non-Working (Non-Lucrative) Residence Visa
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General Consulate of Spain in San Francisco. Medical Certificate for a Spanish Visa
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General Consulate of Spain. Medical Certificate of Good Health
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General Consulate of Spain. Bilingual Medical Certificate
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation. Study Visa for Minors