Police and medical certificatesArticle 6 of 6 · 2 min read
Who can sign your visa medical certificate and where
Explains who may sign the medical certificate for a long-stay Spanish visa, where to get it, what language it needs and what it costs. For anyone applying for a visa from abroad who needs to book the exam.
Key rules
- Who signs: Only a licensed medical doctor can sign, with their name and registration number on the certificate.
- Where: Get it from a doctor in the country where you file your visa application.
- Tests: No specific tests are required; a consultation and signed statement are enough.
Who can sign it
A licensed medical doctor must sign your certificate. This is usually a general practitioner or a doctor at a recognised clinic or hospital.
Nurses, pharmacists and unlicensed practitioners are not accepted.
Some consulates only accept doctors from an approved list. If yours publishes one on its website, choose from it. A telehealth or workplace doctor counts only if they are licensed in the country where you file and put their registration number on the certificate.
Where to get it
You file at the Spanish consulate for the place where you live, so that is where the certificate is normally issued.
How the certificate is legalised and translated depends on the country that issued it: see What the visa medical certificate must say.
What it costs
The medical certificate has no official fee; you pay the doctor or clinic directly. A consultation with a signed statement costs between €30 and €100; a full check-up with tests costs more. No tests are required, and if a clinic adds them you pay extra. Get a price quote before you book.
Book the exam
- Pick a licensed doctor in the country where you will file.
- Get a price quote and ask whether tests are included.
- Book close to your filing date: the certificate must be issued within the 3 months before you file (see What the visa medical certificate must say).
If you are a non-EU citizen who already lives in Spain
If you already live in Spain with a residence permit, you do not file a long-stay visa at a consulate, so you need no medical certificate from a doctor abroad.
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