Most Spanish visa applications require the submission of a medical certificate which shows that the applicant does not suffer from certain diseases.
The specific wording on the medical certificate is important, as it needs to refer explicitly to the 2005 International Health Regulations. This is the English wording that the Spanish Consulate in London suggests at the time of writing:
“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″
For a visa application from the United Kingdom, the medical certificate needs to be issued by a recognised medical centre in the UK or in Spain.
When issued in English, it must be submitted together with an official translation into Spanish, which is where we can assist. You can apply to have your medical certificate translated using the order form on our Home page.
Legalisation of your medical certificate for Spanish visa
The medical certificate will also need to be legalised with the Hague apostille, a stamp issued by the Legalisation Office of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
You can find more about legalisation and apostilles here, but to ensure your medical certificate can be correctly apostilled and be valid for your visa application, follow these basic guidelines:
- Make sure the certificate includes the correct wording (as mentioned above).
- The certificate must be signed by a doctor who is duly registered with the General Medical Council.
- The doctor must sign with their personal signature, in wet ink. A computerised signature or the signature of someone else other than the doctor (e.g. a practice manager) will not be valid. Nor will a photocopy; you need the original certificate.
Because the doctor’s signature needs to be recognised by the FCDO, make sure that the doctor’s name, and ideally their GMC number, are clearly stated on the document. To avoid delays when obtaining the apostille, you can ask the doctor whether they have already registered their signature with the Foreign Office in the past. If not, they can do so by sending a specimen of their signature to legalisationverify@fcdo.gov.uk (note this address is correct at the time of writing but the FCDO may change it in the future).
Once you have had your medical certificate issued, translated and apostilled, make sure you submit it with your visa application before it gets too old. They are usually valid for 3 months but check your specific visa requirements.
For us to prepare the official sworn translation of your medical certificate for Spanish visa, we just need you to send us a good scan of the document. We do not need to receive the original certificate in order to prepare the translation. Request your Spanish translation by emailing us at info@spanishvisatranslations.co.uk or using the contact form on our Home page.
If you have found this informative, you can find other posts on our blog about criminal record certificates, birth certificates, sponsorship letters, the apostille procedure, and more.