Spanish Visa Health Insurance Certificate: What It Must Show
Your insurance certificate is what shows a consulate or immigration office that suitable health cover is in place. It isn't a payment receipt, and it isn't a copy of the general policy conditions.
The best test is the checklist from the office handling your application. Requirements vary by visa route and consulate, and the certificate should match the details on your application.
Before you submit the certificate
Make sure that:
- your name matches your passport exactly;
- the policy or certificate identifies the insurer clearly;
- the insured period and start date fit your application;
- every applicant who needs insurance is documented;
- the wording and language meet the checklist issued by your consulate or immigration office; and
- any statement about cover is consistent with the policy you bought.
For the non-lucrative visa, the Spanish consulate in London asks for public or private health insurance with an insurer authorised to operate in Spain; Spanish consulates in the United States also ask for cover for all the risks insured by the Spanish public health system. Other routes and consulates can word this differently, so a generic online checklist isn't enough on its own.
Certificate, policy and receipt: different documents
The certificate is a concise statement of cover prepared for an administrative purpose. The policy conditions explain the contract in detail. A receipt only shows that money was paid.
If your checklist asks for a certificate, a bank receipt or general policy booklet on its own may leave the reviewing office without the applicant-specific information it needs.
The details must match your application
Small inconsistencies can lead to avoidable questions. Before you upload or print the document, compare the names, passport details, dates and people covered with your application. If anything is wrong, let us know straight away and we'll sort it out. Please don't alter an insurer-issued certificate yourself.
For couples and families, every applicant must be properly named. One applicant's document doesn't automatically prove cover for everyone else.
Spanish, English or both?
The right language is whichever one the office receiving your application accepts. An English-language consulate page doesn't necessarily mean every supporting document can be submitted in English. Our guide to certificates in Spanish and English explains the decision without assuming one rule applies everywhere.
When is the certificate available?
Sanitas provides a visa certificate with its visa products. The certificate follows Sanitas's acceptance, processing and the required payment. We don't quote a fixed delivery time, so it's best to sort out insurance well before your appointment rather than the day before. See when the certificate is issued for planning tips.
If the consulate asks a question
Read the query carefully and compare it with the checklist for your route. A request for clarification isn't a refusal. Keep the original certificate, policy documents and correspondence together, and get in touch so we can help with the insurance side.
Get the right document for your route
It's easiest to think about the certificate when you choose and arrange the policy, not once the rest of the application is done. Start with your visa route or ask us for certificate help.
Frequently asked questions
Is the policy document enough?
Not necessarily. If the authority asks for an applicant-specific insurance certificate, the general policy terms or payment receipt may not answer that request.
Does the certificate need a stamp?
Follow the current checklist from the office receiving your application; format rules differ between consulates.
Does the certificate guarantee visa approval?
No. It supports the insurance part of the application; the authority decides the application as a whole.