Homologación (Spain)

The ministry's Valida-TE portal says homologación qualifies you to practise a regulated profession in Spain. The list of eligible professions in the annex to Real Decreto 889/2022 includes doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, dietitians, opticians-optometrists, podiatrists, general health psychologists, occupational therapists and vets. A favourable decision qualifies you to practise the regulated profession, subject to its other requirements.

If your degree is from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, you normally use professional recognition from the Ministry of Health under Directive 2005/36/EC instead, which the ministry says is free.

• ANECA criteria for your profession. For medicine the ministry gives examples of five years of study and 1,350 hours of placements; for nursing, three years and 2,300 hours of clinical training.
• The competences in the order that defines the Spanish degree, such as Orden ECI/332/2008 for medicine and Orden CIN/2134/2008 for nursing.
• Spanish at B2, unless you are a national of a Spanish-speaking country or studied in Spanish as the ministry describes.
• Your right to practise in the country that issued the degree.

1. Check your profession's page on Valida-TE and whether ANECA has published general measures for your university, which make the file quicker.
2. Prepare your ID, degree and transcript showing hours or ECTS per subject, each with an official Spanish translation and legalised or apostilled.
3. Apply online through the ministry's electronic office; applications are only accepted there.
4. Pay the fee (tasa 107) of €166.50. It is not refunded if the application is inadmissible, lapses or is refused.
5. Answer any request for corrections within 10 working days.

Real Decreto 889/2022 requires a decision within six months of registration; if none is notified, the application can be treated as refused. The decision can be favourable, unfavourable, or favourable on condition that you complete complementary training, such as placements, courses or an aptitude test at a Spanish university, within four years of notification.

For doctors, the ministry states that homologación is for basic practice in the private sector. Public sector work or a specialty also needs the MIR residency or recognition of your specialty by the Ministry of Health.

• Legalisation. Degrees and transcripts from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland must be legalised or apostilled and officially translated into Spanish.
• Credit transfers. If more than 15% of your credits were transferred from another institution, the ministry asks for a certificate from that institution.
• Hours not shown. The transcript must show the hours or ECTS credits for every subject, or the file cannot be compared with the ANECA criteria.
• Job offers. The ministry has issued instructions to speed up applications from people with a firm offer of highly qualified employment in Spain, so mention one if you have it.
• Not planning to practise. If you only want other jobs, the ministry suggests a declaración de equivalencia instead.