MIR exam (Médico Interno Residente)
Definition
The MIR exam is Spain's annual national selective test for doctors who want a paid specialist training post (médico interno residente) in the Spanish health system. It is run by the Ministry of Health, and foreign-trained doctors can take part once their degree is recognised and they meet the language and nationality rules.
Also called: MIR, examen MIR, prueba MIR, MIR Spain, médico interno residente, formación sanitaria especializada, FSE
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What is the MIR?
MIR stands for médico interno residente, the paid resident doctor who trains in a hospital or primary care teaching unit to become a specialist. The MIR exam is the national selective test the Ministry of Health holds once a year for these places in formación sanitaria especializada (FSE). Your rank, combining the exam and your academic record, decides the order in which you choose a specialty and a hospital.
For the 2026 call, for training starting in 2027 (Orden SND/854/2026), the ministry offers 9,676 places in medicine. Of these, 968 can be filled by people who do not hold a Spanish residence authorisation.
Who can sit it
- A recognised degree. You need a Spanish medical degree or a homologación or recognition of your foreign degree, obtained before the application window closes. See homologación.
- Nationality or status. The order admits Spanish and EU nationals and others covered by the public employment statute. Nationals of other countries can apply if their country has a cooperation agreement with Spain in force, including people in Spain on a short stay or study permit.
- Spanish at C1. Candidates from countries where Spanish is not an official language need an official C1 certificate (such as DELE or SIELE), unless their degree was taught in Spanish or they have completed two years of specialist training in Spain.
How the exam works
- Apply between 1 and 14 September 2026 on form 790, online or through a Spanish consulate, and pay the €31.10 fee.
- Upload your degree recognition, your language certificate and your academic transcript. Foreign transcripts need the ministry's declaration of equivalence of your average mark, or you are given a default average of 5.00.
- Sit the exam on 23 January 2027: 200 multiple-choice questions plus 10 reserve questions, four options each, in four and a half hours.
- Each correct answer scores 3 points and each wrong answer loses 1. The exam is scaled so the average of the top 10% equals 90 points, and your academic record adds up to 10 points.
- Anyone with a final exam score above zero can take part in choosing places.
Provisional answers are published within five working days of the exam. The ministry publishes provisional and final lists of admitted candidates and of results on its website, and the answer templates can be challenged before they become final.
Common problems
- Homologación not in time. The recognition must exist before the application deadline, and recognition can take months.
- Missing language proof. C1 is required at application, not later.
- Limited places for non-residents. Without a residence authorisation you compete for the capped quota.
- Confusing the MIR with permission to practise. As the homologación entry explains, homologación alone allows general practice in the private sector; public posts and specialties also need the MIR or recognition of a foreign specialty.
After allocation you also need colegiación and, if you are not an EU national, a TIE.
Questions
Yes, if your degree has been recognised in Spain, you meet the nationality or status rules in the call and you prove C1 Spanish where required. Nationals of countries with a cooperation agreement in force with Spain can apply even without a Spanish residence authorisation, competing for a capped quota.
In the 2026 call for 2027, 968 of the 9,676 medicine places can be filled by people who do not hold a Spanish residence authorisation.
Not in the usual sense. You need a final exam score above zero to take part in choosing places; after that your overall rank decides which places are still available when your turn comes.
Yes, up to 10 of the 100 points. You need the universities ministry's declaration of equivalence of your average mark; without it you are given a default average of 5.00.
Yes. The order requires your degree to be recognised, homologated or declared equivalent before the application period ends.
Yes, the EIR, held on the same day under the same call for nursing specialties.