Moving from the UK to Spain: your child's vaccinations
The UK and Spanish schedules overlap a lot, so most NHS doses count in Spain. The main additions are MenC, chickenpox for children born before 2025, and a yearly flu vaccine for under-fives. Here's what to expect, based on Spain's common calendar and its official catch-up calendar.
What carries over
Spanish guidance accepts vaccinations from other countries, as long as the minimum ages and intervals were respected. These NHS doses count:
- The 6-in-1 vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, Hib, hepatitis B), including the UK 18-month booster.
- Pneumococcal (PCV), MenB and rotavirus. The UK MenB schedule (8 weeks, 12 weeks, 1 year) matches Spain's.
- MMR and MMRV. Children born from 2025 who had MMRV at 1 year and 18 months already have both MMR and chickenpox doses.
- The pre-school booster at 3 years 4 months, the Td/IPV booster and MenACWY at 14, and HPV.
What your child may be offered in Spain
Your paediatric nurse compares the record with your region's calendar. Depending on age, these are the most common additions:
| Age when you arrive | Likely to be offered | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Under 6 months | RSV antibody, if it's RSV season | Spain gives nirsevimab to babies under 6 months in their first RSV season. |
| 6 months to 5 years | Flu vaccine every season | Spain's common calendar includes yearly flu vaccination from 6 to 59 months. The UK only starts at age 2. |
| Under 10 years | MenC (or MenACWY in some regions) | Spain gives MenC at 4 and 12 months. The UK no longer gives MenC to young children, and Spain's catch-up calendar covers MenC up to age 10. |
| 1 year and older, born before 2025 | Chickenpox, 2 doses | Spain vaccinates against chickenpox at 15 months and 3 to 4 years. UK children born before 2025 had MMR without chickenpox. |
| 12 years | MenACWY, if not yet given | Spain gives MenACWY at 12. A UK child would otherwise get it at 14. |
Regions can add more: the Community of Madrid, for example, gives MenACWY instead of MenC at 12 months. Whether your child needs another dTpa or polio booster at 6 depends on what they had in the UK; the nurse decides.
What Spain doesn't give routinely
- The UK 18-month appointment. Spain gives the 6-in-1 booster at 11 months instead.
- A yearly flu vaccine for school-age children. Spain's common calendar stops at 5 years; some regions offer more.
- MMRV as one shot at 1 year. Spain gives MMR at 12 months and chickenpox separately at 15 months (some regions use MMRV at 3 years).
Steps
- Register on the padrón at your town hall, then get a health card (tarjeta sanitaria) for your child at your local centro de salud.
- Bring the vaccination record, ideally with a Spanish translation, to the paediatric nurse.
- The nurse checks it against your region's calendar and the Ministry's accelerated (catch-up) calendar, and books missing doses.
- Keep the Spanish vaccination card you get, together with the original record.
Questions
Does my child need to restart vaccinations after moving from the UK to Spain?
No. Spain accepts doses given abroad if the minimum ages and intervals were respected. The nurse only adds what's missing.
Will my child get MenC in Spain?
Probably, if your child is under 10. Spain gives MenC to babies and catches it up until age 10. Some regions use MenACWY instead.
Does my child need the chickenpox vaccine in Spain?
If your child was born before 2025, very likely: they had MMR in the UK, without chickenpox. Children born from 2025 had MMRV, which includes it.
Do I need to translate the red book?
It helps. A Spanish translation, or at least a clear list of vaccines and dates, makes the check at the centro de salud easier.
Keep track with VaxFile
VaxFile keeps your child's NHS doses and shows the Spanish schedule next to it, so you can see what's still due after the move. Free on iOS and Android.
Sources: Ministry of Health, accelerated (catch-up) calendar · Ministry of Health, common calendar 2026 · UKHSA, complete routine immunisation schedule
This page compares the UK schedule with Spain's common calendar and the Ministry of Health's accelerated calendar, for information only. It isn't medical advice. Your paediatrician or paediatric nurse decides which vaccines your child needs.
Last checked against the official sources: 6 October 2026.