New healthcare training requirements 2026: what changes for nurses, dentists, pharmacists and veterinarians

Key data

Graduates in nursing, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary medicine who wish to practice in another EU country, or European professionals who wish to do so in Spain, are directly affected by the Royal Decree 325/2026, of April 22, published in the BOE on April 23, 2026. This regulation modifies Royal Decree 581/2017 and updates the minimum standards that must be met by training programs in these four regulated healthcare professions so that their qualifications are recognizable in the European space.

This is not a minor change: minimum training requirements are the foundation on which the entire system of automatic recognition of professional qualifications in the EU is based. If a program does not meet them, the qualification may not be recognized in other Member States, which blocks the professional mobility of the graduate.

What does this regulation establish?

Royal Decree 325/2026 modifies the Royal Decree 581/2017, of June 9, which incorporated into Spanish law the Directive 2013/55/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, of November 20, 2013. This directive in turn modified Directive 2005/36/EC, which is the European reference framework for the recognition of professional qualifications.

The specific purpose of the modification is the update of minimum training requirements for the following four regulated healthcare professions:

These minimum requirements determine what content, duration and structure training programs must have so that the qualifications obtained are valid for purposes of automatic recognition in other EU Member States. The regulation also has implications for the procedures managed by professional associations and competent authorities when they evaluate applications for recognition of foreign qualifications in Spain.

Economic and operational impact

The direct impact of this regulation is not measured in fines or fees, but in adaptation costs and risk of loss of qualification recognition. The specific operational effects are as follows:

• Universities and training centers: must review and, if necessary, modify their curricula in nursing, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary medicine degrees. Curriculum adaptation involves verification processes before ANECA, coordination of faculty and potentially changes in teaching resources.
• Professionals with Spanish qualifications who want to practice in the EU: if their training program does not meet the new minimum requirements, they may encounter difficulties or obstacles in the recognition of their qualification in other Member States.
• European professionals who want to practice in Spain: the criteria with which professional associations and competent authorities evaluate their recognition applications are updated, which may modify the timelines and results of ongoing or future procedures.
• Professional associations: must update their internal protocols for evaluating foreign qualifications to apply the new standards from April 23, 2026.

Who does it affect?

• General care nurses who wish to practice in another EU Member State or who have obtained their qualification in another country and wish to practice in Spain.
• Dentists in the same situation of European professional mobility.
• Pharmacists affected by qualification recognition procedures in the European space.
• Veterinarians with Spanish or European qualifications operating in cross-border recognition contexts.
• Universities and training centers that teach nursing, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary medicine degrees in Spain, which must adapt their curricula.
• Professional associations of these four healthcare branches, responsible for procedures for recognizing foreign qualifications.
• Competent authorities in the field of recognition of healthcare professional qualifications.

Practical example

A Spanish university that teaches the Nursing degree receives, from April 23, 2026, the obligation to verify that its curriculum meets the new minimum training requirements established by Royal Decree 325/2026. If it detects that any content or course load does not comply with the new standards, it must initiate a process to modify the curriculum before ANECA.

Meanwhile, a nurse qualified in Germany who requests recognition of her qualification from the Spanish professional association to practice in Spain will have her file evaluated with the new criteria in force from that same date. The professional association must apply the minimum requirements updated by Royal Decree 325/2026 to determine whether the German training program is equivalent.

What should organizations do now?

1. Universities: immediately review the curricula of nursing, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary medicine degrees to identify whether they meet the new minimum training requirements of Royal Decree 325/2026. If there are misalignments, initiate the curriculum modification process before ANECA.
2. Professional associations: update internal protocols and criteria for evaluating foreign qualifications to apply the new standards from April 23, 2026. Review ongoing recognition files to determine whether the new criteria should be applied.
3. Professionals with European mobility: if you plan to request recognition of your qualification in another EU Member State or in Spain, verify that your training program meets the updated minimum requirements before initiating the procedure.
4. HR departments of clinics, hospitals and companies in the sector: if they hire professionals with European qualifications, ensure that qualification verification processes are carried out in accordance with the criteria updated by Royal Decree 325/2026.
5. Consult the complete regulation: access the text of the Royal Decree 325/2026 on the BOE to know the exact details of the updated minimum requirements for each profession.