Overview
- The Ministry of Health told local media on July 9, 2026 that Vigo will again be eligible as a seat for national specialized-training exams after the draft order opening that option was circulated to autonomous communities.
- Vigo was added as an exam site during the 2020 COVID-19 expansion and lost that status in 2025 when the ministry cited efficiency and sustainability criteria.
- Galicia plans to offer 725 specialist-training places next year, 43 more than the current call, a rise the regional health agency framed as supporting expanded local exam capacity and recruitment.
- Local leaders welcomed the reversal; Vigo’s mayor publicly thanked the ministry and blamed the regional health minister for silence, while Galician politicians from both main parties had lobbied Madrid for the seat’s return.
- Final implementation depends on formal approval of the ministry’s order and the consultations with autonomous communities, a step that will shape where candidates sit exams and how regional hospitals manage growing resident and tutor numbers.