Translation and legalisation of documents
As a general rule, to present documents to the Government, they must be legalised and, if applicable, translated.
Documents issued by private entities do not need to be legalised, but they must be translated.
We'll explain how it works:
🌐 Legalisation
What documents need to be legalised?
✅ Foreign public documents from another country (i.e., documents issued by governments / authorities / competent entities from other countries) that will be submitted to the Administration in Spain.
❌ Private documents issued by companies, banks, insurers, etc…
How can they be legalised?
There are two valid methods to legalise a document, which are, in order of preference:
Hague Apostille
⭐Preferred option⭐
For documents from countries that are members of the Hague Convention, only the Apostille stamp is required, issued by the competent authority of the country issuing the document.
👉🏼 Check if your country is part of this list.
👉🏼 Find out which entity you need to approach to apply for the apostille.
⚠️ It is not necessary to legalise documents from countries that are signatories to the Apostille Convention, although those issued by their diplomatic missions or consulates do need to be legalised.
Diplomatic route
For documents from non member countries of the Hague Convention:
Legalise the certificate or document at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of your country of origin / issuer.
They must then be legalised by the embassy or consulate of Spain in the country of origin or consular district with signature, and, if applicable, the corresponding security label.
🗣️ Translation
Which documents need to be translated?
✅ Foreign public documents from another country (that is, documents issued by the governments / authorities / competent entities of other countries) issued in a language other than Spanish and to be presented to the Government in Spain.
❌ Documents issued in Spanish.
How can they be translated?
There are three valid methods to translate a document that are, in order of preference:
Sworn translation
⭐Preferred option⭐
Translations carried out by an authorised sworn interpreter by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAEUEC) of Spain. This method is the most convenient as it is done from Spain, normally the original certificate or document is not requested, rather a digital copy, and the translation does not require subsequent legalisation by the MAEUEC.
Consular office or Spanish diplomatic mission in the country of origin
Translations done or reviewed by consular offices or diplomatic missions of Spain abroad, duly stamped and signed. To find out more, contact the competent authority in your country of origin or consular demarcation and check if they offer translation services. If so:
1️⃣ Commission the translation with them, and once completed;
2️⃣ Send the original documents to Spain for the translation to be legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAEUEC) of Spain.
Consular office or diplomatic mission of the country of origin in Spain
Translations done by diplomatic missions or consular offices of the country of origin in Spain. To find out more, contact the competent authority for your country in Spain and check if they offer translation services. If so:
1️⃣ Commission the translation with them, and once completed;
2️⃣ Send the original documents to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAEUEC) for legalisation.
🔓 Exemptions
There are exemptions to the requirements for legalisation and translation in some cases, in accordance with agreements or international conventions of which Spain is a part. These usually apply, in most cases, to documents from European countries that are part of the EU, or that are closely linked to it. Check if any of your documents are exempt with this resource from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.