Translation and legalisation of documents
As a general rule, when presenting documents to the government, they must be legalised and, where applicable, translated. Documents issued by private entities do not need to be legalised, but they must be translated. We explain how this works below:
🌐 Legalisation
What documents need to be legalised?
✅ Foreign public documents from another country (that is, documents issued by the governments / authorities / competent entities of other countries) that will be presented to the Administration in Spain.
❌ Private documents issued by companies, banks, insurers, etc…
How can they be legalised?
There are three valid methods to legalise a document, which are, in order of preference:
Via Hague Apostille (document issued and legalised by the same country of origin)
Via diplomatic means (document issued in the country of origin, legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country of origin, and legalised by the Spanish consulate in the country of origin for its validity in Spain)
Via MAEUEC (document issued by the consulate of the country in Spain and legalised by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Via Hague Apostille
⭐ Preferred option ⭐
For documents issued by countries that are members of the Hague Convention, only the Apostille seal is required:
Check if your country is part of this list.
Find out from which entity you need to contact to request the apostille.
⚠️ This scenario does not apply to documents issued by embassies or consulates in Spain. ⚠️
Via Diplomatic Means
For documents issued by countries not members of the Hague Convention:
Legalise the certificate or document before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country of origin / issuer.
Subsequently, they must be legalised by the Spanish embassy or consulate in the country of origin / issuer or consular demarcation with signature, and, if applicable, the corresponding security label.
Via MAEUEC
Any document issued by embassies or consulates of a third country in Spain must be legalised by Spanish authorities; in this case, the Hague Apostille does not apply.
To carry out the legalisation, you must go to the legalisation service of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the corresponding document.
🗣️ Translation
Which documents need to be translated?
✅ Foreign public documents from another country (i.e., documents issued by governments / authorities / competent entities from other countries) issued in a language other than Spanish and that will be presented to the Administration in Spain.
❌ Documents issued in Spanish.
How can they be translated?
There are three valid methods to translate a document that, in order of preference, are:
Sworn translation
Spanish consular office or diplomatic mission in the country of origin
Consular office or diplomatic mission of the country of origin in Spain
Sworn translation
⭐ Preferred option ⭐
Translations carried out by a sworn translator authorised 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 a certificate or original document is not requested, but a digitised copy, and the translation does not require subsequent legalisation by the MAEUEC.
Spanish consular office or diplomatic mission in the country of origin
Translations made or reviewed by consular offices or diplomatic missions of Spain abroad, duly stamped and signed. To learn more, contact the competent authority in your country of origin or consular district and check if they offer translation services. If so:
1️⃣ Request the translation from them, and once done;
2️⃣ Send the original documents to Spain for the translation to be legalised by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAEUEC).
Consular office or diplomatic mission of the country of origin in Spain
Translations carried out by diplomatic missions or consular offices of the country of origin in Spain. To learn more, contact the competent authority for your country in Spain and check if they offer translation services. If so:
1️⃣ Request the translation from them, and once done;
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, based on international agreements or conventions of which Spain is a part. These usually apply, mostly, 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.