Legalisation and translation of documents
Legalisation
For the legalisation of documents, the following channels shall be taken into account depending on the country of issue of the document to be legalised.
Countries that are members of the European Union or signatories to the Agreement on the European Economic Area:
Access the complete list of countries belonging to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
Documents issued in these countries do not need to be legalised (only checked against the original).
Countries signatory to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, with which Spain recognises its entry into force
The Hague Apostille abolishes the requirement for diplomatic and consular legalisation of public documents originating in one Convention country and intended for use in another. The single legalisation procedure - known as an apostille - consists of the competent authority in each country placing an apostille or annotation on the public document itself, which will certify the authenticity of public documents issued in another country.
For documents issued in these countries, documents with a Hague Apostille must be presented.
Countries that have signed the Andrés Bello Convention
In the case of countries that have signed the Andrés Bello Convention (Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Spain, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and Venezuela), legalisation by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not required.
Documents shall be legalised through diplomatic channels, for this purpose they must be presented in:
The Ministry of Education of the country of origin for diplomas and certificates of studies and at the relevant Ministry for birth and nationality certificates.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country where these documents were issued (The stamp of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is NOT required).
The diplomatic or consular representation of Spain in that country.
Rest of the countries
Documents shall be legalised through diplomatic channels, for which they must be presented at:
The Ministry of Education of the country of origin for diplomas and certificates of studies and at the relevant Ministry for birth and nationality certificates.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country where the documents were issued.
The diplomatic or consular representation of Spain in that country.
The Legalisation Section of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Tel. 913799700). (In the case of countries that have signed the Andrés Bello Convention (Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Spain, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and Venezuela), legalisation by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is NOT required).
For documents legalised on or after 10/06/2013:
All foreign documents legalised by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MAEC) must bear a transparent security sticker on the last legalisation signature.
Foreign documents duly legalised by Spanish Embassies or Consulates, as long as they have the aforementioned security label, will be fully valid in Spain without requiring subsequent legalisation by the Legalisation Section of the MAEC.
Documents issued by diplomatic or consular authorities of other countries in Spain must be legalised at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Translation
Documents issued in a language other than Spanish, English or French, must be accompanied by their official translation into Spanish, which may be made:
By the Language Interpretation Office of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (c/ Oquendo 11 (Madrid). Tel. 91 71 11 908).
By UNESCO, the Office of the Ibero-American Centre for Cooperation or any other organisation recognised in Spain.
By any diplomatic or consular representation of the Spanish State abroad.
By the diplomatic or consular representation in Spain of the applicant's country of nationality or, where appropriate, of the country of origin of the document.
By a sworn translator, duly authorised and registered in Spain.