Legalizations and sworn translators

In order to get the residence and work permit, you need to submit some documents granted by your country or maybe the countries were you have been living (marriage and birth certificates, non-criminal record certificate, etc.). For a document to be valid in a country other than the country where it was issued, it must be properly legalised and, if it is written in another language, it must also be translated with a sworn translation.

 The form of legalisation will depend on whether or not the issuing country has signed the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, an international agreement regulating public document certification between States. You can consult the signatory countries.

• If the public document issuer country is a signatory.

The document will be recognised if it has the Hague apostille. The apostille is a stamp or note on the document, or an extension, certifying its authenticity. The competent authority issuing the document must add the apostille. Therefore, you must request a Hague apostille on those documents in the issuing country before coming to Barcelona.

• If the public document issuer country is not a signatory.

The legalisation process will be completed through diplomatic channels. You must go to the Spanish embassy or consulate with jurisdiction in the country where the document was issued. They will provide you with the legalisation signature and security label.

As we have mentioned, for a foreign document to be valid here it must be properly legalized and translated into Spanish, if it is written in a foreign language. Important: the translation has to be done by a sworn translator recognized by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs otherwise it won’t be accepted. You can check in this link. 

You are always welcome to contact the International Welcome Centre at mobilitat.pdi@upc.edu if you have any questions on these issues.