Sworn translation for Spanish immigration: when you need one and who can do it
When Spanish immigration offices require a sworn translation, who can make one, how it differs from an apostille and the timing mistake to avoid.
Extranjería Palma ·
If a document in your Spanish immigration file is not in Spanish, you need a sworn translation: one made by a sworn translator-interpreter (traductor-intérprete jurado) holding the title issued by Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A translation by a friend, by you or by an automatic tool does not count as an official translation.
When it is required
The Ministry of Inclusion’s official sheet for arraigo social requires a sworn translation into Spanish whenever the original is not in Spanish. That includes, for example, the criminal record certificate from your home country. Other procedures ask for foreign documents too (birth or marriage certificates, degrees, certificates). Check the sheet for your procedure, or ask us.
Who can make one
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, official translations are those made by people who hold the title of Sworn Translator or Sworn Interpreter. They certify the accuracy of their work with their signature and seal, and those translations “tendrán carácter oficial, pudiendo ser aportadas ante los órganos judiciales y administrativos” (they have official status and can be submitted to courts and administrative bodies).
The Ministry publishes the list of sworn translators with the languages each one is authorised for. Check that your translator appears on it for English. We have not found an official statement on whether a translation made abroad, by a sworn translator of another country, is accepted in a given procedure: ask the office before you commission one.
Sworn translation and apostille are different things
| Apostille / legalisation | Sworn translation | |
|---|---|---|
| What it proves | That the signature and seal on the foreign document are genuine | That the translation is faithful to the original |
| Who provides it | The competent authority of the country that issued the document | A sworn translator holding the Spanish title |
| Basis | 1961 Hague Convention | Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
You can need both on the same document. For a foreign criminal record certificate, the Ministry of Inclusion sheet asks for legalisation or apostille and, if it is not in Spanish, a sworn translation. Our criminal record certificate and apostille guide walks through it, including the US and UK cases. We have not found an official rule on the exact order of the two steps when the original carries an apostille: ask the translator before you order.
The deadline people forget
If the document expires, the translation clock runs with it. For a foreign criminal record certificate, our firm works on a validity of 3 months from the date of issue. Apostille, shipping and translation time all come out of those three months. Request the certificate when the rest of your file is nearly ready.
Common mistakes
- Submitting a translation that is not sworn.
- Translating only part of the document (stamps and annotations included).
- Ordering the translation before the apostille and having to redo it.
- Letting the certificate expire during the process.
Official sources
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs: sworn translation and interpretation
- Ministry of Inclusion: arraigo social (sheet 28)
- HCCH: 1961 Apostille Convention
This text informs; it does not assess your case. See our sworn translations and criminal records services, or tell us about your case.