Do all my foreign documents need an apostille to be valid in Spain?

Many do, particularly civil documents like birth and marriage certificates, but requirements vary by document type and procedure. Check the specific requirement for your situation rather than assuming, and start the process early since apostilles can take time.

Planning Your Move

Essential documents checklist for moving to Spain

The core documents almost every move to Spain requires, and how to prepare them in advance.

Last reviewed: 2026-06-15Apostilles and certified translations can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks depending on your home country's process — start well before your planned move date.

This guide is not yet verified by Tuchati's editorial review — treat it as a helpful starting point, not a final legal answer.

Overview

Nearly every administrative process in Spain asks for some combination of the same core documents. Gathering and preparing them properly before you need them saves repeated trips and delays later.

Requirements

Relevant to anyone preparing to move to Spain, regardless of visa route

Step-by-step process

Confirm your passport has enough validity remaining for your intended stay, and renew it beforehand if it's close to expiry
Gather civil status documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate if applicable) and check whether they need an apostille and official Spanish translation for your specific procedures
Gather academic and professional qualification certificates if you'll need them recognised (homologación) for work or study
Request a criminal record certificate from your home country if your visa route requires one — these usually need to be recent and apostilled
Keep both certified physical copies and scanned digital copies of everything, since different offices and processes will ask for the originals or copies at different points

Required documents

Valid passport
Birth certificate (apostilled and translated, if required)
Marriage certificate, if applicable
Academic/professional qualification certificates, if relevant to your visa or work plans
Criminal record certificate, if required by your visa route

Common mistakes

Assuming a document is valid in Spain without an apostille or official translation, when many require both
Requesting a criminal record certificate too early — most visa routes require one issued within a specific recent window (often 3 months)

Practical tips

Check your specific visa category's document list on your nearest Spanish consulate's website — requirements vary slightly by consulate and situation
Once in Spain, most of your document copies will still be useful for empadronamiento, healthcare registration, banking and more — keep them organised in one place

How Tuchati can help

If you're not sure which documents your specific situation actually requires, Tuchati can help you build a personalised checklist rather than guessing from a generic list.