Get your criminal record certificate from any country apostilled and translated for Spain visas, residency and other current procedures. Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, and more. Free consultation.
Step 1 of 4
Where were you living when the records were generated?
Spain is a member of the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. For US federal documents — including the FBI Identity History Summary — presented to Spanish authorities, the authentication is a federal apostille issued by the U.S. Department of State, not consular legalization; state documents follow their own Secretary of State route.
For visa and residency applications (non-lucrative, work permit, student visa, or family reunification), Spanish authorities specifically require:
We handle all three steps in a single coordinated service — no need to manage multiple providers or navigate government procedures alone.
Applying for a non-lucrative visa or long-term residency in Spain? Spanish authorities require an FBI background check with a federal apostille — and a certified Spanish translation. We handle the full chain, remotely.
The application period for Spain's 2026 extraordinary regularization closed on 30 June 2026, so this applies only to pending cases or later document requests. The programme required a criminal record certificate with apostille for the countries of residence required by the current rules of the program. If you lived in the US, the FBI check is required under the U.S. federal chain of authentication.
Whether you're from Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, or any other country and have spent time in the US, you likely need both a US FBI check and your home country's certificate — apostilled (and translated only if it is not in Spanish).
Every country, certificate authority, apostille authority, time, translation needs, and difficulty level.
| Country | Certificate | Apostille authority | Timing notes | Translation | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇲🇽 Mexico | Constancia federal / SSPC | apostilla en línea de SEGOB | Variable — issuance + apostille + delivery | No | ✅ Fast |
| 🇨🇴 Colombia | Policía Nacional | Cancillería | Variable — issuance + apostille + delivery | No | ✅ Fastest |
| 🇨🇱 Chile | Registro Civil | Competent authority (Registro Civil for these docs) | Variable — issuance + apostille + delivery | No | ✅ Fast |
| 🇵🇪 Peru | Poder Judicial | MRE | Variable (MRE digital apostille alone: up to 5 business days) | No | ✅ Fast |
| 🇩🇴 Dominican Rep. | Procuraduría | MIREX | Variable — issuance + apostille + delivery | No | ✅ Fast |
| 🇪🇨 Ecuador | Min. Interior | MREMH | Variable — issuance + apostille + delivery | No | ✅ Fast |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | Polícia Federal | Cartório (CNJ) | Variable — issuance + apostille + delivery | Yes (PT→ES) | 🟡 Medium |
| 🇧🇴 Bolivia | REJAP / OJ | Cancillería | Variable — issuance + apostille + delivery | No | 🟡 Medium |
| 🇦🇷 Argentina | RNR | Cancillería TAD | Variable (Cancillería apostille alone: avg. 30 business days) | No | 🟡 Medium |
| 🇺🇸 USA / FBI | FBI CJIS | US Dept. State | Variable (State Dept mail apostille alone: within 5 weeks) | Yes (EN→ES) | 🟠 Slow |
| 🇻🇪 Venezuela | MPPRIJP | MPPRE SLAE | Variable — issuance + apostille + delivery | No | 🔴 Critical |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | RCMP | Global Affairs CA | Variable — issuance + apostille + delivery | Yes (EN→ES) | 🔴 Critical |
Certificate issuance, apostille, delivery and translation are separate steps with their own timelines; there is no guaranteed end-to-end time. Figures in brackets are the official published timeline of that single stage.
Example only — applies only if the consular post or office handling your case sets a 90-day certificate-age limit. It does not guarantee acceptance.
There is no universal three-to-six-month window: verified Spanish consular checklists include limits of three, five and six months, generally counted from the issuance date of the certificate. Check the current official checklist of the consular post processing your application. Where a limit applies, it counts from the issuance date — not the apostille date, not the translation date.
⚡ Pro tip: Submit as soon as the full document package is ready — do not wait until near the end of your procedure's limit.
⚠️ Warning: Some applicants lose months of work because the certificate is no longer accepted by the time the apostille or translation is ready. Start early.
We review your documents before submission to catch every one of these errors before they cause a rejection.
Prices are our private service fees; official government charges (FBI $18, US State Dept. apostille $20), translation and courier costs are quoted separately and are not part of "From" prices unless stated in your quote. All packages include free document review, status updates throughout, and international tracked delivery. Additional copies available. Contact us for an exact quote →
| Document | Issuing authority | Estimated time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FBI Identity History Summary (background check) | FBI CJIS Division | Official FBI channels ($18); electronic submissions are generally handled faster — the FBI does not expedite | The FBI provides a printable electronic result or a mailed response on ordinary white paper — no special blue security paper. Confirm the document-age requirement of your specific Spain procedure with the receiving authority. |
| Completed fingerprint card (Form FD-258) | Applicant via US Post Office or law enforcement | Before FBI submission | Required to initiate the FBI check. We provide detailed fingerprinting instructions. |
| Federal Apostille (U.S. Dept. of State) | U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications | Mail: currently within five weeks from receipt; seven-business-day in-person option with specific eligibility criteria | FBI documents are federal, so only the US State Dept. — not state offices — can apostille them. |
| Certified Spanish translation | Sworn / certified translator | 1–2 business days after apostille | Where the checklist requires one, verify whether your procedure needs a translation and which type of official translation the receiving office accepts (RD 724/2020, art. 17); we prepare it accordingly. |
| Copy of valid passport or government ID | Applicant | Current | Must match exactly the name used on the FBI background check request. |
Most rejections are caused by avoidable errors. Our pre-submission review catches every one of these:
Send us your visa or residency requirement details. We confirm exactly which certificate is needed (federal FBI check or state-level), explain fingerprinting, and quote a firm price and timeline.
We guide you to a fingerprinting location or mail you a fingerprint card. Once complete, we submit your request to the FBI CJIS Division on your behalf and track every status update.
As soon as your FBI certificate arrives, we submit it to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications for the federal apostille — the only valid apostille for FBI documents.
Your apostilled FBI certificate is translated by a sworn translator and returned to you by express international courier, ready to submit to Spanish authorities.
"They handled my FBI apostille for my Spain visa — the whole process was remote, clear, and faster than I expected. I was approved without any document issues."
— Maria G., Miami · Non-lucrative visa applicant
Illustrative examples based on common situations; names and details are changed.
Information on this page is based on procedures from recognized government and intergovernmental bodies — not third-party estimates.
Reviewed by
Laura ChenLegal Document Expert
Specialist in documents for the English-speaking market with a focus on fast and secure processing.
No. The FBI accepts fingerprint cards submitted by mail from anywhere in the world. We guide you through the fingerprinting process at a local provider in your country (or at a US embassy) and handle all submission logistics remotely.
Yes. Spain is a member of the 1961 Hague Convention, so a US federal apostille is the correct — and required — form of authentication for FBI documents used in Spanish visa and residency proceedings. No consular legalization is needed.
Yes, Spanish immigration authorities require a certified translation into Spanish from a sworn translator. We include this in our full package. The translation is prepared after the apostille is attached so it covers the complete apostilled document.
FBI issuance and the federal apostille are separate steps with separate published timelines; a few-day result is not guaranteed. The US Department of State currently processes mailed federal apostilles within five weeks from receipt (in-person options have special eligibility criteria), so the electronic submission route may save mailing time but does not create an express queue. Add 1–2 days for the certified translation.
Yes. If you already have a valid FBI Identity History Summary, we can submit it directly for the federal apostille at the US State Department and add the certified translation. Share a scan with us and we'll confirm eligibility.
The FBI federal check covers your entire US history regardless of which states you lived in — it pulls from the national database. You only need one FBI check, not separate state checks, for Spain visa purposes.
Each Spanish consulate and immigration procedure sets its own document-age requirement — it varies, and some procedures are more flexible than others. Check the checklist for your specific procedure and confirm the limit before ordering. We recommend starting as soon as you have a confirmed application date.
Our FBI check + federal apostille + certified Spanish translation package starts at $249. Private rush handling is available — government timings for the FBI and the Department of State are unchanged. Contact us for an exact quote based on your timeline and whether you need single or multiple copies.
Message us today for a free document review and guidance.