Legalizing non-Spanish degrees
Legalizing non-Spanish degrees
Legalization is the process by which documents issued outside of Spain become officially recognized.
Countries where the directives for degree recognition of the Council of the European Union are applicable:
Germany, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, The Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, Island, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Sweden and Switzerland by bilateral agreement with the EU.
If your degree is from any of the countries above, you do not need to legalize it.
Countries who have signed The Hague Convention Agreement of October 5, 1961:
The first point applies to countries listed below and which are EU members.
The Hague Convention Member Countries
To legalize documents from these countries, the Apostille issued by the competent authorities is required.
Other countries not included in these first two categories:
The degree must be legalized by diplomatic means. It must be submitted to:
2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country issuing the degree
3. The Spanish diplomatic representatives in that country
Documents issued by diplomatic or consular authorities of other countries in Spain must be legalized by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Official translation
When you have to submit an official degree or other official documents issued abroad, you have to take into account the language these are written in and also which administrative procedure you are going to follow (1 or 2):
1) Procedure for official recognition of the foreign degree: in this procedure the documents issued in languages other than Catalan or Spanish must be accompanied by an official translation into Catalan or Spanish carried out by a sworn translator who is duly authorised or registered in Spain. You will find here an up-to-date list of the sworn translators appointed by the Spanish Foreign Ministry.
2) In the remaining cases you will have to take into account the language in which the documents you submit are written:
- Documents written in Catalan, Spanish or English: documents written in Catalan, Spanish or English do not need an official translation.
- Documents written in French, Italian or Portuguese: the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona will accept a translation by the Language Service of the UAB of documents written in French, Italian or Portuguese, or a sworn translation.
- Documents in other languages: documents in other languages must be accompanied by an official translation into Catalan or Spanish carried out by a sworn translator who is duly authorised or registered in Spain. At this link you will find an up-to-date list of the sworn translators appointed by the Spanish Foreign Ministry.