Marriage files with a Canadian spouse have two quirks you won't find with other nationalities: Canada does not issue a certificate of non-impediment to marriage (it issues something else, and knowing what saves months) and its civil status documents are provincial, not federal. Show up at the Spanish Civil Registry with the wrong paper and the clock resets.
This guide covers the document package the Canadian partner needs for the prior marriage file before the Spanish Civil Registry — the overall procedure is explained in our marriage in Spain guide — and the sworn translations each piece requires.
The Canadian spouse's documents
Identity and birth
- Canadian passport in force.
- Birth certificate issued by the civil registry of the province of birth (Vital Statistics in the anglophone provinces; the Directeur de l'état civil in Quebec). Canada has no federal civil registry: each province issues its own certificates. Request the long form (or copy of an act of birth), with full parentage; many Spanish Registries reject the abridged wallet-size version.
Proof of single status: the document that confuses everyone
The Spanish Civil Registry asks the foreign spouse to prove they are free to marry. Here comes the key fact: Canada does not issue certificates of non-impediment to marriage. The Canadian government says so itself. What Global Affairs Canada issues is the Statement in Lieu of Certificate of Non-Impediment to Marriage Abroad: an official document recording that impossibility together with the applicant's own declaration of marital status.
How to get it:
- Apply to Global Affairs Canada with form EXT2165, together with a notarized statutory declaration (full name, marital status, permanent address in Canada) and a certified copy of your passport or citizenship certificate. If previously divorced or widowed, add the corresponding certificate.
- If you are already outside Canada, you can request it from the nearest Canadian embassy or consulate.
Some Registries accept alternatives that travel.gc.ca itself mentions: a marriage search letter from the provincial registry or a single status affidavit before a notary. But the Statement in Lieu is the document designed for exactly this use.
If there are prior marriages
- Certificate of Divorce from the Canadian court that granted it (or the full judgment, if the Registry asks for it), apostilled and with sworn translation.
- In case of widowhood: the provincial death certificate of the deceased spouse, same treatment.
Padrón
- Padrón certificate for each spouse if the couple resides in Spain.
The Canadian apostille: federal or provincial depending on the document
Since January 11, 2024, Canada applies the Hague Convention, so the old consular legalisation chain is gone. The division of powers matters:
- Global Affairs Canada apostilles federal documents — including the Statement in Lieu, which it issues itself — and those from provinces and territories without their own authority.
- Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan apostille their own documents: an Ontario birth certificate is apostilled in Ontario, not Ottawa.
Sending the document to the wrong authority is the number one cause of delay. Full details in our guide to the Canadian apostille since 2024.
The Quebec twist: documents in French
Since June 2022, all acts in the Quebec civil status register are drawn up in French. Certificates from the Directeur de l'état civil go through a direct French-to-Spanish sworn translation, signed by a MAEC-accredited sworn translator of French, without passing through English. The rest of Canada: English to Spanish. If your file mixes Quebec documents with another province's, you'll need both combinations — common and entirely unproblematic.
The exact requirements are set by each Civil Registry
Let's be honest: there is no single list valid across Spain. Each Civil Registry applies its own criteria on formats, certificate validity periods (usually 6 months) and supplementary documents. Before ordering anything from Canada, get your Registry's specific list and work from it. And if your route is the registered partnership rather than marriage, the document package is nearly identical: we cover it in our pareja de hecho guide.
Sworn translations: what gets translated and in what order
The Civil Registry only accepts translations by sworn translators accredited by the MAEC (Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs) — a certified translation made in Canada is not valid. Requiring sworn translation:
- Provincial birth certificate + apostille.
- Statement in Lieu + statutory declaration + apostille.
- Certificate of Divorce or death certificate, where applicable, + apostille.
The right order: apostille first, translation after, because the apostille is part of the document and gets translated with it.
If your case is the American one, it has its own guide with its own traps: getting married in Spain as a US citizen.
Related pages
- Marriage in Spain as a foreigner — the full file, step by step.
- Pareja de hecho in Spain — the registered alternative, with a nearly identical document package.
- Canada issues apostilles since 2024 — who apostilles each Canadian document.
→ Request my sworn translation
At Textualia we translate Canadian marriage files from English and French into Spanish, signed by a sworn translator accredited by the MAEC and delivered as an electronically signed PDF, valid before every Civil Registry in Spain.