An international adoption generates paperwork in two directions: Spanish documents that need translating and sending to the child's country of origin, and documents from that country that need translating and bringing to Spain to register the adoption. This guide focuses exclusively on that documentary side — it doesn't replace guidance from social services or the accredited agency (ECAI) handling the file.
The suitability certificate: the first document
Before starting any international procedure, the regional body responsible for child protection (in Catalonia, the ICAA; the equivalent exists in each autonomous community) issues the certificado de idoneidad (suitability certificate), confirming the applicants meet the conditions to adopt. It's valid for 3 years from the date of issue. This document, along with the rest of the psychosocial file, is what travels translated to the child's country of origin.
Public route or ECAI: it depends on the Hague Convention
- If the country of origin has ratified the 1993 Hague Convention on international adoption, the file can be processed through the regional public body or through an accredited Entidad Colaboradora de Adopción Internacional (ECAI) agency.
- If the country hasn't ratified the Convention, direct public processing isn't always possible, and usually requires an ECAI accredited specifically for that country.
Once the suitability certificate is obtained, it's the ECAI (when one is involved) that requests the opening of the adoption file with the origin country's administration.
Documents that come back translated to Spain
Once the process concludes in the country of origin, the documentation that needs translating and registering in Spain typically includes:
- Adoption decision or court ruling from the country of origin.
- Birth certificate of the child, issued before or after the adoption depending on the country's system.
- Consent to the adoption, when the origin country's system requires it as a separate document.
- Certificates from the central authority or adoption body of that country, confirming the process followed the required legal channel.
All these documents, apostilled or legalised depending on the country, are translated by a MAEC-accredited sworn translator-interpreter before being submitted to the Spanish Civil Registry to register the child.
Follow-up reports: the part people forget
Many countries of origin require post-adoption follow-up reports, prepared by Spanish social services a few months after the child's arrival, which need to be translated and sent back to the adoption body in the country of origin — the reverse direction from the rest of the process. It's an obligation that continues after the family considers the process in Spain closed, and it's worth keeping in mind from the start.
Common mistakes
- Letting the suitability certificate expire (3 years) during a long process, requiring renewal.
- Not planning for the follow-up reports required by the country of origin after the child arrives.
- Translating the adoption decision without a prior apostille, when the country of origin isn't covered by an exempting convention.
- Using a non-sworn translation for Spain's Civil Registry, which rejects it.
Related pages
- Adopting from the Philippines in Spain
- Inheriting from the Philippines in Spain
- Sworn translation of a birth certificate
- Sworn translation in Barcelona · Sworn translation in Madrid
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