Almost everything written about "working holiday" and Spain is written the other way round: it explains how a Spaniard gets to Australia. The agreements are reciprocal, so they work in both directions, and the part almost nobody covers is the inbound one — what a Canadian, a New Zealander or an Australian needs in order to come here.
This guide is about that, and specifically about the documents that have to be apostilled and translated.
Which countries have an agreement
Spain has youth mobility agreements published in the BOE with six countries. The references, in case you would rather read the text than a summary:
| Country | Signed | Published in the BOE |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Buenos Aires, 10-04-2018 | BOE-A-2023-2097 (26-01-2023) |
| Korea | Madrid, 18-12-2017 | BOE-A-2018-15295 (08-11-2018) |
| Japan | Tokyo, 05-04-2017 | BOE-A-2017-5115 (11-05-2017) |
| Australia | Canberra, 03-09-2014 | BOE-A-2014-9527, amended by BOE-A-2019-13441 |
| Canada | Ottawa, 10-03-2009 | BOE-A-2010-1576 (02-02-2010) |
| New Zealand | Wellington, 23-06-2009 | BOE-A-2010-7093 (04-05-2010) |
Two useful observations. The Argentina agreement was signed in 2018 but not published until 2023, which explains the amount of contradictory information circulating about it. And the Australian one carries a later amendment, so reading only the 2014 text gives you an incomplete picture.
What the agreement sets out: the Canadian case
As an example of what one of these treaties actually contains, Canada's is the most instructive — and it is also the only one whose documents may arrive in English or in French.
Age: 18 to 35 years old on the date of application.
Duration: no single stay may exceed one year.
Extension: there is none. But the agreement allows two stays under two different categories, each up to a year, with a minimum of three months between them. That is an important distinction: it is not that you can extend, it is that you can come back with a different purpose.
Quotas: the agreement sets no number. It is determined by exchange of diplomatic notes, on a reciprocal basis and counted annually. Which is why there is no stable figure to quote: it changes.
Work authorisation: granted regardless of the labour market situation. For stays of up to six months it covers the whole period; for longer stays you also obtain a foreigner identity card.
The documents, and the key role of categories
The Canada agreement requires: a valid passport, a return ticket or the funds to buy one, funds for initial expenses, health insurance covering hospitalisation and repatriation arranged before entry, the applicable fees, and — this is what shapes your file — evidence of your category.
There are four categories, and each is evidenced by a different document:
| Category | What you supply |
|---|---|
| You have a job lined up | An employment contract |
| You are doing an internship | The internship agreement plus proof of enrolment |
| You are a student | Proof of enrolment plus a statement of your intended travel |
| You are travelling | A statement of your intended travel |
That table is what determines your translation costs. The passport is not translated. What gets translated is your category document, and the range there is wide: an enrolment certificate is two pages, an employment contract with annexes can be twenty.
If your document is a contract, it is worth reading first how one is prepared for a Spanish authority, because the annexes count: we cover it in sworn translation of contracts.
What the treaty does not say, and your consulate may still ask for
Here is the point that prevents surprises, and it is a distinction between levels.
The text of the Canada agreement makes no mention of a criminal record certificate or a medical certificate. But the treaty sets the framework; the actual document list is published by the consulate processing your visa, and Spanish consulates ask for criminal record certificates very frequently on long-stay visas.
So the practical rule is twofold: read the treaty to understand what you are entitled to, and read your consulate's list to know what to bring. They are not the same document and they do not say the same thing.
If your consulate does ask for a criminal record, expect it to need an apostille and a translation. What that document is and how to request it, in sworn translation of criminal record certificates; and if you are Canadian, the certificate has its own route: Canadian criminal record certificate.
The order, and the timing
For every document that needs legalising, always the same: obtain the original, apostille it, translate it afterwards. An apostille is text added to the document, so a translation produced beforehand ends up incomplete and has to be redone or extended. The detail, in the Hague Apostille and sworn translation.
And on timing, a warning that applies to every long-stay visa: consulates recommend applying two or three months ahead and not buying your ticket before the visa is approved. With an agreement that allows no extension, arriving late cannot be fixed by staying longer.
Once you know your category and have the final document, the translation into Spanish is ordered through sworn translation from English into Spanish — or from French, if your Canadian paperwork is in French.
Send us the complete document for your category, the consulate it is going to and your appointment date, and we will give you the exact price and turnaround.