Sworn translation for Filipinos in Spain
The Philippines issues its official documents in English, which is our pair. And there is one feature worth knowing: the residence period for Spanish nationality is two years, not ten.
There is a reason this page matters more than most: the Philippines is among the countries with a reduced residence period for Spanish nationality. Where the general rule demands ten years, Filipino nationals need two years of legal, continuous residence. It is a case recognised in the Spanish Civil Code alongside Ibero-American countries, Andorra, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal.
That changes the timetable for a great many people, and brings forward the moment the file has to be translated.
Documents must come from the PSA
The first filter is which body issued them. For the apostille and for the Spanish authorities, civil status certificates must be the ones issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), not by the local municipal civil registrar.
Among those the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) accepts for apostille are the birth certificate, the marriage certificate, the death certificate, the CENOMAR — the certificate of no marriage record, essential for marrying in Spain — and advisories on marriages.
The step before degrees: the CAV
Academic documents do not go straight to the apostille. First comes the CAV (Certification, Authentication and Verification), issued by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for higher education records. Without it, the DFA will not apostille a degree or a transcript.
It is the same kind of step that holds up files from other countries: it is not that a stamp is missing, it is that the stamp that comes before it is missing.
The NBI Clearance
The criminal record certificate is the NBI Clearance, and for the DFA to apostille it, it must be the original with the dry seal and verifiable online. It is best requested stating that it is for use abroad, and its date should be aligned with the rest of the file, because its validity is limited.
Which Philippine documents we translate
- PSA birth, marriage and death certificates, and the CENOMAR.
- NBI Clearance, for residence, nationality and immigration procedures.
- Degrees and academic transcripts with their CAV, for recognition or equivalence.
- Employer letters, payslips and employment certificates, very common in arraigo and family reunification files.
- Powers of attorney, where someone must act in the Philippines from Spain or the other way round.
All are issued in English, so the pair is English into Spanish, signed by a MAEC-accredited translator.
The driving licence
We assume nothing here. Exchanging a foreign licence is only possible where a bilateral agreement exists, and the list is published by the Spanish traffic authority. Check it before counting on an exchange; if your country is not listed, you must obtain the Spanish licence by examination. We translate the licence for other uses, but not for a procedure that cannot then be carried out.
The order, and how we work
CAV first if the document is academic. Then the DFA apostille. And the sworn translation last, covering document and apostille as one block.
- Upload the document, already apostilled, as a PDF or a clear photo.
- See the firm price and the delivery date before paying.
- Receive the sworn translation as a PDF with a qualified electronic signature, valid for electronic filing with the Spanish authorities.
- If your procedure demands paper, we post the official stamped-paper copy to your address in Spain.
A sworn translation signed by a MAEC-accredited translator has full validity in Spain. To file Spanish documents in the Philippines, the route runs the other way.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to your questions
Is a local civil registrar certificate enough, or must it come from the PSA?
It must come from the PSA. Municipal civil registrar certificates are not the ones the Department of Foreign Affairs apostilles, nor what the Spanish authorities expect. If all you have is the local one, request the equivalent from the Philippine Statistics Authority before anything else.
What is the CAV and when is it needed?
It is the Certification, Authentication and Verification issued by the Commission on Higher Education for academic documents. It is a mandatory prior step: without a CAV, the DFA will not apostille a degree or a transcript. For non-university studies, verification falls to the corresponding education body.
What condition must the NBI Clearance be in?
Original, with the dry seal, and verifiable online. It is best requested stating that it is for use abroad. Bear in mind it expires, so it is better obtained once the rest of the file is on track rather than right at the start.
Is it true that Filipinos can apply for Spanish nationality after two years?
Yes. The Spanish Civil Code recognises a reduced period of two years of legal, continuous residence for nationals of the Philippines, alongside Ibero-American countries, Andorra, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal, as well as the Sephardic case. The documents in the file still need an apostille and a sworn translation.
Do I translate before or after the apostille?
After, always. The apostille becomes part of the document and part of what must be translated. The correct order is: CAV where the document is academic, DFA apostille, and only then the sworn translation of the whole.
- Official sworn translation, in both directions, with full legal validity for procedures before official bodies in Spain
- Standard, urgent and express delivery options · Exact delivery date before paying
- Confidential handling of your documents
- Formal corrections included if the receiving authority requests them
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