Sworn translation for Irish nationals in Spain

This page starts backwards compared with the others, because with Ireland it has to.

Ireland and Spain are both EU member states, and Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 removes the apostille requirement for a specific list of public documents circulating between EU countries. If your document is on that list, it needs no apostille to be filed in Spain. And if you request it together with the multilingual standard form, the Spanish authorities may only require a translation in exceptional cases.

Put plainly: you may not need anything we sell. We would rather say so first.

What the exemption covers

The Regulation covers public documents establishing birth, that a person is alive, death, name, marriage, divorce, registered partnership, parenthood, adoption, domicile or residence, nationality and absence of a criminal record.

The multilingual form is requested at the moment you apply for the certificate, at any Civil Registration Office. This matters: if the certificate is already in your hand and you did not ask for it, you have to apply again. Five minutes of foresight save an entire order.

What falls outside, and where we do come in

The Regulation covers the authenticity of the document, not everything you may need to file. Outside its scope, and therefore still requiring an apostille and a sworn translation:

• Degrees, academic transcripts and QQI certification, for recognition or equivalence.
• Notarial acts, deeds and powers of attorney.
• Company documents: incorporation, registry certificates, accounts.
• Court decisions, including probate matters.
• And any document which, although on the list, the Spanish authority asks you to translate despite the multilingual form. It happens, particularly where the office handling your file does not deal with the Regulation every day.

The Irish criminal record certificate

Ireland issues the Garda Police Certificate, granted by the Superintendent of the Garda Division where you live or used to live. It is valid for twelve months and must carry the original stamp and signature of An Garda Síochána.

To file it in Spain it needs no apostille: absence of a criminal record is one of the heads covered by the Regulation. For a country outside the EU it does, and only Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs can issue the apostille — Irish embassies and consulates abroad cannot.

The driving licence

Here Ireland has the advantage over other origins: being an EU licence, it is exchanged at the Spanish traffic authority without any test. No sworn translation is needed for the exchange.

How we work

Entirely online, with no trips anywhere:

1. Upload the document — apostilled where that applies — as a PDF or a clear photo.
2. See the firm price and the delivery date before paying.
3. Receive the sworn translation as a PDF with a qualified electronic signature, valid for electronic filing with the Spanish authorities.
4. If your procedure demands paper, we post the official stamped-paper copy to your address in Spain.

And if you write to us with a document that is exempt, we will tell you. A sworn translation signed by a MAEC-accredited translator has full validity in Spain, but there is no point paying for one nobody is going to ask you for.