Sworn translation for Spain's digital nomad visa

What the digital nomad visa is

Spain's digital nomad visa, formally the international teleworking authorisation, arrived with the 2023 Startups Act. It's aimed at professionals who work remotely for companies or clients based outside Spain and want to settle here legally. The application goes to the UGE, the Large Companies Unit, which tends to turn cases around faster than other immigration routes.

Before it grants the authorisation, the UGE wants to know who you are, what you do and how you support yourself. That check turns into a folder of paperwork: a criminal record certificate, proof of your qualifications or experience, your work contract or client agreements, and health insurance valid in Spain. When those documents are in another language, the Spanish administration asks for them in Spanish, and not in a do-it-yourself version, but as a sworn translation. That part is ours.

A quick note: this page isn't a legal guide to the procedure. For official requirements and timelines, always check the UGE's portal. What we handle here is the translation.

Which documents need a sworn translation

Not every page of your file needs translating, but the ones that really count almost always do. The usual suspects:

• Criminal record certificate, apostilled. Depending on your country, that's the FBI Identity History Summary in the US, the ACRO certificate in the UK, or the bulletin n° 3 (B3) in France. The apostille is translated alongside the certificate, in the same document.
• University degree or proof of professional experience showing you're qualified for the remote role you actually do.
• Employment contract with your foreign company. If you're a freelancer, the client contracts or letters that prove an ongoing working relationship.
• Health insurance with cover in Spain, when the policy is written in another language.
• In some cases, a social security certificate from your home country, or company documentation.

One thing worth getting straight. A sworn translation signed by a translator accredited by Spain's MAEC is officially valid in Spain, which is where you file the application. The apostille on your documents is what crosses borders; the translation you order because the Spanish administration requires it, here.

How we do it at Textualia

Everything is online, with no office visits. Upload a scan or a sharp photo of your document, pick the language pair (English→Spanish or French→Spanish), and see the price straight away. A translator accredited by the MAEC does the work, then stamps, signs and certifies that the translation matches the original faithfully.

By default you get a digitally signed PDF, valid for the UGE's online submissions and easy to attach to your file. Asked for paper at some point? We issue it on official Spanish stamped paper too and post it to your door. You choose the format that suits you: one, the other, or both.

We keep the original's terminology and layout. Names, dates, stamps and the apostille are reproduced precisely, because a single mistranscribed detail on a police certificate can hold up the whole file.

Why Textualia

Because this is all we do, and we do it fast. We recognise an FBI summary, an ACRO certificate or a French B3 at a glance, and we know what the UGE expects to see in each. When an appointment or a cut-off is tight, you've got 24h or 12h rush options. Pricing is by word count, VAT included, and you know it before ordering anything. No fine print.

We don't give legal advice or decide whether your application succeeds: that's down to your adviser or the UGE itself. What we do guarantee is that the piece that depends on us, the sworn translation, arrives flawless, on time and in the right format.

Gather your documents, check they carry the apostille, and order the sworn translation. We'll send your file back ready to submit.