Documents from Ukraine for a residence permit in Spain

Spanish immigration authorities accept foreign documents only when they are legalised or apostilled and translated into Spanish. We handle the Ukrainian part of the file: we obtain the certificates, have them apostilled and deliver the originals to you or your lawyer in Spain. We have been doing this since 2012, remotely, under a power of attorney.

When Ukrainian documents are needed in Spain

• Non-lucrative residence (residencia no lucrativa). The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs requires applicants of the age of criminal responsibility to provide a criminal record certificate from the country or countries of residence in the last five years, legalised or apostilled and translated.

• Other residence grounds. The checklist depends on the procedure, but the rule for foreign documents is the same: an apostille or legalisation and a Spanish translation. The criminal record certificate and birth and marriage certificates are requested most often.

• Moving from temporary protection. EU temporary protection for Ukrainians has been extended to 4 March 2028, and the Council of the EU has recommended preparing transitions to other legal statuses. A new residence basis means filing Ukrainian documents again.

• Marriage, children, business. Civil status certificates, register extracts for sole proprietors and companies, certificates for banks.

Documents we obtain in Ukraine

• Criminal record certificate on paper with an apostille. The electronic extract cannot be apostilled, so Spain needs the paper version issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

• Duplicate birth, marriage, divorce and name change certificates and extracts from the State Register of Civil Status Acts. Originals issued by authorities of the Soviet republics are not accepted for an apostille. An apostille can be placed on a copy certified by a Ukrainian notary, and if the receiving authority wants an original document, we obtain a duplicate in the current Ukrainian format.

• Extracts from the Unified State Register and sole proprietor extracts to prove business income.

• Real property rights certificate and tax residence certificate when the Spanish side requests them.

Apostille and translation for Spain

Ukraine and Spain are parties to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille placed in Ukraine on the original is enough. Civil status, notarial and court documents are apostilled by the Ministry of Justice, and the paper criminal record certificate by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In Spain, a translation has official force when it is made by a sworn translator-interpreter (traductor/a-intérprete jurado) appointed by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Courts and administrations accept such translations. We hand your translator the apostilled original and check that the Latin spelling of names matches the passport.

The paper criminal record certificate with an apostille is released only by the Ministry's Unified Information System service: in person, to a representative, or by post or courier. Orders placed through the Diia app are currently delivered within Ukraine only, so people in Spain usually act through a representative.

How we work when you are abroad

1. Tell us which procedure and which authority the documents are for. If you already have a checklist from the immigration office, consulate or your lawyer, send it together with a copy of your passport.
2. We match the checklist against what Ukrainian authorities actually issue and confirm which documents we will obtain, in what form and with which apostille.
3. Some documents are released only to the person or their representative. For those we draft a power of attorney, which you sign at a Ukrainian consulate or before a local notary with an apostille.
4. We obtain the documents, have them apostilled by the competent authority and check that names in Latin script match your international passport.
5. We send you scans for review and deliver the originals to you, your representative or your lawyer abroad.

If your case is handled by a lawyer abroad

If a lawyer or consultant in your country of residence handles your case, we work with them directly. The lawyer sends us the list of documents, we obtain the Ukrainian part of the file and keep the firm informed at every step. See For immigration lawyers: documents from Ukraine.

Residence grounds are described on the page Residence permit in Spain.

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