- your certificate arrived after you applied;
- a requerimiento asks for it;
- you are preparing your permit renewal, due from 2027.
The application window closed on 30 June 2026. Upload a scan to see a fixed price before you pay.
We are not affiliated with the Ministry of Inclusion or any Oficina de Extranjería. We translate; we do not advise on your case.
Which documents did the 2026 regularisation need translated?
The 2026 regularisation (arraigo extraordinario, Hoja 28 ter) asked for a criminal record certificate from your country of origin. It also asked for certificates from each country where you lived in the 5 years before you arrived in Spain. Each needed an apostille or legalisation and a translation into Spanish (castellano).
The legal basis is Real Decreto 316/2026 (BOE-A-2026-8284). Applicants had to enter Spain before 1 January 2026 and have stayed at least five months. The ministry received 1,174,978 applications before the window closed.
Tick-list for your file:
- Each foreign criminal record: police clearance certificate sworn translation for regularisation
- Its apostille or consular legalisation, translated together with it
- Any requerimiento document the office names
How are criminal records from Colombia, Morocco and Pakistan prepared?
The route depends on the issuing country. A certificate already in Spanish has nothing to translate, but every certificate needs an apostille or legalisation.
| Issuing country | Certificate and route | Translation | Country page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia (also Venezuela, Peru, Honduras) | Issued in Spanish. Apostille or Spanish consular legalisation still needed | Not needed | — |
| Morocco | Fiche anthropométrique (DGSN, via the e-police portal). Apostille by the courts or provincial authorities | Yes, from French or Arabic | Moroccan documents for Spain |
| Pakistan | Police character certificate, National Police Bureau, Islamabad; from Spain via the Embassy of Pakistan in Madrid. MOFA apostille | Yes | Pakistani documents for Spain |
| Bangladesh | Bangladesh Police online clearance. MOFA e-Apostille | Yes | Bangladeshi documents for Spain |
| Senegal | Apostille since 23 March 2023 | Yes, from French | Senegalese documents for Spain |
| Nigeria | Police character certificate (Force CID). MFA Abuja, then the Spanish Embassy in Abuja or the Consulate General in Lagos, depending on your state | Yes | Nigerian documents for Spain |
Moroccan certificates go through Arabic to Spanish sworn translation or French to Spanish sworn translation. Other languages: sworn translation into Spanish from any language.
What translation did Hoja 28 ter accept for a criminal record?
Hoja 28 ter asks for the criminal record "traducido al castellano", plus an apostille or legalisation. Extranjería's general rule (Hoja 61) accepts a MAEC sworn translator, among other routes. A sworn translation is official in Spain without further legalisation, so it is the safe choice.
Since 8 March 2025, a digitally signed sworn translation is legally valid. Check any translator in the official MAEC search (Buscador-STIJ). The apostille goes on first: apostille before or after translation.
Sources: Hoja 28 ter · La Moncloa · Ministry note, 2 July 2026. Last checked: 1 October 2026.
What if my criminal record arrives after I applied?
Hoja 28 ter covers this. If the foreign authority had not issued your certificate within one month of your request, you file proof of the request. Spain then asks for the record through diplomatic channels. If the certificate reaches you later, follow the instructions in your notice before filing it.
Your notice from the office tells you exactly what to file and by when. Send us the certificate as soon as the apostille is on. Standard delivery is 24–48 hours. For a tighter deadline, use our urgent sworn translation.
How do I answer a requerimiento in a regularisation file?
A requerimiento de subsanación gives you 10 working days (días hábiles) to fix the file, under Ley 39/2015 art. 68. Otherwise the application is treated as withdrawn. Where documents are especially hard to get, you can ask for up to 5 more days before the 10 days end. See requerimiento Extranjería translation.
Representatives such as gestorías usually file replies online through Mercurio, with a digital certificate.
What do I need to renew a regularisation permit?
Regularisation permits last one year, so renewals fall due from 2027. La Moncloa says that after that year, holders must move to the ordinary permits in the Reglamento de Extranjería. No official renewal Hoja has been published yet. Check the Ministry of Inclusion's Hoja for your new route before filing.
What renewals are likely to need, based on the ordinary routes, until official rules appear:
| Likely situation | Foreign documents that may need translating | Where we help |
|---|---|---|
| Moving to an ordinary arraigo or work permit | An updated criminal record from each country you lived in during the last 5 years, if the Hoja asks for it | arraigo sworn translation |
| Arraigo familiar | A birth certificate showing the relationship | birth certificate sworn translation |
| Bringing family to join you later | Marriage and birth certificates | marriage certificate sworn translation |
| Proof of work, job-seeking or Spanish courses | Usually Spanish documents, so no translation | — |
Ordinary permits are usually renewed in the 2 months before expiry or up to 3 months after it. Check the official rule for these permits once it is published. If an updated foreign certificate is needed, order it early: some countries take weeks.
Planning a renewal? Tick "renewal" in the quote form, and your quote lists the documents to translate. For residence files generally, see Extranjería sworn translation.
How do I avoid regularisation scams?
The application window closed on 30 June 2026, so nobody can sell you a new place in it. Pay only for a clear service, such as a translation carrying a sworn translator's seal you can check on the MAEC list.
Be wary of anyone selling citas or "fast-track" places. We only translate. We never sell appointments.
What do we check before your sworn criminal record translation is sealed?
Before the seal, we check that the apostille or legalisation is on the certificate. We check the period it covers and its issue date. We compare your name with your passport and translate every stamp. You approve a draft before the MAEC-appointed sworn translator signs it.
Names spelled differently get a translator's note. See our guide to the single-name passport in Spain.
Before you pay: your regularisation translation questions
A criminal record that arrives late leaves little slack before your notice's deadline. What to know first:
- Is the translator real? Every translator we work with is appointed by Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and listed on its register. Their seal on each page can be checked on the official MAEC list; our guide shows how to verify a Spanish sworn translator.
- What if Extranjería rejects it? Free, prioritised re-issue if rejected on formal grounds, such as a Moroccan fiche anthropométrique whose apostille was left untranslated. See how a free re-issue works.
- Is my data safe? Your files are deleted within 7 days of delivery, as set out in our privacy policy.
- Is your requerimiento deadline close? Our same-day sworn translation for urgent deadlines handles requerimiento documents where the document allows.
Send your requerimiento and certificate for a same-day check
Free quote within 1 hour · files deleted 7 days after delivery
For gestorías and lawyers: send several clients' certificates in one order. See translations for immigration lawyers and sworn translation for law firms and gestorías.
How much does a criminal record sworn translation cost for the regularisation?
You pay one fixed total, shown before you pay, with the apostille page included. Sworn translators in Spain set their fees freely; there is no official tariff. As an indicative market range, sworn translations in Spain cost about €30–120 a page. That is roughly €30–80 for the first page and €15–40 for later pages (Cronoshare, January 2026). This is a market range, not our price. Standard delivery is 24–48 hours.
| Package | Price | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|
| One criminal record with apostille | From €29 | 24–48 hours |
| Two or more countries' certificates | From €58 (€29 per certificate) | 2–3 working days |
| Requerimiento reply, same day where possible | From €29 + 60% (min €25 extra) | Same day by 20:00 if paid by 12:00 (CET/CEST) |
To compare rates, see our fixed prices, or get a fixed quote for your criminal record directly.
Prices above are for common languages (English, French, Italian, Portuguese, German). Arabic, Russian, Ukrainian and Romanian start from €39 per certificate. Chinese, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali and other rare languages start from €49.
Turnaround in common languages: 1 page in 24–48 hours, 2–5 pages in 2–3 working days, 6–10 pages in 3–5 working days. Rare languages take 3–4 working days for 1–2 pages.
Need it sooner? 24-hour delivery adds 30% to the order price. Same-day delivery adds 60%, minimum €25 extra. It covers 1–2 page documents in common languages. Order and pay by 12:00 Spanish time (CET/CEST) on a working day, and we deliver by 20:00.
These are starting prices. For your final price, send your details through the quote form. We email you a written quotation, and work starts only after you approve it.
What clients say
4.9/5.0 from 18,000+ reviews
“Good service and clear communication. I needed my police clearance certificate translated for a residence application. They explained what they needed from me and answered my questions promptly.”
“We needed a police certificate translated and had some doubts about the paperwork. The team replied patiently and explained the process. It was helpful to get a clear answer instead of trying to work everything out ourselves.”
“Hola, thank you for the translation. I needed a French document translated into Spanish for an administrative procedure. Everything was explained clearly, and communication was easy from the start.”
“My solicitor asked me to arrange a sworn translation of a court document. I contacted the team to clarify a few things, and they were helpful throughout. A straightforward experience, which is exactly what I needed at the time.”
“I needed my birth certificate translated for my Spanish nationality paperwork and wasn't really sure where to start. I sent an enquiry first, and the team explained the process without making it complicated. The communication was good, and I felt more confident about getting the documents ready.”
“We had to translate our marriage certificate for a family reunification procedure. I was worried about getting the paperwork wrong, so I had quite a few questions. The team was patient and explained the translation process clearly. That was genuinely helpful during an already stressful time.”
“My nationality application involved documents from my home country, and I wasn't sure how to arrange the translations. I reached out with my questions and received a clear explanation of the process. It saved me from spending more time guessing what to do next.”
“We needed corporate documents translated into Spanish for a business procedure. The terminology and consistency mattered to us, so we wanted a service that understood the formal nature of the documents. Communication was professional, and the process was well organised.”
Which other services help after the regularisation?
- Spanish nationality sworn translation for later citizenship files
- Apostille and sworn translation if your certificate still needs its apostille
- All sworn translation services by procedure
Frequently asked questions
¿Necesito traducir los antecedentes penales para la regularización?
Yes, if the certificate is not in Spanish. Hoja 28 ter asks for it "traducido al castellano" and apostilled or legalised. A traducción jurada by a MAEC-appointed translator is the safe choice.
How much does it cost to translate a criminal record for Extranjería?
It depends on the pages and the apostille, and sworn translators in Spain set their own fees. One criminal record with its apostille is from €29, delivered in 24–48 hours. You get a written quotation before you pay. See the price table above.
Does a Latin American criminal record need translating?
No, if it is issued in Spanish, as in Colombia, Venezuela, Peru or Honduras. It still needs an apostille or consular legalisation.
Is the regularisation still open?
No. The window closed on 30 June 2026, with 1,174,978 applications. We help people who already applied, and people preparing to renew.
Can I get my antecedentes penales translated online from Spain?
Yes. Send a scan of the certificate and its apostille. You receive a digitally signed PDF to upload or file.
How do I send my criminal record for a sworn translation quote?
Scan every page of the certificate, including the apostille, and upload it with your deadline. Tell us if it answers a requerimiento. You see a fixed total and delivery date before you pay. Nothing is charged before you agree.
Upload your criminal record for a fixed quote
Free quote within 1 hour · fixed price before you pay · official in Spain
What happens next
- 1We check the apostille is on and note your notice or renewal date.
- 2You see one total and the delivery date, then pay and check a draft.
- 3The signed PDF arrives ready to file with Extranjería or upload through Mercurio.