Ask a Spanish civil registry for a birth certificate and, unless you say otherwise, you get an extract. Article 82 of the Civil Registry Law puts it plainly: "Salvo solicitud expresa en sentido contrario, se expedirá certificación en extracto" (unless expressly requested otherwise, an extract is issued). HM Passport Office compares that extract to a UK short birth certificate, and does not accept it.
Spanish document translation for the UK is full of choices like that: literal or extract, partida íntegra or standard copy, printed at home or on paper. This guide covers Spain and seven Latin American countries.
Do Spanish documents need a certified translation for UK visas and passports?
Yes, unless every word is in English. Paragraph 39B(f) of the Immigration Rules requires "the version in the original language and a full translation that can be independently verified", dated, confirming accuracy, with the full name and signature of the translator or an authorised official of the translation company and their contact details. For leave to remain and indefinite leave to remain it adds "certification by a qualified translator and details of the translator or translation company's credentials".
| UK office | What it asks for |
|---|---|
| HM Passport Office | "certified translations as well as the originals"; on paper forms, a translator "who is a member of a recognised professional organisation"; no Multilingual Standard Forms |
| EU Settlement Scheme (Spanish citizens and family) | May require "a certified English translation of (or a Multilingual Standard Form to accompany)" a document not in English |
| UK ENIC | No translation needed for Spanish under its free Translation Waiver Service; Catalan is in the paid group |
| Nursing and Midwifery Council | A translation by "a legally licensed and authorised translator", with a stamp, or an issuing-authority multilingual standard form |
| Register offices, England and Wales | "a translation of any documents that are not in English" |
Where an office names a type of translator, as the NMC and HM Passport Office's paper guidance do, use one who meets that wording. See who can certify a translation in the UK.
Literal or extracto: which Spanish certificate do you need?
The certificación literal for anything involving parentage, marital status or a name change. Under Spain's Civil Registry Law (Law 20/2011, in force since 30 April 2021), a literal certificate covers "la totalidad del contenido del asiento", the whole entry, while an extract carries only the data set by regulation.
- Literal. Accepted by HM Passport Office, whose Spain profile lists its contents: names, surnames, date of birth, parents, grandparents, hospital, the parents' marital status and "any other marginal notes".
- Extract (extracto). The default; not accepted by HM Passport Office.
- Multilingual extract (plurilingüe). Issued for use abroad under the 1976 Vienna Convention. It is still an extract.
- Bilingual certificates. Registries can issue them on request in regions with a co-official language, so a certificate from Barcelona or Bilbao may be in Spanish and Catalan or Basque. Translate both.
- Digital certificates. These carry a secure verification code (código seguro de verificación) that HM Passport Office checks on the Ministry of Justice portal. Translate the code and the verification text.
Two details catch translators out. The place of birth on a Spanish record is the place where the birth was registered, which may differ from where the child was born, HM Passport Office warns; translate it as written. And the 2011 law did away with the Libro de Familia, the old family book, so build a file on certificates.
For marriage and divorce, the US State Department notes Spain issues a marriage certificate with the divorce annotated, and final divorce judgments also prove a divorce. Our marriage certificate translation guide covers both.
How do Latin American certificates differ?
Each country runs its own registry. From HM Passport Office's country profiles and the US State Department's civil document schedules:
| Country | Main birth record and issuer | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico | Acta de nacimiento, state civil registries | Designs vary by state; a single green format since 2016, older ones still valid; online printouts with a QR code on plain paper |
| Colombia | Registro civil de nacimiento, Registraduría or a notary | Digital copies "do not contain the notes section"; a corrected certificate is reissued without marginal notes |
| Venezuela | Partida de nacimiento, Registro Civil or National Electoral Council | Formats differ by municipality; copies certified "es copia fiel del original"; religious marriage certificates are not official |
| Argentina | Acta de nacimiento, local civil registry | No central registry; digital PDFs exist, but HM Passport Office wants physical documents; divorce is annotated on the acta de matrimonio |
| Peru | Partida or acta, RENIEC or the municipality | Formats vary, from handwritten transcriptions to typed templates; a divorce appears as an annotation on the marriage certificate |
| Chile | Certificado de nacimiento, Registro Civil | Only digital documents; three versions of the birth certificate, so order one naming the parents |
| Ecuador | Partida íntegra, Registro Civil | Only the partida íntegra, with marginal notes, is accepted by HM Passport Office; digital since June 2017, with a barcode |
Marginal notes (notas marginales) record recognitions of paternity, marriages, divorces and corrections, and a copy without them can tell a different story. Where a full version exists, order it and translate every note.
Which police certificate do you need from Spain or Latin America?
A national certificate from each country that applies, if your job is on the Skilled Worker list. Entry clearance applicants in listed health, education and social care jobs, and their partners, need one for each country where they spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 18 (Appendix Skilled Worker). UKVI expects the one from your latest country of residence to be no more than 6 months old, with a 39B(f) translation. See police certificate translation.
| Country | Certificate | Issued by | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | Certificado de antecedentes penales | Central Register of Convicted Persons, Ministry of Justice | Online with Cl@ve, also from abroad, or in person; verifiable by CSV code; working with minors in Spain needs a separate sexual offences certificate |
| Mexico | Constancia de Antecedentes Penales Federales | OADPRS (federal) | State certificates come from state security secretariats or prosecutors |
| Colombia | Certificado de antecedentes judiciales | Policía Nacional, online | GOV.UK's 2017 entry says foreign former residents apply by email; check it is current |
| Venezuela | Certificación de antecedentes penales | Ministry of Interior, online | GOV.UK's 2017 entry says it must then be apostilled; non-residents who are not Venezuelan cannot apply |
| Argentina | Certificado de antecedentes penales | Registro Nacional de Reincidencia | From abroad, in person at an Argentine consulate, with fingerprints; GOV.UK has no entry |
| Peru | Certificado de antecedentes policiales | Policía Nacional del Perú | From abroad, through a close relative holding a power of attorney, says GOV.UK's undated entry |
| Chile | Certificado de antecedentes | Registro Civil | Requires a Chilean ID number (RUN) |
| Ecuador | Certificado de antecedentes penales | Ministry of Government | Printable online |
UKVI accepts a regional certificate "where it is accompanied by an explanation outlining attempts to acquire a national certificate", and it can exempt you where certificates "are not available to third-country nationals". Explain any gap in writing.
How should two surnames appear in the translation?
Both of them, in the passport's order, with accents. In Spain a child's surname combines the father's and the mother's first surnames; parents choose the order, and the same order then applies to their other children (Law 20/2011, article 49). HM Passport Office adds that a Spaniard "cannot drop a surname or add a hyphen".
- Married women keep their surnames in Spain, Chile and Ecuador. Forms such as "Pérez de García" are social use only in Spain, HM Passport Office notes; Peru and Venezuela allow a married woman to add "de" and her husband's surname, and Argentine passports issued before 2011 may show it.
- Mexico has allowed parents to choose the order of surnames since 2017, so some children carry the mother's surname first.
- Spanish forenames before 8 July 1994 had to be in Spanish, so older records may show the Spanish form of a name.
- S and Z are interchangeable in Latin American names (Pérez or Peres), HM Passport Office notes; the translation follows the passport.
- Ñ becomes N or NXX in the machine-readable zone (ICAO Doc 9303); the translation keeps Ñ as printed.
See our passport and ID translation guide for name order on data pages.
How are Spanish grades translated?
As printed, with the scale. Spanish universities grade from 0 to 10 with one decimal (Royal Decree 1125/2003): suspenso below 5, aprobado 5.0 to 6.9, notable 7.0 to 8.9 and sobresaliente 9.0 to 10, with Matrícula de Honor for no more than 5% of a class scoring 9.0 or above. Notable is a grade band, not "notable", so keep the Spanish term with the band in a note. Latin American scales vary; translate the scale printed on the transcript. UK ENIC reads Spanish untranslated; universities may still ask for a translation, as our academic transcript guide explains.
Why Spanish and Latin American translations get questioned
- An extract instead of a certificación literal for a passport or a parentage question.
- Missing marginal notes: a Colombian digital copy, or a translation that skips the margin.
- A dropped or reordered surname, or a married name the passport does not show.
- A Mexican state certificate alone, with no federal certificate and no explanation.
- Untranslated verification codes and electronic signature text.
- A bilingual Catalan or Basque certificate with only the Spanish half translated.
- Grades converted into UK classes.
Checklist: Spanish and Latin American documents for a UK application
Questions people ask
Do I need the certificación literal or the extracto for a UK application?
For a British passport, the literal: HM Passport Office accepts the certificación literal and not the extract. For a Home Office application, the literal is also the safer choice because it shows the parents, grandparents and marginal notes. Ask for it expressly, because Spanish registries issue an extract by default.
Is a Spanish multilingual (plurilingüe) certificate enough without translation?
Usually not. It is an extract with multilingual headings, and the entries stay in Spanish, while paragraph 39B(f) asks for a full translation of documents not in English. HM Passport Office also cannot accept EU multilingual standard forms.
Can I use a digital or home-printed certificate?
Often, if the receiving office accepts it and its verification code is legible. HM Passport Office verifies Spanish digital certificates through the Ministry of Justice portal, but it requires physical documents from Argentina and Peru. Translate the code and verification text with the rest of the document.
Which Mexican police certificate does the Home Office need?
Mexico issues a federal certificate, the Constancia de Antecedentes Penales Federales, and state certificates from each state's security secretariat or prosecutor. UKVI accepts a regional certificate when you explain your attempts to get a national one, so the most complete file has the federal certificate plus one from each state where you lived, each translated.
Do Spanish-language documents need an apostille for the Home Office?
Paragraph 39B(f) asks for the original and a full translation, not an apostille. Police certificates are the exception in practice: GOV.UK's 2017 entry for Venezuela says its certificate must be apostilled by the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Spain's Justice Ministry says a certificate for use abroad needs legalising and offers an apostille option on the request.
Can I translate my own Spanish documents?
The Immigration Rules do not expressly forbid it, but paragraph 39B(f) requires a translation that can be independently verified and, for applications made in the UK, certification by a qualified translator with their credentials. A translation made by the applicant is the easiest kind to doubt, so use an independent professional translator.
How much does a Spanish translation cost, and how long does it take?
Official Translations, a member of the Association of Translation Companies (ATC), charges £29.95 per page, a page being up to 300 words, with a signed certificate of accuracy that meets paragraph 39B(f) in full, including the credentials element for applications made in the UK. Most one-page certificates arrive as a signed PDF by email within 24 hours, longer documents take 1 to 3 business days, and a printed hard copy by post costs £14.95 more.
