The Hague Apostille to study in Spain

If you are one of those who moves between countries, you have surely heard about apostille and you wonder what the Hague Apostille is.

If you want to simplify and speed up procedures that involve the presentation of official documents in other countries, keep reading.

What is the Hague Apostille?

The Hague Apostille is a simplified way to legalize a document internationally.

To apostille means to add a postmark. An apostille is a note or annotation. Therefore, to apostille is to add an annotation to a document to certify its authenticity . This annotation is added on a new page. This page is the Hague Apostille.

For a document bearing an apostille to be valid, it must have been issued by a country that is a signatory to the Hague Convention . This Convention was signed on October 5, 1961, and through it, member countries recognize all documents issued by member countries that bear an apostille. Since that date, the number of countries included in this Convention continues to expand, so to determine whether the Hague Apostille applies in a specific country, you should consult the updated list of countries.

What is the Hague Apostille for?

A procedure is used to guarantee the authenticity of documents, streamlining their circulation between member countries of the Convention.

The process involves adding an apostille to the document to be legalized, certifying its validity outside its country of origin. This allows the document to circulate among all participating countries without losing its validity. This streamlines procedures and prevents forgery , both significant advantages.

In addition to the apostille, some countries, such as Spain, Panama, and Ecuador, include a QR code reader to allow for online verification of authenticity. This way, a mobile phone can be used to check if the document being presented is valid.

The Hague Apostille eliminates the requirement for diplomatic or consular legalization of public documents, and they must be recognized by member countries when they bear an apostille.

This simple procedure can save a lot of time and money , allowing you to obtain a single certificate of authenticity to use the documents in as many procedures as needed.

The required documentation is among the frequently asked questions for university admission . With the Hague Apostille, documents originating from a country other than the one where you will be studying can be submitted and considered valid.

What countries are included?

As mentioned previously, the countries that are party to the Hague Convention are continually being expanded with the inclusion of new members. The list of countries that are party to the Convention can be found online.

As can be seen, it is a large catalog of countries, which increases the benefits of the Hague Apostille, since the apostille can be added in any of these countries and used as a completely legal document in the rest of them. Among these countries is Spain and others such as Germany, the United Kingdom or the United States.

How to request the Hague Apostille

It is possible to request the Hague Apostille in person or by mail, including the necessary documents and taking into account the specialties of some documents.

In‑person

1. Fill application official of the Ministry of Justice.
2. Go to one of the following public administrations:
   1. Central citizen service office of the Ministry of Justice.
   2. Territorial management of the Ministry of Justice and delegated offices of Ceuta and Melilla.
   3. Government secretariats of the superior courts of justice and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
3. Submit application along with documentation necessary in one of the public administrations.
4. Remove the document at that time.

By mail

1. Fill out application official of the Ministry of Justice.
2. Send application along with documentation necessary by mail to the following address:
   1. Government secretariats of the superior courts of justice and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
   2. Central citizen service office of the Ministry of Justice at Calle de la Bolsa, 8, 28012 Madrid, Spain
3. Within 10 business days, you will receive the document at the address indicated in the application.

Required Documentation

• ID of the interested party (National Identity Document).
• Application Legalization or Apostille officer of the Ministry of Justice.
• Certificate literal, in this case the one that is going to Legalize or Apostille.

Depending on the type of document to be apostilled, it will be necessary to go to a specific place to carry out the procedure.

• Administrative public documents, in the Central Citizen Service Office of the Ministry of Justice, Territorial Management of the Ministry of Justice and Delegated Offices of Ceuta and Melilla or Government Secretariats of the Superior Courts of Justice
• Notarial documents and private documents whose signatures have been legitimized before a notary, in the Notarial Colleges or those Notaries to whom they delegate.
• Public judicial documents issued by the national court and the supreme court, through the Government Secretaries of the respective courts or whomever they delegate.

In addition, some administrative documents require prior signature verification before they can be apostilled. Some of these documents are:

• University Degrees.
• Official non-university academic titles.
• Documents from the Tax Agency.
• SEPE or Social Security documents.
• Documents of the Autonomous Communities.
• Documents from local entities.
• Consular documents.
• Certificates of Property, Commercial and Personal Property Registries.
• AENA documents.
• Bank documents.
• Documents issued by the State Security Forces and Bodies.
• DGT documents.

If you have any further questions about the Hague Apostille, please contact us.

The Hague Apostille is a procedure that guarantees the authenticity of a document so that it can be used in all member countries of the Hague Convention . It can be requested in person or by mail and helps save time in document processing.

If you have any further questions, we recommend that you ask our colleagues at LegalSpain and read their article on the Hague Apostille.