If you need a UK educational document apostilled for use in Spain, the process you follow — and the cost — depends on which visa you’re applying for.

Most Spanish visa types allow your degree or qualification to be solicitor-certified and then apostilled. Quick, straightforward, relatively affordable.

But if you’re applying for a student or study visa, the rules are stricter. Your educational documents must be notarised by a notary public who has verified their authenticity with the issuing university, and then apostilled. It takes longer and costs more. There is no shortcut, and there is no alternative.

We see students every week who’ve had their documents prepared incorrectly — usually because they followed generic advice that doesn’t distinguish between visa types.

The result is always the same: a rejection letter from the Spanish Consulate or Ministry, a 10-day deadline to fix it, and a scramble to start the process again from scratch.

This guide covers the correct legalisation route for each visa type, explains why study visas are different, and shows you exactly how to prepare your documents so they’re accepted the first time.

Two routes, two different processes

There are two ways to prepare a UK educational document for use in Spain. Which one you need depends on the purpose of the document.

Route A — Notarisation, then apostille (for study and academic purposes)

If your educational document is being submitted for a student visa, degree equivalence (homologación), or any academic purpose, it must be notarised first by a notary public, then apostilled by the FCDO.

The notary cannot simply confirm the document is genuine or declare it a true copy. They must explicitly verify the document’s authenticity with the issuing university. The expected standard is:

“I have verified the authenticity of this document with the issuing institution.”

Wording such as “This is a true copy” or “This is an original degree certificate” is not accepted.

The Spanish authorities have rejected documents certified this way — including cases where the apostille itself was valid, but the notary’s verification was insufficient.

Each educational document must be notarised and apostilled separately. A degree certificate and its transcript, for example, each need their own notarised certificate and apostille. Do not bind them together.

Route B — Solicitor certification, then apostille (for non-study purposes)

If your educational document is being submitted for a work visa, digital nomad visa, non-lucrative visa, or any non-academic purpose, it can be solicitor-certified and then apostilled.

No notarisation required. This is faster and cheaper.

Why the difference?

The FCDO apostille authenticates a signature — but university registrars are not FCDO-recognised signatories. An FCDO-registered notary or solicitor must first verify and sign the document, so the FCDO has a recognised signature to apostille.

For study and academic purposes, Spain requires this to be an FCDO-registered notary. For all other purposes, an FCDO-registered solicitor is sufficient.

The correct sequence

Whichever route applies, the order is always: certification (notarisation or solicitor) → apostille → sworn translation into Spanish.

The apostille certificate itself does not need translating — it is already labelled in English, French and Spanish.

Study / Student Visa — document by document

Educational documents (degree certificates, transcripts, professional qualifications) FCDO-registered notary → apostille → sworn translation into Spanish. The notary must verify authenticity with the issuing university — not just confirm it’s a true copy. Each document is notarised and apostilled separately. Never bound together. No expiry.
ACRO criminal record certificate Straight to apostille (issued against the ACRO officer’s signature) → sworn translation into Spanish. No notarisation or certification needed. Only required for courses lasting more than 6 months. If your course is shorter, you don’t need one at all. Must be less than 6 months old at the date of your visa application.
The medical certificate must be less than 3 months old on the date of your visa application. Covered in detail in the next section — there are specific requirements that catch most applicants out.
Birth certificate, straight to apostille (issued against the registrar’s signature) → sworn translation into Spanish. Required if you are a minor, or if your parents are providing a notarised financial declaration to support your application. No expiry.
Notarised parental financial declaration. If your parents or legal guardians are funding your studies, they must provide a notarised declaration stating that they assume financial responsibility. This declaration must be apostilled and translated into Spanish. You will also need to submit your birth certificate (apostilled and translated) along with copies of your parents’ passports.

Documents that do NOT need apostilling

These are submitted as originals and copies, with no legalisation required:

Acceptance letter from your Spanish institution. Proof of tuition payment. Bank statements (6 months, originals stamped by your bank). Health insurance policy or UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC).

Passport and photocopies. Proof of UK residence. Proof of residence in the consular district.

What happens when it goes wrong

We regularly see rejection letters from the Spanish Consulate and the Ministry of Science. In one recent case, a student’s degree certificate was apostilled — but the notary’s certificate only confirmed it was genuine, without verifying authenticity with the university.

The Spanish Ministry rejected it, stating that the apostille authenticated the notary’s signature but the notary had not certified the validity of the university registrar’s signature.

The student was given 10 business days to resubmit correctly or have their application withdrawn entirely. This is not unusual. It is exactly the kind of rejection we help students avoid.

The medical certificate:

The most common mistake we see

Every week, we hear from customers who have already obtained a medical certificate from their GP or local NHS practice, only to discover it cannot be apostilled. This is the single most common problem with Spanish student visa applications — and it is entirely avoidable.

The issue

The BLS checklist asks for a medical certificate issued by a “registered medical practitioner.”

What it doesn’t make clear is that the doctor who signs your medical certificate must be FCDO-registered. This is not optional.

Spain requires the medical certificate to be apostilled. The apostille is issued against the doctor’s signature, so the doctor must be registered with the FCDO.

Most GPs and NHS doctors are not FCDO-registered.

The result: you pay for a medical certificate you can’t use, and you need to start again with an FCDO-registered doctor — while your visa deadline is ticking.

The certificate must also have been issued within the last 3 months at the date of your visa application and can only be issued in the UK or Spain — medical certificates from other countries are not accepted.

Our recommendation

We have partnered with Zoomdoc, which provides visa medical certificates signed by an FCDO-registered doctor. The certificate is issued within 2 hours (shipped to our office in 48 hours), uses the correct wording, and is ready for apostille immediately. No guesswork, no wasted appointments.

Order a Spanish Visa Medical >

This happens more often than you’d think.

In a recent case, a student submitted their visa application without a correctly apostilled medical certificate.

The Spanish Consulate issued a formal request for the missing document, giving 10 days to provide it, apostilled, translated, and correctly worded.

Failure to respond within 10 days results in the application being considered withdrawn.

Other Spanish visas — why the process is different

If you’re not applying for a student visa, the legalisation route for your educational documents is simpler.

For non-study purposes, your degree or qualification can be certified by an FCDO-registered solicitor and then apostilled. No notarisation required. This is faster and costs less. Here’s how it works for the most common visa types:

Digital Nomad Visa

Educational documents are submitted to demonstrate professional status or qualifications — not for academic recognition. FCDO-registered solicitor certification → apostille → sworn translation into Spanish. Your ACRO certificate and medical certificate still need to be apostilled separately, following the same rules as any other visa type.

Non-Lucrative Visa

Educational documents are not typically required for this visa. If they are requested, the same non-study route applies: FCDO-registered solicitor certification → apostille → sworn translation.

The main documents you will need apostilled are your ACRO certificate, birth certificate, medical certificate, and marriage certificate if applying as a couple.

Residence and Employment Work Visa

Educational documents are generally not part of this application — the visa is built around your work authorisation and employment contract. The documents that do need to be apostilled are your ACRO certificate and medical certificate (for stays over 180 days), following the standard route.

Why does this matter if you’re a student?

This is why your quote looks different from that of someone applying for a digital nomad or work visa. Their degree gets solicitor-certified.

Yours must be notarised — with verified authenticity. It takes longer, involves a notary rather than a solicitor, and costs more. But it’s the only process the Spanish authorities will accept for study purposes.

Getting it done the first time correctly is always cheaper than doing it twice.

Pricing

Apostille: from £87 per document, or £79 per document when you need three or more.

Sworn translation into Spanish: £50 for the first page, £40 per additional page.

For student visa applications, notarisation is an additional cost and depends on the verification route, which varies by university and document type.

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How London Apostille Services can help

We process Spanish visa documents every day — student visas, digital nomad visas, non-lucrative visas, and everything in between. We know exactly which legalisation route each document needs, and we prepare them correctly the first time.

For student visa applicants, we handle the full process: notarisation with verified authenticity, apostille via the FCDO, and coordination of sworn translation into Spanish.

For other visa types, we handle solicitor certification, apostille and translation through the same service.

If you need a medical certificate, our partnership with Zoomdoc means you can get a visa medical signed by an FCDO-registered doctor, issued within 2 hours, correctly worded and ready for apostille.

One of our team members speaks fluent Spanish. If you need help understanding a consulate request, responding to a rejection letter, or communicating with the Spanish authorities, we can support you by email, phone or in person.