Documents to Move to Spain: FBI, Apostilles & Forms

For an American moving to Spain, the main paperwork sequence is: identify the visa route, obtain the required original records, authenticate the public records that need apostilles, and order accepted Spanish translations. Start federal FBI paperwork separately from state-issued birth and marriage certificates—they go to different authentication authorities.

Updated October 27, 2026. Official sources are linked beside the relevant instructions. Examples are labeled; municipal requirements are identified by location.

General relocation information, not individualized legal advice. The receiving authority’s current instructions govern your application.

Quick answer: what documents do you need to move to Spain?

Build a core identity folder, then add the evidence required for your visa or residence route and each family member. Common categories include passports, application forms, proof of purpose and finances, health coverage, civil-status records, and criminal-record or medical certificates where required. After arrival, housing evidence and the relevant TIE or padrón paperwork become important.

This is a preparation framework, not one universal application checklist. Choose the route using our Spain visa guide, then compare your file against the competent Spanish consulate’s current instructions.

1. Passport, applications and authorization records

Make one identity folder per applicant. Check passport validity and blank pages against the specific route: New York’s non-lucrative instructions, for example, specify at least one year’s validity, two blank pages and a passport issued within the previous ten years. A passport valid for the flight may still fail a long-stay application requirement. New York non-lucrative checklist.

Use the correct form for the stage. EX-01 concerns non-lucrative residence; EX-03 ordinary employee authorization; EX-07 ordinary self-employment; EX-00 the relevant study-stay application; and EX-17 the later identity card. UGE’s telework authorization uses MIT. A national visa form is a separate form; submitting EX-17 cannot create an unapproved residence authorization. Download current forms from the official procedure links in the visa guide.

Record your names exactly as required from the passport, including multiple given names and surnames. Where a marriage or name change explains a difference, keep the connecting civil document. For an employer-filed case, obtain the complete favorable decision and submission record. Do not rely only on a recruiter’s email saying “approved.”

Prepare originals and the requested copies in checklist order. Keep encrypted scans and a way to access them if your phone is lost. Carry passports, approvals, civil records needed immediately and entry documents in hand luggage rather than in the international shipment.

2. Originals, apostilles and translations

An apostille authenticates the origin of a public document for use in another Hague Convention country. It does not translate the text, prove that the contents are true, or make an expired document recent again. A notarized photocopy is not automatically equivalent to the certified public record requested by a consulate.

Federal documents: The FBI Identity History Summary is a federal record. Follow the U.S. Department of State’s federal apostille process; do not send it to a state Secretary of State as though it were a state birth certificate. The State Department identifies the request form DS-4194, submission instructions and authentication requirements. Federal apostilles; requesting authentication services.

State and local records: Order the accepted certified birth, marriage or other civil record from its issuing authority, then use the competent state authentication authority. A California-issued record does not become a New York record because you now live there. Some states require an intermediate county or other certification; follow the issuing state’s chain. Spanish consular guidance on U.S. apostilles.

Translations: Confirm which translator the receiving authority accepts before commissioning work. Spain’s sworn translators are one recognized route, but consular instructions can specify other accepted certifications. Boston’s non-lucrative checklist, for example, has its own accepted translation wording and says the apostille itself does not need translation. Do not turn a different consulate’s “translate the apostille” instruction into a nationwide rule. Boston document rules.

The efficient order is usually correct certified record → required apostille → accepted translation of the required material → final packet check. Give the translator the authenticated version and the receiving office’s instructions. Avoid paying to translate a souvenir birth certificate, incomplete background report or record that must be reissued.

Create a tracker for each person with the issuing authority, document date, authentication authority, accepted translator, prerequisite and intended submission date. Record the next action and who owns it. Recheck the file when your route, household or appointment date changes.

3. Get the FBI record and federal apostille in the right order

Request the FBI Identity History Summary through the FBI’s electronic or mail process, or an approved channeler where accepted. Electronic applicants can use a participating U.S. Post Office for fingerprint submission; separate fingerprint fees may apply.
Check the returned name and identifying details. The FBI request costs $18; additional sealed mailed responses require separate requests and payments.
Send the eligible FBI result to the U.S. Department of State for the apostille. Include DS-4194 naming Spain, the document and the required payment. The federal authentication fee is $20 per document.
After authentication, send the complete record and the receiving consulate’s translation instructions to the accepted translator. Retain the linked original, apostille and translation as a set.

Official source: FBI: requests, fingerprints, fee and apostille handoff

Official source: State Department: submission, payment and processing

Budget example: one FBI request plus one federal apostille totals $38 in those government fees, before fingerprints, postage, translation or a private service. Two adults needing one of each would total $76. This does not include state civil records or visa fees.

The State Department currently quotes processing within five weeks after receiving a mailed request; transit adds time. Its published walk-in drop-off/pickup process is separate. Urgent appointments have narrowly defined family-emergency criteria—an approaching relocation flight alone is not the stated emergency category. Use the live processing notice when planning.

Do not order the medical certificate too early

The immigration medical certificate is a prescribed public-health statement, not your complete medical history. Give the clinician your consulate’s template, including the International Health Regulations (2005) wording. Boston’s non-lucrative instructions specify a three-month recency window; other procedures must be checked separately. Schedule this shorter-lived record around submission rather than the first day you begin researching.

Official source: Boston: medical and document requirements

Keep the previous-five-year residence history visible. Non-lucrative consular criminal-record requirements and UGE’s telework certificate/declaration periods differ; the FBI report alone may not cover time you lived in another country. The route-specific document section below explains that distinction.

4. Build separate family files without duplicating every document

For two adults and a child, make three applicant checklists and one shared folder. Each checklist should distinguish identity, eligibility, relationship evidence and any record that needs authentication. This is an organizational example, not a claim that every route asks for identical certificates.

Each adult: passport and route-specific application, plus criminal-record and medical certificates when that procedure requires them.
Couple: the accepted marriage or partnership evidence supporting the family application. If names differ across passports and records, include the document that explains the change.
Child: passport, accepted birth record showing parentage, and any relevant custody or consent evidence. A child is an applicant even when the parent signs.
Shared file: principal applicant’s financial, employment or authorization evidence and the household insurance documents. Attach the copies each individual application requires.

Order a certified civil record from the jurisdiction that issued it, then follow that jurisdiction’s authentication chain. A hospital souvenir birth certificate is not the official civil record. If the family application requires an apostille, do that before commissioning the final translation so the translator has the complete material.

Official source: U.S. Department of State: federal versus state documents

Do not merge four distinct tasks into “documents done.” Mark each record as ordered, received, apostilled where required, translated where required, and ready for submission. EuroHaven’s moving checklist helps keep those dependencies connected to the application date.

Person reviewing financial forms with a pen at a wooden desk.

5. Work, study and financial evidence

Build the route-specific evidence around the question the authority is deciding.

Non-lucrative residence: Can you support the household without working? The initial formula is 400% of IPREM for the applicant plus 100% per dependent. At the Washington consulate’s published 2026 IPREM of €600 monthly, twelve months means €28,800 for one applicant or €36,000 for a couple. Keep statements and income evidence that show ownership, access and continuity. Boston’s checklist has particular treatment of retirement accounts for people who are not retired; a 401(k) balance is not universally accepted as freely available income. Washington; Boston.

Telework: Can you document the qualifying foreign work relationship, company activity, qualifications, resources and Social Security arrangement? UGE asks for the required company evidence, permission to work remotely, relationship history and payslips or invoices matched to bank receipts. Ask the employer which public company records require legalization and translation. A personal employment letter cannot replace every company record. UGE document list.

Study: Is the program eligible, is admission/enrollment documented, and can you meet living costs separately from tuition? The Ministry identifies admission/payment, insurance and financial evidence, including the family calculation. A tuition invoice is not proof that the same money remains available for rent. Study evidence.

Ordinary employee or self-employed work: An employer supplies much of a sponsored authorization file. A self-employed applicant supplies the business, investment, qualifications and licensing evidence. Mark who owns each outstanding request and obtain the final submitted version. See the route-by-route visa guide.

6. Health insurance and medical continuity

Retain the policy certificate, coverage dates, insured names, terms and payment evidence requested by your procedure. Check the policy against the immigration requirements, not merely against a product label such as “expat insurance.” See our Spain health insurance guide.

Separately prepare medication lists, prescriptions, significant medical history and a plan for continuing treatment. These practical records serve a different purpose from an immigration medical certificate. Ask your clinician what to carry and check official Spanish rules for any regulated medication.

Three people reviewing documents together during an appointment.

7. Housing, padrón and TIE paperwork

Save your lease or other housing evidence and the town hall’s specific registration checklist. Do not order a German-style landlord form for a Spanish procedure. The padrón guide explains what to ask your municipality.

For the TIE, use the police checklist for the relevant case, with originals, photo, fee evidence and the immigration documents requested. Our residence-after-arrival guide distinguishes obtaining the card from obtaining the underlying permission.

8. Driving, household goods and pets

If you plan to drive, carry the valid license and check the recognized license formats, translations or international permits. DGT limits qualifying third-country licenses to a maximum of six months after you establish normal residence in Spain, subject to the other validity conditions. Do not assume U.S. state reciprocity arrangements used elsewhere apply to Spain. DGT’s official guidance

For shipping, prepare an inventory and evidence supporting any transfer-of-residence relief. Customs exemptions are conditional; a moving-company booking does not establish eligibility. Review the Spanish Tax Agency guidance before dispatch.

Pet travel has its own time-sensitive certificate process. Keep it separate from your visa file and follow the Spain pets guide.

Hands organizing a paper schedule beside a laptop.

A document system that stays usable

Folder

What to track

Each person

Identity, route, required document, issuing authority and outstanding action.

Authentication

Original/certified-copy requirement, apostille, accepted translator and deadline.

Appointments

Current checklist, fee receipt, confirmation and submission evidence.

Household

Housing, shipping, insurance, schools and pet travel records.

Use clear file names and mark whether an item is requested, received, authenticated, translated or ready. EuroHaven’s Europe document guide helps organize the wider household file alongside these Spain-specific requirements.

Frequently asked questions

Does every document need an apostille?

No. Follow the requirements for the document and receiving authority. Do not pay to apostille every item in your moving folder.

Is a scan enough?

Not necessarily. Keep scans for organization, but bring originals or accepted certified copies when the official checklist requires them.

Should I translate everything before choosing a visa?

No. Identify your route and receiving authority first, then order the translations that procedure accepts.

Can I use one checklist for the whole family?

Use one household overview and an individual checklist for every applicant. Ages, relationships and routes can change the required evidence.

Make the next step easier

EuroHaven’s guides help turn a pile of paperwork into a sequence: choose the route, request the right records, authenticate and translate where needed, then prepare the appointment file. Start with the linked checklist and keep each household member visible.

Available now for Germany. EuroHaven’s personalized planner currently supports Germany; Spain planning support is in development. These Spain articles provide general planning guidance. Confirm current country availability before purchasing a household plan.

Explore EuroHaven

Before marking a document ready, check the applicant’s name, the receiving authority’s current checklist, any required apostille or translation, and the copies or originals needed at the appointment. Keep evidence of submission beside the task so the next person in the household can see what is complete.

Explore EuroHaven’s relocation planner and current country availability

Use the Spain moving checklist