Ukrainian criminal record certificate from Spain: paper extract with apostille

In short: you can order the Ukrainian criminal record certificate from Spain without travelling to Ukraine. According to the Embassy of Ukraine, Spanish offices will most likely ask for the paper extract from Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVS) with an apostille, and a person you authorise with a power of attorney can request it for you. The electronic extract from Diia is free but has no apostille. The consular certificate (28 € standard, 56 € urgent) is not accepted by every authority.

In person or by representative? For the paper extract, the holder requests it in person at an MVS service centre, or another person requests it on their behalf with a power of attorney (довіреність). If you are not in Ukraine, the second option is the one left. The embassy page does not say how the power of attorney must be formalised: confirm it at the centre. The electronic extract is requested online. For the consular certificate, you e-mail the extract to the consular section.

This card covers the Ukrainian certificate. The Spanish criminal record certificate is not covered here.

Three ways to get it

• Paper extract with apostille. It is requested at an MVS service centre, and the request must say that you need an apostille: the document then comes out with the stamp already on it. According to the embassy, the apostille is only placed on paper originals bearing the issuing body's seal and its official's signature. The answer comes within 10 working days, or up to 30 calendar days if data needs checking. The extract is free. The page does not mention a separate charge for the apostille: confirm it at the centre.
• Electronic extract (Diia or the MVS portal). It is free, takes the same time and arrives by e-mail. It has no apostille. According to the embassy, it only works if the body asking for it does not require an apostille, and then it has to be translated.
• Consular certificate. Once you have the electronic extract, the consular section can issue a certificate in Ukrainian and Spanish after checking the extract and collecting the fee: 28 € (standard) or 56 € (urgent). The embassy warns that not every Spanish authority accepts it. Men aged 18 to 60 first need the e-VOD for any consular procedure: see our card.

Anyone aged 14 or over can request their own extract. It comes in a short version (it only shows whether there is a conviction) and a full one (it also covers criminal prosecution and restrictions under criminal procedure law). The sources we read do not say which one Spanish offices prefer: confirm it with yours before ordering.

What the Spanish side says about consular certificates. Instruction DGM 2/2019 (Migraciones) provides that criminal record certificates issued by a mission or consulate of the country of origin are legalised at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and that this ministry must authorise their issue beforehand, case by case. It adds that consular «good conduct» certificates are not valid in immigration procedures, although they may be valid for nationality. We have not found an official text saying whether the Ukrainian consular certificate falls under these cases: ask your office before paying for it.

Apostille and translation for Spain. Ukraine and Spain are both parties to the 1961 Hague Convention, which is why Sheets 28, 29, 30 and 61 require an apostille on Ukrainian documents. Ukraine's embassy and consulates in Spain do not place it: for this document the MVS does (our card on apostilles for Ukrainian documents). The translation into Spanish (or into the co-official language, if the office is in a region that has one) is done by a sworn translator (traductor jurado). Sheet 61 accepts three kinds of translation:

• One by a sworn interpreter authorised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (or by the autonomous community, for its co-official language).
• One made or checked by a Spanish mission or consulate abroad, which is then legalised at the Ministry.
• One by a mission or consulate of the country of origin in Spain, which the Ministry apostilles or legalises.

The Embassy of Ukraine suggests translating the whole document, apostille included, and having the translation or the translator's signature certified by a notary. That notarial formula is not on the Sheet 61 list: for immigration procedures the safest choice is the sworn translator.

How long is it valid? The extract shows data current when it was generated, according to the embassy. Neither the information sheets nor the embassy page set a maximum age: ask the office that handles your procedure.

Where is it asked for, and where not?

• Arraigo (art. 130.2 of RD 1155/2024; Sheets 28, 29 and 30). A certificate from the countries where you lived in the five years before you entered Spain; if you also lived in another country in that time, you need one from that country too. It is not required if you have lived in Spain continuously for five years right before filing, or if you already proved that in an earlier application within the last five years and have not left since. Someone who arrived in March 2022 and has not interrupted their stay would reach those five years in March 2027; the text does not say which absences the count allows. If it is missing, the office sends you a request with a deadline of up to 15 days (art. 130.3) and, without it, closes the file. Our cards: arraigo social, sociolaboral, socioformativo.
• Long-term residence, national (art. 184.3.e; Sheet 49). «Where applicable», a certificate from the country of origin or the countries where you lived in the last five years. The text does not explain when it is asked for: confirm it at the office. Our card: long-term residence.
• Nationality. Our card on nationality by residence includes the certificate with apostille or legalisation and a sworn translation.
• Relatives of a Spanish national (Sheet 18). A certificate from the countries of residence in the five years before the application, if that residence was not in Spain. Our card: residence for relatives of a Spanish citizen.
• Change to residence and work, art. 191.3 (form EX-26). Sheet 55 (August 2025) does not include it in the list of documents. According to the community, some offices have asked for it anyway (see below).
• Residence for minors (arts. 159 and 160, EX-25). It is not on the official document lists.

If you are coming from temporary protection, see our card on the SEM 2/2026 instructions.

Documents

• Paper MVS extract with apostille (original, with the issuing body's seal and its official's signature).
• Sworn translation into Spanish of the whole document, apostille included.
• To request it in Ukraine: the holder's identity document and a copy or, if someone else requests it, that person's own identity document and the power of attorney (довіреність). The page does not say whether the representative also needs a copy of the holder's document: confirm it at the centre.
• For the consular certificate: the electronic extract e-mailed to the consular section and payment of the fee.

Steps:

1. Check what your procedure in Spain asks for and whether you are exempt (previous section).
2. If you need an apostille, request the paper extract at an MVS service centre, yourself or through a person with a power of attorney, and say in the request that you need an apostille.
3. Wait for the answer: up to 10 working days, or up to 30 calendar days if data needs checking. The extract is free.
4. Get the original with the apostille to Spain (the source does not explain how).
5. Order the sworn translation of the whole document.
6. Submit it with your application or when the office asks for it; in arraigo, the deadline of that request is up to 15 days.

Official source: Embassy of Ukraine in Spain, certificate of no criminal record · Diia, criminal record extract · RD 1155/2024, consolidated text.

Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case.