Discover Spain’s 2026 Digital Nomad Visa criminal record requirements: two-year official certificates, five-year declaration, apostille and translation.

Applying for Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa or residence permit for international teleworkers requires applicants to prove that they do not have a relevant criminal record. However, this requirement frequently causes confusion because Spanish law refers to two different periods and two different forms of evidence.

First, applicants must provide official criminal record certificates from the country or countries in which they have resided during the two years immediately preceding the application. Second, they must sign a responsible declaration confirming the absence of a criminal record during the previous five years.

These are not alternative ways of satisfying the same requirement. As a general rule, both documents are necessary, and each performs a different function within the immigration application.

In this updated 2026 guide, Visal Immigration Lawyers explains which criminal record certificates are required, what period the responsible declaration must cover, when an apostille or legalisation is necessary and what happens when an applicant has lived in several countries.

If you would like us to review your criminal record documents and the rest of your application before submission, you can schedule your consultation here.

Why does Spain request criminal record documents from digital nomads?

Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa allows qualifying foreign professionals to live in Spain while working remotely for companies or clients mainly located outside Spanish territory.

The official name of this immigration status is the visa or residence permit for international teleworkers. It is regulated by Law 14/2013 on support for entrepreneurs and their internationalisation, following the introduction of the international teleworker category by Law 28/2022, commonly known as the Spanish Startups Law.

This immigration route is intended for third-country nationals who satisfy specific professional, financial, employment or commercial requirements. Applicants must also demonstrate compliance with the applicable Social Security obligations and the general conditions established by Article 62 of Law 14/2013.

One of these general conditions is the absence of a criminal record in Spain and in the countries where the applicant has resided during the previous two years, in relation to conduct that is also considered a criminal offence under Spanish law.

The same provision additionally requires the applicant to submit a responsible declaration confirming the absence of a criminal record during the previous five years.

This distinction is expressly established by Law 14/2013 and is repeated in the official information published by Spanish consulates concerning the international teleworking visa.

Two years and five years: the essential distinction

The easiest way to understand the criminal record requirement is to separate the two documents that normally form part of the application.

Official criminal record certificates covering the previous two years

The applicant must provide an official criminal record certificate issued by the competent authority of every country in which they have resided during the two years immediately preceding the application.

As a general rule, this official document cannot be replaced by a personal declaration. It must be issued by the Ministry of Justice, police authority, federal authority, court service or other competent public body in the relevant country.

The applicant’s nationality does not, by itself, determine which certificate must be presented. The essential question is where the applicant has actually resided during the relevant two-year period.

For example, an Argentine citizen who has been legally resident in Germany throughout the two years preceding the application would generally need to provide a German criminal record certificate. An Argentine certificate would not automatically be required merely because the applicant is an Argentine national, unless they also lived in Argentina during part of the relevant period or the competent Spanish authority specifically requested it.

If the person has resided in more than one country during the previous two years, a certificate will normally be needed from each of those countries. Spanish law refers to the “country or countries of residence”, meaning that a certificate from the applicant’s current country of residence may not be sufficient.

Responsible declaration covering the previous five years

In addition to the official certificates, the applicant must sign a responsible declaration stating that they have not had a criminal record during the previous five years.

This declaration is a document signed by the applicant. It is not issued by a Ministry, police force or judicial authority. Its purpose is to extend the applicant’s formal statement to a broader five-year period without generally requiring official certificates from every country in which the person may have resided throughout all five years.

There is an important legal nuance. It is not entirely accurate to say that the official certificates cover two years while the declaration covers only the three earlier years. The responsible declaration must cover the full five-year period, including the two most recent years that are also supported by official certificates.

The two requirements therefore overlap deliberately. The previous two years are supported by official criminal record certificates and are also included within the declaration. The entire five-year period is covered by the applicant’s responsible declaration.

Most importantly, the five-year declaration does not remove or replace the obligation to provide the official certificates for the two most recent years.

If you are unsure which countries must be included in your particular case, especially if you have changed your country of residence several times, you can schedule your consultation here.

How are the two-year and five-year periods calculated?

Both periods are calculated backwards from the date on which the Digital Nomad Visa or residence application is formally submitted.

For example, if an application is submitted on 15 October 2026, the applicant’s countries of residence from 15 October 2024 onwards must be examined to identify the official criminal record certificates required.

The responsible declaration should generally cover the period from 15 October 2021 until the application date.

It is advisable to reconstruct the applicant’s residence history before requesting any certificates. A difference of only a few weeks can determine whether a former country of residence falls inside or outside the relevant two-year period and whether an additional certificate is necessary.

Applicants must also distinguish between residing in a country and merely visiting it. A tourist trip, airport transit or short holiday does not normally turn that country into a country of residence. However, a residence permit, long-term student visa, stable employment, tax registration or long-term rental agreement may demonstrate that the person actually resided there.

The competent authority may examine passports, residence permits, immigration stamps, employment documents and other information contained in the application. The residence history stated by the applicant should therefore be accurate, consistent and capable of being verified.

Which type of criminal record certificate is acceptable?

Applicants must provide an official national certificate that enables the Spanish authorities to verify their criminal record status in the relevant country.

In countries with several administrative levels, more than one type of certificate may exist. Some countries issue national, federal, regional, state or municipal certificates. Others distinguish between police clearances, court records and certificates issued by the Ministry of Justice.

The Spanish authorities may require a certificate with nationwide coverage and may reject a document limited to one city, province or state.

In the United States, for example, certain Spanish consulates expressly require the federal criminal record certificate issued by the FBI and do not accept a state-level or local police certificate as a substitute.

Other countries may require fingerprints before issuing a criminal record certificate. They may also operate different procedures depending on whether the person is a citizen, a current resident or a former resident who now lives abroad.

Before requesting the document, applicants should verify which authority is competent, whether the certificate covers the whole country and whether it can be issued to former residents.

A private background search, screenshot from an unofficial database or online search without verifiable authenticity will not normally be sufficient when the country has an official criminal record certification procedure.

At Visal Immigration Lawyers, we examine the applicant’s nationality and residence history to determine which documents are likely to be required. You can schedule your consultation here before paying for certificates that may not be suitable for the Spanish immigration procedure.

Does the certificate need an apostille or legalisation?

Obtaining the correct criminal record certificate is only the first step. A foreign public document must also be formally valid for use before the Spanish authorities.

If the issuing country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, the certificate will normally require a Hague Apostille. The apostille must be issued by a competent authority in the same country that issued the criminal record certificate.

If the country is not a party to the Hague Convention and no applicable agreement removes the legalisation requirement, the certificate will generally need to undergo diplomatic legalisation. This procedure commonly involves the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the issuing country and the competent Spanish consulate, although the precise process depends on the country concerned.

Documents issued by authorities in certain European Union countries may be exempt from legalisation under applicable EU rules. However, the applicant must confirm whether the particular document is covered by the exemption and whether all the relevant conditions have been met.

An apostille must not be confused with a translation. The apostille verifies the authenticity of the foreign public document for international use. The translation enables the Spanish authorities to understand its contents.

Consequently, a criminal record certificate may require both an apostille or legalisation and an official translation into Spanish.

Is a sworn translation into Spanish required?

A criminal record certificate written in a language other than Spanish must normally be accompanied by a sworn translation into Spanish.

The translation may be completed by a sworn translator-interpreter officially appointed by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Translations carried out abroad may also be accepted when they comply with the formal requirements applicable to documents intended for use before the Spanish authorities.

The entire document should be translated, including the apostille, stamps, signatures, annotations and any additional text appearing on the certificate. Providing a translation of only the main page can result in a formal request for additional documents.

The responsible declaration can be drafted directly in Spanish. Because it is a personal declaration signed by the applicant rather than a foreign public document, it will not normally require an apostille.

Nevertheless, the declaration must be properly written, identify the applicant correctly and refer expressly to the relevant five-year period and criminal record requirement. A vague statement such as “I have no criminal record” may not adequately address the legal requirement.

If you would like us to prepare the responsible declaration and verify the apostille and translation of your certificates, you can schedule your consultation here.

How recent must the criminal record certificate be?

The criminal record certificate must be sufficiently recent and valid when the application is submitted. Applicants should therefore avoid obtaining it too far in advance.

Article 62 of Law 14/2013 does not establish one universal validity period applicable to every criminal record certificate issued anywhere in the world. Some certificates include their own period of validity. When they do not, the relevant Spanish authority may assess the issue date according to its administrative practice and the instructions applicable to that procedure.

Spanish consulates may also publish specific requirements for their respective consular districts. For this reason, it is unsafe to assume that every foreign criminal record certificate is automatically valid for three or six months.

The correct approach is to examine the country of issue, the information contained in the certificate, the authority before which the application will be submitted and the planned submission date.

Timing is particularly important because obtaining the certificate may be only the first stage. The document may subsequently need to be apostilled or legalised and translated into Spanish.

If it is obtained too early, it could be considered out of date before the application is filed. If it is requested too late, the legalisation and translation procedures may prevent the application from being completed within the available immigration deadline.

What should the five-year responsible declaration contain?

Although a responsible declaration is less difficult to obtain than an official certificate, it should still be drafted carefully. It will generally contain:

• The applicant’s full name, nationality, date of birth and passport number.
• An express declaration that the applicant has no criminal record during the previous five years.
• A reference to offences recognised under Spanish criminal law.
• Identification of the relevant countries of residence when appropriate.
• The place and date of signature.
• The applicant’s signature and confirmation that the information provided is truthful.

The declaration should be individual. If a principal applicant is accompanied by adult family members, every person who is required to satisfy the criminal record condition should normally provide their own certificates and sign their own responsible declaration.

A declaration signed only by the principal applicant will not ordinarily cover an adult spouse or partner.

Signing a responsible declaration does not make an existing criminal record irrelevant. It is a formal statement carrying legal consequences. Concealing an existing conviction or providing false information can seriously damage the application and affect the applicant’s credibility.

If an applicant has a conviction, an arrest, pending criminal proceedings or a record that has been expunged or cancelled, professional legal advice should be obtained before signing and submitting the declaration.

What if the applicant has lived in several countries?

Digital nomads and remote workers often have complex international residence histories. This makes the criminal record requirement particularly important in Digital Nomad Visa applications.

Consider an applicant submitting an application in September 2026. The person lived in Canada from 2021 until December 2024, Portugal from January 2025 until March 2026 and Spain from April 2026 onwards.

To determine the official certificates required, the two years immediately preceding the submission date must be examined. A Canadian certificate may still be necessary because part of the applicant’s residence in Canada falls within the relevant two-year period. A Portuguese certificate would also normally be required.

The Spanish authorities can conduct the appropriate checks regarding any criminal record registered in Spain.

The responsible declaration would cover the full five-year period and therefore include the applicant’s time in Canada, Portugal and Spain.

Another example would be a person who has lived in France since 2020 but spent four months lawfully living and working in Belgium during 2025. Depending on the nature of that stay, the applicant may need to provide both French and Belgian certificates.

Submitting only a French certificate without mentioning or explaining the Belgian period could lead the authorities to request additional documentation.

Where there are overlapping residences, frequent relocations or previous passports, applicants should prepare a complete chronology showing the exact dates and legal basis of residence in each country.

You can schedule your consultation here if you would like us to identify the certificates required for your specific residence history.

What if I cannot obtain a certificate from a previous country?

Difficulties sometimes arise when a country does not issue criminal record certificates to former residents, requires the applicant to attend in person or has no functional procedure for obtaining the document from abroad.

An applicant should not simply replace the missing certificate with an informal letter or personal declaration without explaining the situation.

It is advisable to retain evidence of every attempt made to obtain the document, including correspondence with the relevant authority, rejected applications, official information explaining the restrictions and communications with the country’s consulate.

Depending on the circumstances, it may be possible to submit proof of the objective impossibility together with alternative documents and a detailed written explanation. However, this should not be treated as an automatic exemption.

The Spanish consulate or the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit may assess whether the evidence provided is sufficient or require further documentation. The appropriate solution will depend on the country, the applicant’s residence history and the authority processing the application.

Does the rule apply to applications submitted from Spain?

Yes. The criminal record requirement applies both to a Digital Nomad Visa requested through a Spanish consulate and to an international teleworker residence permit applied for directly from Spain.

A person living outside Spain will normally submit the visa application through the Spanish consulate responsible for their place of legal residence. The visa can be granted for a maximum period of one year.

A foreign national who is legally present in Spain may apply directly for the international teleworker residence permit before the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit, commonly known as the UGE. This residence permit can be granted for a maximum of three years, unless the employment or professional relationship has a shorter duration.

Although the underlying legal requirement is the same, each Spanish consulate may publish practical instructions concerning appointment procedures, copies, translations, legalisation and the acceptable age of documents.

Applications submitted from Spain must follow the documentation criteria applied by the UGE.

Applicants should therefore avoid using a checklist published by a consulate in another country without first checking whether its practical instructions are appropriate for their own place and method of submission.

Do family members also need criminal record documents?

The criminal record requirement does not apply only to the principal digital nomad. Adult family members included in the application will generally need to satisfy the requirement independently.

This means that an adult spouse or registered partner may need to provide official certificates from the countries where they personally resided during the previous two years and sign their own five-year responsible declaration.

The principal applicant’s residence history cannot automatically be used for every family member. A couple may have lived separately in different countries during part of the relevant period. Each person’s chronology must therefore be examined individually.

Children below the applicable age of criminal responsibility are not normally expected to provide adult criminal record documentation. Nevertheless, the precise instructions of the consulate or competent authority should always be checked.

When a family applies together, it is advisable to coordinate all certificates, apostilles and translations so that none of the documents becomes outdated before the complete application is ready.

Common mistakes that can delay a Digital Nomad Visa application

One of the most frequent mistakes is providing only a certificate from the applicant’s country of nationality. Spanish law does not refer exclusively to the applicant’s country of origin. It refers to the country or countries in which the person has resided during the previous two years.

Another common error is submitting only the responsible declaration on the assumption that it replaces the official criminal record certificate. The two documents are generally required together and perform different evidential functions.

Applicants also sometimes obtain a local or regional certificate when a national certificate is available, omit the apostille, translate only part of the document or provide an ordinary translation when a sworn translation is required.

Inconsistencies between the applicant’s passport, CV, employment history, residence permits and responsible declaration can also create doubts. If an applicant declares residence in only one country but their employment documents show prolonged work in another country, the authorities may request an explanation and an additional certificate.

Applicants should never alter an apostilled certificate, remove official staples or separate pages that have been formally attached by the issuing authority. Doing so may prevent the Spanish authorities from verifying the integrity and authenticity of the document.

A legal review before submission can identify these problems while there is still time to correct them. To receive advice adapted to your case, you can schedule your consultation here.

Can the Spanish authorities request additional documents?

Yes. Providing the standard documents does not prevent the Spanish consulate or the UGE from requesting further evidence when it is necessary to verify compliance with the criminal record condition.

The authorities may request evidence of the applicant’s previous places of residence, copies of former passports, residence permits, additional certificates or clarification concerning a particular criminal record document.

They may also examine information contained in the other documents submitted with the application.

A responsible declaration does not require the authorities to accept every statement without verification. The applicant assumes responsibility for the truthfulness of the information and should be able to explain their residence history.

A request for additional documents does not necessarily mean that the application will be refused. However, it must be answered accurately and within the deadline specified in the official notification. Failure to respond properly may result in the application being treated as incomplete or refused.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a certificate from my country of nationality if I no longer live there?

Not simply because you hold that nationality. The key issue is where you resided during the two years preceding the application. If your country of nationality falls outside that period, its certificate will not normally be required, although the competent authority may request additional evidence in a particular case.

Does the five-year declaration replace the official criminal record certificates?

No. The responsible declaration covers the previous five years but does not replace official certificates from the countries where you resided during the two most recent years. Both forms of evidence are normally required for a Spanish Digital Nomad Visa or international teleworker residence application.

Do I need a criminal record certificate from every country I have visited?

No. A tourist trip, short business visit or airport transit does not normally constitute residence. However, an extended stay for employment, studies or legal residence may be relevant. The authorities will consider the dates and nature of the stay, not merely whether a stamp appears in your passport.

Does the certificate need an apostille and sworn translation?

Usually, yes, when it was issued by a country participating in the Hague Apostille Convention and is not written in Spanish. Other countries may require diplomatic legalisation, while certain documents may be exempt. The apostille authenticates the document; the sworn translation makes its content validly understandable in Spanish.

What happens if I have an expunged or cancelled criminal record?

An expunged record is not necessarily treated in the same way as a current conviction, but it should be examined before signing the responsible declaration. Evidence of cancellation may be needed. The assessment will depend on the offence, its equivalence under Spanish law and the information appearing on the official certificate.

Prepare your criminal record documents correctly

The criminal record requirement for Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa cannot normally be satisfied with a single document.

Official certificates must cover the country or countries where the applicant resided during the two years immediately preceding the application. In addition, the applicant must sign a responsible declaration covering the entire previous five-year period.

The five-year declaration includes the two most recent years. It does not merely cover the three earlier years and it does not replace the official certificates.

Identifying the correct countries, requesting the appropriate national certificates, obtaining an apostille or legalisation, arranging sworn translations and coordinating their validity with the submission date requires careful planning.

A mistake may not always result in an immediate refusal, but it can lead to a request for additional documents, delay the decision or place the application at risk if it is not corrected properly.

At Visal Immigration Lawyers, we specialise in Spanish immigration and international mobility law. We review each client’s residence history, identify the certificates required, prepare the responsible declaration and check the entire Digital Nomad Visa application before submission.

Do you need personalised legal advice?

If you are planning to apply for Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa or international teleworker residence permit, you can schedule your consultation here. Our immigration lawyers will examine your circumstances and explain exactly which certificates you need according to your residence history.

You may also contact us by WhatsApp messages only at +34 618 702 253 or visit www.visalimmigration.com for further information about our Spanish immigration services.