Criminal record certificate from Egypt for a Spanish nationality file: who issues it and how long it stays valid
What the official pages of Egypt and of Spain say about the criminal record certificate: who issues it, how to ask for it from Spain, cost and time where they are stated, and how long it counts for your file, with a source under every line. Reading this page is free.
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In short
- Criminal record: The Egyptian Foreign Ministry's consular page names the General Administration of Criminal Evidence Investigation as issuer and describes a route through the Egyptian mission, with a return within about a month (a period that can increase) and attendance in person requested, and a State Information Service page of 2 July 2026 describes an online second issue for Egyptians abroad, while the Digital Egypt portal's own page for the certificate says the applicant must be resident in Egypt when applying and receiving it; the Ministry page says the certificate's validity is three months from issue, it does not say whether the certificate prints it, and the clock uses three months.
Each line sums up a section below. The sources are in that section.
Last checked: 20 October 2026. Check the official page: sede.mjusticia.gob.es.
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1. Criminal record certificate
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry's consular page on the criminal record certificate (صحيفة الحالة الجنائية) says it is a certificate issued by the General Administration of Criminal Evidence Investigation (الإدارة العامة لتحقيق الأدلة الجنائية) to applicants who are Egyptian or foreign.[1]
For a person abroad, the same page describes a route through the Egyptian mission (البعثة). It says the mission completes the first steps of the request and that all the details are filled in from the passport of the Egyptian or foreign applicant.[2] It says the certificate, once approved by the mission, is sent to the General Administration by diplomatic bag,[3] that the certificate comes back within about a month of the date of submission, a period that can increase,[4] and that attendance in person is requested.[5] The page does not name a country, does not mention the embassy in Madrid and states no fee.
A State Information Service page for Egyptians abroad, dated 2 July 2026 (it also shows 5 July 2026), says that, through continued coordination with the Ministry of Interior, the issue of the mechanised criminal record certificate for Egyptians abroad has been activated.[6] It describes this as a second issue, on the Digital Egypt portal, for those who have already obtained a mechanised certificate, provided the applicant's passport or national ID card is valid.[7] It says the certificate may be handed to a first-degree relative or under an official power of attorney, and that it is collected from the main office of the General Administration in Abbasiya, Cairo.[8] The Digital Egypt portal's own page for requesting a mechanised criminal record certificate says the applicant must be resident in Egypt, and inside it only, when applying and when receiving the certificate from the Egyptian post.[9] That page does not describe the route for Egyptians abroad. We found no official page on the cost or delay of the route for Egyptians abroad, or on whether Spain accepts a certificate obtained this way.
Attestation in Egypt depends on the type of certificate. The Foreign Ministry's page says that citizens must obtain the approvals and attestations of the bodies listed before the Foreign Ministry's offices attest the document.[10] For documents issued by the Ministry of Interior, its table says that no approval is required for the electronic criminal record certificate[11] and that the approval of the main Criminal Evidence office is required for the ordinary paper certificate.[12] The page does not say whether the electronic certificate is the one the State Information Service calls mechanised, or whether it still goes to the Foreign Ministry's offices. We found no Spanish official text that treats an electronic criminal record certificate differently from Spain's rule that the certificate be legalised.[13] Spain's warning calls legalisation of foreign documents an essential requirement:[14] ask the registry.
Validity. The Foreign Ministry's consular page says the certificate's validity runs for three months from its date of issue and that no change may be made to its details.[15] The page does not say whether the certificate itself prints a validity. Spain's order says all documents must be in force when you apply,[16] that validity is judged by the term stated on the document itself,[17] and that a criminal record certificate with no stated validity counts as valid for six months from issue.[18] The calculator below uses the three months of the Egyptian page, because it is the shorter term.
Spain asks for the criminal record certificate of the country of origin, legalised and translated,[19] and says that as a general rule it must be issued by the competent body of that country.[20] Spain's order also says the certificate can be replaced by a Certificado Consular de Conducta, as set by the Foreign Ministry, duly translated and legalised.[21] We found no official Egyptian page about a consular conduct certificate or about a criminal record certificate issued by the embassy in Madrid: ask the registry.
Sources (21)
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