Criminal record certificate from Pakistan for a Spanish nationality file: who issues it and how long it stays valid
What the official pages of Pakistan 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 Foreign Ministry's checklist names the District Police Officer, or the Political Agent in tribal areas, and we found no national body; the Islamabad police FAQ says generally 6 months to 1 year depending on the receiving country or organisation, and Spain counts six months where none is stated.
Each line sums up a section below. The sources are in that section.
Last checked: 19 October 2026. Check the official page: sede.mjusticia.gob.es.
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1. Criminal record certificate
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry's attestation checklist says a police character certificate is required to be issued by the local District Police Officer (DPO) or, in tribal areas, by the concerned Political Agent.[1]
We found no official page naming one national body that issues a single certificate for the whole country. The police pages we found belong to individual police forces.
The Embassy of Pakistan in Madrid says, in its attestation FAQ, that you need to visit the Embassy with your original CNIC and passport.[2] It says the certificate is processed online and received at the Embassy from the district in Pakistan within 5 working days.[3] It adds that the online facility is only available for applicants with an address or family in KPK and Sindh.[4]
The Embassy's consular directory also lists authority letters, used to process character certificates and official documents in Pakistan through authorised representatives.[5] The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police page says that if the applicant is overseas, a blood relative submits a stamp paper (Abroad) with a photocopy of the relative's CNIC and the date of last exit from Pakistan.[6] The Islamabad Capital Territory Police page lists, for applicants abroad, an authority letter that is embassy stamped or attested by a gazetted officer.[7]
The Punjab Police page on its PKM Global portal says overseas Pakistanis can use it, through Pakistani embassies in around 40 or more countries, for six services including the character certificate.[8] We found no official page saying whether this portal is available at the Embassy in Madrid: ask the Embassy.
On cost and time, the Islamabad Capital Territory Police page lists an application fee of Rs. 1000 payable at the counter[9] and a standard processing time of 3 working days.[10] These figures are for that police service only. We could not match a fee for this certificate on the Embassy's fee page: ask the Embassy.
Validity. We found no Pakistani page that states a validity period printed on the certificate. The Islamabad Capital Territory Police FAQ says only that it is generally valid for 6 months to 1 year depending on the receiving country or organisation.[11] Spain's order says all documents must be in force when you apply, and that a criminal record with no stated validity counts for six months from the day it was issued.[12][13]
Spain asks for the criminal record certificate of the country of origin, legalised and translated.[14]
Sources (14)
Next steps
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