Documents from Russia for a Spanish nationality file: criminal record, birth certificate, apostille and validity

Where each document comes from, who issues the apostille, how long each one stays valid and what Spain's own texts say about legalisation and translation, with a source under every line. Free.

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Last checked: 18 October 2026. Check the official page: sede.mjusticia.gob.es.

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• Criminal record
• Birth and marriage
• Apostille
• Translation
• Consulates
• Order
• Validity clock

1. Criminal record certificate

The Russian Interior Ministry's regulation on issuing the certificate of the presence or absence of a criminal record (справка о наличии (отсутствии) судимости), as published on 30 January 2020, says the applicants are citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens, stateless persons or their authorised representatives.^[1] It says the service is provided by the Interior Ministry and its territorial bodies at regional level,^[2] and that on the territory of the Russian Federation it is provided directly by ФКУ «ГИАЦ МВД России» and by the ИЦ.^[3] It also refers to the federal state institution «Main Information and Analytical Centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation» and to the information centres of the Ministry's territorial bodies at regional level as places where information about the service is posted on stands; we take ФКУ «ГИАЦ МВД России» and ИЦ to be their short forms.^[4]

Criminal record certificate from Russia: who issues it and how long it stays valid

2. Birth certificate, and marriage certificate if you are married

The Ministry of Justice's FAQ on requesting personal documents names, among its examples, duplicate certificates of civil-status registration.^[1] It says that help in requesting personal documents from the Russian Federation is given, among other bodies, by Russian diplomatic missions and consular offices,^[2] and that an application to such a mission is made in person, while in other cases it goes through a competent body of the foreign state under an international treaty.^[3] The FAQ does not say whether a full copy or an extract is issued or whether the certificate has a validity period, and we could not read any page of a Russian consulate in Spain on the subject. The Ministry of Justice also publishes a list of the ZAGS bodies of the Russian Federation, with the name, location (postal and actual address) and contacts (telephone, e-mail) of each; the file we read shows no date and we did not check that it is current.^[4]

The Ministry of Justice's FAQ on apostilles says that, for official documents issued in confirmation of civil-status registration or its absence, the apostille is placed by the executive bodies of the regions of the Russian Federation responsible for organising civil-status registration.^[5]

Spain's order asks for the birth certificate of the country of origin, legalised and translated where applicable.^[6] For married people it asks for the marriage certificate of the country where the marriage took place, translated and legalised where applicable.^[7]

3. Apostille and legalisation

The HCCH status table for the Apostille Convention (last update 30-VI-2026) lists the Russian Federation with the dates 4-IX-1991 and 31-V-1992.^[1] The Ministry of Justice's FAQ says an apostille is placed on documents to be presented in the states party to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961.^[2]

The HCCH page (last updated 16 July 2024) lists the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation as designated competent authority^[3] and, in the same list, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ministry of the Internal Affairs and the Register Offices of the executive bodies in the subjects of the Russian Federation.^[4] For the document types, the Ministry of Justice's FAQ is more specific.

The FAQ says the Interior Ministry places the apostille on certificates of the presence or absence of a criminal record and/or of the fact of criminal prosecution, issued by the interior bodies of the Russian Federation.^[5] It says the regional executive bodies responsible for civil-status registration place it on official documents issued in confirmation of civil-status registration or its absence.^[6] It says that for notarised copies of documents you apply to the Ministry of Justice's territorial body at the place where the notarial act was performed.^[7]

The HCCH page prints, under practical information, that under the Tax Code the price for issuing an apostille is 2500 rubles per document.^[8] The Ministry of Justice's FAQ says the state duty is paid for the apostille, 2500 rubles for each document.^[9]

On timing, the Ministry of Justice's FAQ says its apostille service is provided within 3 working days of receiving the official documents from the applicant.^[10] Its service page says the maximum period is 5 working days from registration of the application and the documents.^[11] The two Ministry pages give different periods. The FAQ adds that the period may be extended to 30 working days if a signature specimen, a seal impression and information on the powers of the signing official have to be requested.^[12]

The Ministry of Justice's service page says that, when documents are sent by post, a written application and a copy of the applicant's identity document must be attached.^[13] Among the documents it lists is one confirming the authority of an individual's representative, a power of attorney or another document under civil law.^[14]

Spain's Ministry of Justice warning describes the Hague apostille as a single stamp and signature that simplifies the legalisation of public documents.^[15] It calls legalisation an essential requirement for accepting the documents.^[16] Spain's Foreign Ministry says documents of countries that signed the Apostille Convention are not legalised, although those issued by their diplomatic or consular agents are, because article 1 of the Convention excludes them.^[17]

In its section on the practice of legalisation, the Spanish Foreign Ministry's page says legalisation has no expiry date, but that if the document has a validity period, legalisation does not extend it. That passage is about legalisation, not about the apostille.^[18]

4. Translation into Spanish

Spain's Ministry of Justice warning says translation must be done or checked at Spanish consulates abroad or at the consulates in Spain of the document's country of origin, and the documents must then be legalised.^[1] It adds that a sworn translator-interpreter appointed by the Spanish Foreign Ministry may also do the translation or check.^[2]

Spain's Foreign Ministry says translations into Spanish are official if done by someone holding the title of sworn translator-interpreter.^[3] Its page on sworn translators describes a sworn translator as a professional who can translate written documents from one language to another.^[4]

The Constitution of the Russian Federation says Russian is the state language throughout its territory.^[5] In the pages we read, nothing says in which language Russian certificates are issued. Spain's order asks for the birth certificate "traducido en su caso", translated where applicable,^[6] and for the criminal record certificate "traducido", translated.^[7]

5. Consulates in Spain

We could not open the Russian Foreign Ministry's pages (mid.ru) or any page of a Russian embassy or consulate in Spain from where we work, so we cannot say which consulates there are or what they do for these documents: ask the Russian embassy or consulate in Spain.

Spain's Foreign Ministry says documents issued by foreign representations in Spain, referring to facts or data of their consular district, must be legalised by the Servicio de Legalizaciones of the Spanish Foreign Ministry to be valid in Spain.^[1] The Russian Ministry of Justice's apostille service page lists, among its grounds for refusing to accept documents, that the document was drawn up by diplomatic missions and consular offices.^[2] Neither page says what route applies to a particular document: ask the consulate.

6. Order of requests and validity

Spain's order says that all documents must be in force when you apply.^[1] For certificates, the validity stated on the certificate itself counts,^[2] and a criminal record certificate with no stated validity counts for six months from the day it was issued.^[3]

Legalisation does not make a document last longer. Spain's Foreign Ministry says legalisation has no expiry date but that, if the document has a validity period, legalisation does not extend it.^[4]

When you create the online application you have two months to complete and file it, or it is deleted.^[5]

1. Find out what validity, if any, each issuer prints on its certificate (the sections above say what we found).
2. Request first the documents that need an apostille and a sworn translation, since those steps come after issue.
3. Request the criminal record certificate when you can still finish its apostille and translation inside its validity.
4. Type its issue date in the clock below and file before the "valid until" date it shows.
5. Create the online application only when you are close to filing: from creation you have two months.

Next steps

The nationality file, step by step

Your file silent after a year

Years to Spanish nationality by country

Criminal record certificate from Russia: who issues it and how long it stays valid

Where is my Spanish nationality file? The official ways to check it

The Spanish nationality oath (jura): what to bring and where to do it

Years, exams and fee for Spanish nationality by country of origin: open data

Explanation written with AI from the official source cited on this page.

CiviqPass is an independent service. Built from the texts linked beside each line; procedures change, so confirm on the official pages.