Criminal record certificate from Senegal for a Spanish nationality file: who issues it and how long it stays valid
What the official pages of Senegal 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 Ministry of Justice page says to apply at the registry of the court of the place of birth, or at the Dakar Court of Appeal for a Senegalese born abroad; we found no page on applying from Spain or on validity.
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Last checked: 19 October 2026. Check the official page: sede.mjusticia.gob.es.
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1. Criminal record certificate
The Senegalese Ministry of Justice's page says the extract of the criminal record (Bulletin n° 3) is issued to anyone born in Senegal, to Senegalese born abroad and to foreigners living in Senegal.[1]
It says to apply at the registry (greffe) of the tribunal de grande instance of the place of birth, for a person born in Senegal,[2] and at the registry of the Court of Appeal of Dakar, for a Senegalese born abroad.[3]
The page lists the birth certificate or a certified copy of the national identity card as the documents to provide.[4] It gives a cost of 200 FCFA (CFA francs) for the issue fees[5] and a delay of one day.[6]
The Ministry of Justice's page on e-Justice says its e-Services platform, interoperable with the e-Sénégal portal, lets citizens obtain their judicial documents, including the criminal record, online without travelling.[7] It says the documents issued have the full legal value of physical acts, in line with the law on electronic transactions.[8]
Applying from Spain. We found no official page saying whether this online route works from Spain, for a Senegalese born abroad, or whether the online extract can be apostilled: ask the Senegalese consulate or the court registry. The Ministry's page on the extract itself only names the registries above and says nothing about online or consular applications.
Validity. We found no Senegalese official page that states a validity period for this extract, and the Ministry's page prints none. 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.[9][10]
Spain asks for the criminal record certificate of the country of origin, legalised and translated.[11] It says the certificate should be issued, as a general rule, by the competent body of the country of origin.[12]
Sources (12)
Next steps
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The nationality file, step by step
Years to Spanish nationality by country
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
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Explanation written with AI from the official source cited on this page.
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