If you're British and settling in Spain, the NIE and the TIE are your first serious encounter with Spanish bureaucracy. The offices are strict about paperwork, and the phrase you'll keep meeting is "traducción jurada" — sworn translation. Here's what your file will actually need, based on the applications I prepare every week.
Which documents will the extranjería office ask for?
It varies by office and by the type of residency you're applying for, but the usual suspects are:
- ACRO Police Certificate — the UK criminal record check, required for most first-time residency applications.
- Birth certificate — especially for family applications and children.
- Marriage certificate — if you're applying as a spouse or family member.
- Occasionally, proof of income: pension letters, payslips or HMRC documents.
Every document issued in English must be presented with a sworn translation into Spanish, signed and stamped by a translator appointed by Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That's what I do — my accreditation number (7310) is on the Ministry's public register, which is exactly what the immigration officer checks.
Do my UK documents need an apostille?
For the ACRO certificate: yes — immigration offices consistently ask for it. You get it from the FCDO Legalisation Office, and it's worth knowing that the EU regulation that exempts many public documents from apostilles no longer covers UK documents since Brexit. Birth and marriage certificates: it depends on the office, so check your appointment letter — and if in doubt, send it to me and I'll tell you. The order matters: apostille first, then translation, because the apostille page gets translated too (at no extra cost when it's part of the same document).
How much does it cost and how fast is it?
Standard certificates — ACRO, birth, marriage — are translated from €35 each, delivered in 24/48 hours as a digitally signed PDF that's valid for online submission. If your office wants paper, I courier the original anywhere in Spain. For a complete file (say, ACRO + birth certificate + a pension letter), send everything together: you'll get one fixed quote within 2 hours, and the translations come back consistent with each other — same spelling of names, same terminology — which examiners notice.
Three mistakes that delay NIE/TIE files
- Translating before apostilling. The translation must include the apostille, so get the apostille first.
- Letting the ACRO expire. Most offices want it less than 3 months old. Book your appointment first, then order the certificate.
- Blurry photos. A clear scan of every page — stamps and apostille included — saves a full day of back-and-forth.
Send me your document list on WhatsApp and I'll confirm what needs translating, the fixed price and the delivery date within 2 working hours. There's also a full guide for British residents in Spain, procedure by procedure.