Government of Canada services and information in Madrid, Spain

Refer to International adoption.

Please consult the Spanish government’s website.

Surrogacy is not a practice formally recognized by the Spanish authorities in Spain.

Refer to Children born outside of Canada.

If your child is born outside of Canada, you do not need to register the birth in Canada.

Canadian birth certificates are available from the Vital Statistics authorities in the province or territory in which the event occurred.

In Spain: The Civil Registry Office provides birth certificates.

Refer to Canadian citizenship.

Complete your application for a Canadian citizenship certificate online or present your application to the Embassy by mail.

Pay your application fees online before you apply for citizenship services.

Refer to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Criminal records. You will be asked to submit fingerprints. Contact the Embassy of Canada in Madrid, or the Consulates of Canada in Barcelona or Málaga to find out how to get your fingerprints taken.

Note: Canadian authorities do not issue certificates of good conduct.

Police clearance certificates

To get a police clearance certificate from the RCMP:

1. Request an introduction to Spanish authorities’ letter from the Embassy/Consulate of Canada in Spain nearest you (fees apply).
2. Submit the letter to local police to have your fingerprints taken.
3. Consult Steps for getting a certified criminal record check.

In Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga we can provide you with the address of the police service which can provide the fingerprint service. If you are in a different region of Spain you will need to contact your local national police office and ask for the “Policia cientifica, departamento de reseñas” to see if this service is available.

If the police clearance is to be presented to the Spanish authorities, then it will be necessary to have it apostilled and this service is available at the Embassy of Canada in Madrid for clients in Spain and Andorra. Please see instructions for obtaining the apostille on Canadian documents for use in Spain in the Notarial services section.

Spanish criminal records check

The Embassy/Consulate of Canada cannot request a Spanish police clearance certificate on behalf of a Canadian citizen. See the Spanish Ministry of Justice for more information.

Refer to Death outside Canada.

The cause of death determines some of the actions that need to be taken. If Canadian consular officials are notified of the death first, they will make arrangements through the consular operations bureau in Ottawa to have the next of kin notified and put the family in touch with consular officials in Ottawa. The family will then need to make a decision on whether they wish the remains to be returned to Canada, or buried or cremated in the other country.

The repatriation of a deceased Canadian citizen is organized through a funeral home in Spain and a funeral home in Canada. Spanish funeral homes offer a complete service and will handle all the arrangements once the next of kin have authorized the funeral home to do so.

Canadian death certificates are available from the Vital Statistics authorities in the province or territory in which the event occurred.

In Spain: The Civil Registry Office provides death certificates.

Find information on Canadian divorce and separation.

To get a divorce certificate, but you are unsure where your divorce was filed, consult Canadian Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings.

Refer to Marriage outside Canada.

This information is non-official and subject to change by the Spanish authorities without notice. For complete information, please contact the Civil Registry, Court, City Hall or Church where the marriage is to be performed.

Canadian diplomatic and consular officers are not permitted under the law of Canada to solemnize marriages, nor can they allow the solemnization of marriages in the consular premises.

Note: In order to be married in Spain at least one of the two applicants must be a resident of Spain.

Civil marriage

Application for a civil marriage must be made, depending on the city, either to the Civil Registry or to the District Court (“Juzgado”). In Madrid the authority is the “Registro Civil” located at calle Pradillo 66, metro Alfonso XIII.

Below is a list of the documents often requested by Spanish authorities, however, please contact the authority which will perform your marriage for the complete list of required documents:

• An application form to be obtained from the Civil Registry or Court in whose jurisdiction the marriage is to take place.
• An original long-form birth certificate apostilled and translated into Spanish. The certificate usually needs to have been issued within the last year.
• A certificate of bachelorship or non-impediment to marriage. A declaration of bachelorship may be made at the Civil Registry in certain regions of Spain. If not possible, a sworn declaration of bachelorship* can be made before a consular officer at the Embassy or Consulates and a Statement in Lieu of Certificate of Non-Impediment to Marriage* is issued to accompany it.
• Divorced/widowed: Original marriage and death or divorce certificates, as the case may be, which must be apostilled and translated into Spanish.
• Posting of banns: The Embassy or Consulates may issue a letter* saying that this is not required in Canada.
• Certificate of residence (“empadronamiento”): Residents of Spain may obtain this document from the “Tenencia de Alcaldía” in the district of residence. For non-residents, a sworn statement* declaring the addresses of the last two years is included in the aforementioned sworn declaration of bachelorship.
• A certificate of consular registration*: Issued by the Embassy or Consulates upon presentation of a valid Canadian passport and completion of the online registration of Canadians Abroad. This registration must include an address in Spain.

*Consular fees apply

To request the documents indicated above which can be issued by the Embassy of Canada please book a notarial appointment online and bring to the appointment the following documents:

• Valid Canadian passport
• Proof of Canadian citizenship (birth certificate or Certificate of Canadian citizenship) (original or certified true copy)
• Divorce certificate or death certificate (if previously married)
• Visa or MasterCard for the payment of the fees

Apostille on required documents: See instructions for obtaining the apostille on Canadian documents for use in Spain in the Notarial services section.

Translations

Translations should be done by a Spanish official translator. The Embassy does not provide translation services. A list of official Spanish translators may be found on the website of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Religious marriages

Religious catholic marriages are valid in Spain but must be registered. In order to register a marriage, the certificate issued by the Church must be taken to the Civil Registry in the jurisdiction it has taken place within one week after the ceremony.

Canadian marriage certificates are available from the Vital Statistics authorities in the province or territory in which the event occurred.

In Spain: The Civil Registry Office provides marriage certificates.

Consular officials do not provide any legal advice or represent a person in court. The Embassy provides limited notarial services to Canadian citizens and, in limited cases, to non-Canadian citizens if the documents are Canadian or intended for use in Canada.

Apostille (previously authentication or legalization services):

The Apostille Convention came into effect in Canada on January 11th, 2024. As of this date, the authentication procedure is replaced by the Apostille, facilitating the recognition of Canadian documents abroad. See Changes to authentication services in Canada for information regarding obtaining an Apostille on a Canadian document.

The Embassy of Canada in Madrid can issue apostilles on the following Canadian documents:

• federally issued documents (such as RCMP certified criminal record checks);
• documents issued by Vital statistics offices from all provinces and territories (such as birth, marriage, death and change of name certificates); and
• documents issued in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island and Yukon.

If your document was issued in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec or Saskatchewan, and is not a Vital Statistics document nor a document issued by a federal authority, then please consult the link above for the links to the corresponding provincial authorities to request the apostille.

If your document can be apostilled by the Embassy, send a clear, scanned copy of your complete document, including the signature, to espana.consulaire-consular@international.gc.ca. We will review the document and provide you with instructions to request this service.

Note: This service is only offered by the Embassy in Madrid for clients located in Spain and Andorra and is only provided by mail. Only an original document, bearing the signature of the competent authority, may be apostilled. The fee for this service is of $50 per document to be apostilled. This service is not available at the Consulates in Barcelona and Malaga.

To obtain the apostille on a Spanish document please contact the Spanish Ministry of Justice.

Regular passport services for Canadian citizens in Spain and Andorra are solely provided by the Embassy of Canada to Spain in Madrid. Limited emergency passport assistance is offered by the Consulates of Canada in Barcelona and Malaga.

Urgent passport assistance and special circumstances

If you are in Spain or Andorra and need urgent passport assistance please send an email to espana.consulaire-consular@international.gc.ca indicating where you are exactly, your situation and a phone number where we may contact you. Please note that calls from the Embassy and Consulates of Canada usually appear as coming from a private number.

If your passport was lost, stolen or damaged, if you need to travel in less than 20 business days or if you need to retain your current passport while your application is being processed, please send an email to espana.consulaire-consular@international.gc.ca and include a copy of your proof of travel (if applicable).

Child and adult applications

Did you know that you do not need to submit your passport application in person at the Embassy?

Simply complete your passport application, add the required documents, pay your fee online and enclose a copy of the payment receipt.

Send your application and online payment receipt by registered or traceable mail to:

Embassy of Canada
Consular Services
Paseo de la Castellana, 259D
28046 Madrid

You can enclose several applications in a single envelope and provide just one receipt for the payment of various applications together.

Due to a current surge in volume of applications, at this time, Simplified Renewal applications will only be accepted by mail.

To submit your regular or child application in person, please book an appointment online. There is a maximum advance booking period of 3 months and appointments are often fully booked.

Bring your completed passport application, the required documents and your online payment receipt to your appointment. To present an application in person for a child under the age of 16, only the applicant parent needs to come to the appointment. A maximum of two applications can be presented in the same appointment.

There are very limited in-person appointments available at this time, therefore we encourage you to mail your application to receive your new passport faster.

Once a duly completed application has been received, the processing time is of 20 business days plus the mailing time. The process cannot be expedited by paying an additional fee as passports are printed in Canada.

Your previous cancelled passport, new passport and any original documents sent with your application, will be returned to you by registered mail. You do not have to provide an envelope or pay extra fees for this return mail service. If you would like to pick up your new passport in person or have it returned to you by overnight messenger service at your cost, then please include a letter with your application indicating this. To pick up your new passport in person, please also book a passport pick up appointment online.

Please note:

• We will not send a confirmation that we’ve received your application, and we will only contact you if the application is incomplete. Verify with the service used to mail your application to confirm when your letter was delivered.
• The Embassy of Canada in Madrid does not have a drop-off box therefore applications must be sent by traceable mail or presented with an appointment booked online.
• We will no longer answer queries regarding the status of a passport application if your application was received in the last 30 business days.
• We do not review passport applications by email.
• Send specific passport questions to consulaire-consular@international.gc.ca however please note that we will only answer you if the answer to your query cannot be found on this website or in the Passport Help Centre.

Passports – Frequently asked questions:

• When should I renew my passport?
• Who can act as a guarantor?
• Who can act as a reference? References are required on all adult passport applications. References can reside anywhere, and they are not required to be Canadian citizens.
• What are the photo requirements? Canadian passport photos are bigger than Spanish passport photos and must be taken in a photo studio.
• Do Canadians with dual citizenship need a Canadian passport to travel to Canada?
• My valid passport is filled with visa stamps. Can I add more pages or replace it for free?

Refer to Benefits for Canadians living abroad.

Canadian pensions to residents in Spain are paid in euros and can be deposited directly into a Spanish bank account.

There is an agreement on social security between Canada and Spain in regards to pensions.

For information regarding the Canada Pension Plan or the Old Age Security pension contact Employment and Social Development Canada.

For information regarding the Quebec Pension Plan contact Retraite Quebec.

Spanish pensions are detailed on the Pensioners section of the Spanish Social Security website.

Spain recognizes and celebrates same-sex marriages.

Refer to Studying abroad and EduCanada.

To establish the equivalency of foreign credentials, contact:

• Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (in Canada)
• Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional (in Spain)

All foreign documents must be duly authenticated if they are being submitted to the Spanish authorities.

Refer to Travel documents – Visas.

• Apply to travel, study, work or immigrate to Canada.
• Find a visa application centre (VAC) to book an appointment to give your biometrics (fingerprints and photo).
• Submit an enquiry using the IRCC web form to contact a visa office.

Permanent residents of Canada: Find out how to apply for a Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD).

Refer to Voting in an election while outside Canada.