Criminal record certificate for a Spain visa: how to get it in each country

The Immigration Regulation requires the certificate for the study visa when you are of criminal age and the stay exceeds six months. It must show that you have no record for offences defined in Spanish law in the countries where you lived during the last five years ¹. If you lived in two or three countries in that period, you need a certificate from each one.

The consular pages express the threshold as stays of more than 180 days ^{2 3}. The Consulate in Bogotá warns that, to process the visa, it takes as the start one month before the enrolment date and as the end 15 days after, so a five-month course can go over the threshold ².

Two rules repeat in almost every consulate: the certificate must be apostilled by the country that issues it, and police or good conduct certificates do not work. La Paz and Caracas say so expressly ^{7 6}. Certificates from European Union countries do not need an apostille ².

This guide uses the study visa as its reference. Other Spanish visas (non-lucrative, digital nomad, work) also ask for a criminal record, with deadlines set by each consulate: always check the page of the specific visa. If you are going to another Schengen country, the same logic applies with the consulate of that country.

Country	Body and document	How to request it	What the Spanish consulate asks for
Colombia	Certificado de antecedentes judiciales of the Policía Nacional, for migration purposes	On the Foreign Ministry's apostille portal 9	"Certificado de antecedentes penales para fines migratorios", apostilled 2
Mexico	Constancia de Antecedentes Penales Federales (CAPF), from the Órgano Administrativo Desconcentrado Prevención y Reinserción Social	Online at constancias.oadprs.gob.mx 10	Issued by federal authorities, in the last 180 days, apostilled 3
Argentina	Certificado de Antecedentes Penales of the Registro Nacional de Reincidencia	Online with your DNI 12	Issued in the last three months, apostilled 5
Peru	Certificado de Antecedentes Penales of the Poder Judicial (Registro Nacional de Condenas)	Online or in person; from abroad, at consulates 13 14	Maximum 3 months, apostilled by the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs 4
Venezuela	Certificate of criminal record of the Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Interiores, Justicia y Paz (MPPRIJP)	MPPRIJP's certification system for international procedures 15	Maximum 90 days, legalised and apostilled 6
Ecuador	Certificate of criminal record of the Ministerio del Interior	Online and free of charge 17	Apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 8
Bolivia	REJAP certificate of the Consejo de la Magistratura	See the Embassy's information sheet	Less than three months, apostilled 7

Colombia. You go to tramites.cancilleria.gov.co/apostillalegalizacion, choose "Documentos electrónicos con firma digital" and "Certificado de Antecedentes Judiciales: Policía Nacional", mark that you want it for migration purposes and choose the destination country. The procedure has a cost and is paid online with PSE or card, or in person at Banco Agrario, Banco Sudameris, Servibanca ATMs or at a Colombian consulate ⁹. If you are a foreigner who lived in Colombia, you first request a certificate from the Policía Nacional by email at dijin.araic-atc@policia.gov.co ⁹.

Mexico. The CAPF is requested with your CURP; it costs 240 MXN and the reply takes 3 calendar days. The download link lasts 30 days ¹⁰. The Consulate of Spain in Mexico requires it to be issued by federal authorities, printed in colour and apostilled ³. The apostille is issued by the Secretaría de Gobernación at apostillaylegalizacionmexico.segob.gob.mx ¹¹.

Argentina. You request it online if you have a DNI and are over 18, logging in with Mi Argentina, a Banelco card, level 2 clave fiscal or social security key. If you do not have an Argentine DNI, you can only do it in person ¹². You can download it for 90 consecutive days ¹². The Consulate in Buenos Aires accepts the apostille of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or of the Colegios de Escribanos ⁵.

Peru. The online procedure only works from a desktop or laptop computer, costs S/ 40.40 and the electronic certificate has the same validity as the in-person one. If "Trámite observado" appears, you must validate your identity in person ¹³. If you already live abroad, you can request it at Peru's consular offices ¹⁴.

Venezuela. The Consulate in Caracas requires the certificate to come from the MPPRIJP, to be no more than 90 days old and to be legalised and apostilled; you must also check the apostille's QR code yourself ⁶. The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry states that electronic legalisation and apostille is free and that there have been appointment offices in embassies and consulates since 2019 ¹⁶.

Ecuador. The certificate comes out as a PDF from the Ministry of the Interior portal, with an ID card or passport. It is free and valid for 3 months. If you are a foreigner and the system answers "PERSONA NO ENCONTRADA", your entry must be registered in the migration system ¹⁷.

Because each consulate measures age from the issue date, request the certificate as close as possible to your appointment, but with room for the apostille. An order that works:

1. Confirm the maximum age on your consulate's page: 3 months in Lima and Buenos Aires, 90 days in Caracas, 180 days in Mexico ^{4 5 6 3}.
2. Work out how long your apostille takes. In Mexico the constancia takes 3 calendar days and the apostille is a separate procedure ^{10 11}.
3. Request the certificate and apostille it right away.
4. If your country of origin sets its own validity, respect the shortest one. Argentina states a legal period of 5 working days for its certificate ¹², while the Buenos Aires consulate accepts certificates from the last three months ⁵: ask the consulate which one applies in your case.