APOSTILLE OF THE HAGUE
The “International Hague Apostille” (Apostilla) is a seal used by many countries to recognize each other’s official documents as legal, according to an international agreement among those nations (including Spain and the U.S.). Any document that you are required to present to a Spanish consulate at the time of your entry visa application, or to an official in Spain, such as a birth certificate, marriage license, children’s academic records, a diploma or transcript, will likely be required to bear this seal.
The Apostille is issued by the state in which a document was issued. For documents issued in the U.S., the seal may be obtained from the Secretary of State of the issuing state, or from other competent authorities. You can check the complete list of competent authorities in the U.S. on the Hague website
To complete the process, you must mail in your background check, a form saying that you need the Apostille to obtain a student visa from the Spanish consulate (the country matters), and the required fee. Your Secretary of State will then attach the Apostille to your state criminal background check and mail it back to you.
For the FBI background check (or any federally-issued document) you will need to request your Apostille from the U.S. Department of State. Please check here for more information. If you are running out of time (in the summer it can take up to a month to recieve the Apostille back via mail), there are channelers that can expedite this process. However, they can be extremely expensive. If you think you might need to use one, please reach your main contact at the Commission, as soon as possible.
