The whole process to obtain a criminal record certificate validated to use in Spain, can last 2 months. Either from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). It is for this reason that we recommend that you should apply in advance. Even though you intend to do an internship or volunteer work that does NOT involve contact with minors. You never know if the place where you are going to do the internship, collaborates with minors or not.
In some cases, students didn´t think about taking this opportunity but once in Granada, they changed their minds and ended up doing an internship or volunteering. So, we definitely recommend that the same way you get the visa, you get the criminal record certificate.
In these links from the FBI and the RCMP you will find more detailed information and you can start the application process.
Please notice that once you have obtained the certificate, you need to aunthenticate it for use in Spain. That meants that it needs to be legally translated into Spanish and must carry the Hague apostilled notarization. Here in this link in Apostilles, you will receive the information. This authentication process can take 2 weeks.
We understand that this whole process may seem tedious, but it should not be an excuse to stop doing an internship or volunteering in Granada. If you have any questions, please write to us.
