How to: Obtain a British Birth Certificate in Spain

Spanish registration – a mandatory requirement for British babies

Before you can obtain a British Birth Certificate/register your baby’s birth with the British Consulate General, it’s advised that you register the birth at your nearest Civil Register Office during the first 8 days following the birth. If there’s a justified reason for the delay, this period can be extended to 30 days, however if you miss this deadline, you may have to start an administration procedure with the Spanish authorities, which will be a costly and lengthy process. This could also affect your child’s access to the state healthcare system, nursery and school.
Registering a British birth with the British Consulate General

It’s now possible to register your baby if he or she was born is Spain and is a British national. Although regsitration with the British Consular isn’t compulsory, it ensures that a permanent record of the birth is kept at the General Register Office in the UK. Certified copies of Birth Certificates are also available in Spain and produced in English.

Birth registration application forms are available from your nearest British Consulate and once filled out should be returned to the British Consulate General in Madrid, along with the appropriate fees, the following documents and photocopies of each:

1. Child’s Spanish Birth Certificate
This means the FULL Spanish Birth Certificate, showing names of both parents (certificado literal de nacimiento, NOT the Libro de Familia). This is available from the Civil Register Office where you registered the birth.

2. Parents’ Birth Certificates
* If both parents are British, send full UK Birth Certificates
* If one of the parents is not Bristish, send the Local Birth Certificate of this parent or a copy of their passport/DNI.
* If only one of the parents is British and born outside the UK, send their Consular Birth Certificate which states that their father was in Crown Service at the time of the birth
* If either of the parents have been granted British nationality, send the original Certificate of Registration or Naturalisation.

3. Parents’ Marriage Certificate
You need to provide your FULL Marriage Certificate (not to be mistaken with the Libro de Familia).

4. Photocopies of Parents’ Passports

5. Divorce Decree
Only provide this if either parent was previously divorced.

Applying for British Birth Registration if the child’s parents are not married

If the mother of the child was born in the UK and the child was born after 01/01/83, he/she is entitled to British Citizenship. Similarly, if the father is British, they can register the birth of their child born in Spain after 01/07/06.

For more information, click here.