Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Access and Registration - Translation of academic documents

In order to be able to register* a doctoral programme, you must submit sworn translations into Catalan, Spanish or English of the degree certificates and transcript of records, except the transcript of records originally issued in English, French, Italian or Portuguese, which do not require to be translated. The diploma of the entrance degree always needs to be officially translated into Catalan or Spanish, except if it has been originally issued in English or officially translated into this language with legalised translation if applicable.

In case that the degree certificates and transcript of records are originally issued in a foreign language different from English, French, Italian or Portuguese, it will be compulsory to submit a translation (although it does not need to be an official one) in order to be admitted.

Send your legalised and translated documents through the online pre-registration platform. When you receive confirmation that you have met the requirements, you can make a certified copy and send it by post to the secretary's office of the campus/school to which your doctoral programme belongs.

IMPORTANT: Please bear in mind the translation requirements when you ask for your certificates to be issued by your university. If you can be provided with these documents in one of these languages, there will be no need for them to be subsequently translated.

The translation of the documents must official. There are the following ways of carrying out a translation so that it have official validity:

The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation authorises sworn translators and interpreters to do sworn translations.

You can find the ones currently practising in the "Updated list of practising translators-interpreters". You can contact them by email and they will tell you how to obtain your translation.

PLEASE NOTE: The translation must include the stamp of the translator/interpreter. Make sure that the translator you choose is registered on the list of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.

The embassies and consulates of the countries of origin or destination of the documents may translate or validate translations.
However, embassies and consulates do not usually offer a translation service. Normally they will certify the accuracy of translations done by other means. The embassy or consulate that translates the documents or validates the translation must certify its accuracy. A stamp is normally placed on the document to certify it.

To obtain this kind of translation, you need to contact the Spanish embassy or consulate for information on how to obtain certified translations there. They will inform you of the procedures to follow.

See a sample embassy/consulate translation 

A SUGGESTION: This translation is valid for any other procedure that must be performed with the public administration in Spain. Therefore, we recommend that you send the URV a certified copy of the translation and a certified copy of the original. Keep the original documents in case you need to use the translation in the future.