Spanish Legal Translation Services in Dubai

Spanish-language documents arrive in Dubai from two directions: Spain, and the whole of Latin America. Colombian, Venezuelan, Mexican, Argentinian, Peruvian and Ecuadorian residents make up a growing part of Dubai’s professional workforce, and Spanish companies operate across construction, energy, hospitality and logistics here. Whatever the origin, a UAE court, ministry or licensing authority will work from a certified Arabic version stamped by a translator accredited with the UAE Ministry of Justice.

The complication in this pair is that Spanish is one language across twenty-odd legal systems. A partida de nacimiento from Argentina, a registro civil extract from Colombia and a Spanish certificado literal are not the same document with different names — they come from different registries with different content and different weight.

• Civil registry certificates — partida or acta de nacimiento, acta de matrimonio, acta de defunción and certificado literal, for residency and family files.
• Single status certificates — certificado de soltería or fe de soltería, frequently required for marriage procedures in the UAE.
• Police and judicial record certificates — certificado de antecedentes penales or judiciales, for employment and residency.
• Notarial deeds — escritura pública, poder notarial and property instruments.
• Academic records — título, diploma and certificado de notas for equivalency and admission.
• Company documents — escritura de constitución, commercial registry extracts, board resolutions and contracts.
• Court documents — sentencia, divorce judgments, custody and maintenance orders.

The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, UAE courts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, notary publics, the Department of Economy and Tourism and free-zone authorities, universities and equivalency bodies, and the Spanish and Latin American consulates in Dubai.

• Two surnames, not one. Most Spanish-speaking countries use a paternal and a maternal surname. Passports and UAE systems often record only one, or join them. We keep the full name as issued, follow the passport for the operative spelling, and make the structure explicit so the two documents are visibly about the same person.
• The same document name means different things by country. A Spanish certificado literal is a full transcription of the registry entry; a Latin American partida may be an extract. We identify the issuing country and registry rather than translating the label and leaving the reader to assume.
• Apostille is common and is part of the document. Spain and most Latin American states issue apostilles. The apostille authenticates the original, does not replace the Arabic translation, and carries a reference number and authority that the receiving officer checks — so it is translated too.
• Notarial protocol numbers. A Spanish or Latin American escritura is identified by its protocol number and the notary’s district. We carry these across exactly, because they are how the deed is located and verified.
• Dates and figures. Spanish documents use day/month/year and a comma as the decimal separator, and amounts are often written out in words as well as figures. We keep both forms so a sum can never be read incorrectly.

1. Send the document. A clear scan or photo of every page, including stamps and anything printed on the reverse, plus the passport page so names match.
2. We confirm scope, price and date — usually within one working hour. The quote we give is the price you pay.
3. Translation by an accredited legal translator who works in this language pair, not a generalist.
4. Review and certification. Names, numbers, dates and seals are checked against the source before the stamp is applied.
5. Delivery as a certified PDF and, where you need it, a stamped hard copy collected from our Creek Tower office or couriered.