Skip to content

Where are you from?

Choose your province and we will tell you how the deputies and senators you elected vote, one by one.

 

We remember it in this browser. If you create an account, we keep it there.
Sign in

Type a law, a topic, a person or a province.

What it is

What Spanish consulates charge for their services

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a government bill. Introduced by the Government. It was introduced on 30 July 2010. Introduced by: Gobierno.

Official title: Government bill on consular fees.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 121/000094· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. Consular fees are a state tax paid for certain actions of Spain's consular offices, such as consulates general and consular sections. Civil registry procedures are never subject to these fees.
  2. The fee is owed when the service is requested and is paid by whoever requests it. There are many exemptions: for example, electoral procedures, documents needed to return to Spain for good, free legal aid, development cooperation workers, scholarship holders or crews of shipwrecked vessels.
  3. Fee amounts are set in euros and are paid in the local currency or convertible currency. The exchange rate is reviewed quarterly if it changes by 10% or more, and budget laws may update some amounts.
  4. If a country charges Spanish citizens consular fees that are more than double the Spanish ones, reciprocity can apply: its nationals are charged the same amount that country charges Spaniards.
  5. The law sets the amounts by group of services: maritime navigation (for example, 50 euros to authorize a logbook), certificates of origin for goods (80 euros), passports and visas (the same as in Spain), consular certificates and translations (for example, 10 euros plus 3 euros per page) and notarial acts (according to notarial fee schedules).
  6. It creates a fee for processing the sworn translator-interpreter title and issuing the card, which costs 6 euros. Those who obtain the title by passing the Ministry's exams are exempt. The law repeals the 1987 law and takes effect three months after publication in the official gazette.

Who it affects

  • Spaniards abroad who request passports, certificates, translations or notarial acts at a consulate.: They pay the corresponding fee, unless an exemption applies.
  • Companies and individuals requesting certificates of origin for goods or help collecting credits.: They pay 80 or 40 euros per certificate, or a percentage of the amount collected.
  • Foreigners applying for visas at Spanish consulates.: They pay the visa fee, with exemptions for asylum seekers, refugees and other cases.
  • Ships and crews under the Spanish flag.: They pay fees for legalizations, crew registration and navigation procedures.
  • Applicants for the sworn translator-interpreter title.: They pay the fee for processing the title or the card, unless they qualify through the exam.

Words worth knowing

Tasa (fee)
Money paid to the government for a specific service it provides, unlike a general tax.
Devengo (accrual)
The moment the obligation to pay the fee arises, here when the service is requested.
Sujeto pasivo (liable party)
The person required to pay the fee.
Fe pública (public faith)
The power to officially certify acts and documents, as notaries and consuls do.
Reciprocidad (reciprocity)
Charging a country's nationals the same fees that country charges Spaniards.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 7 of 7 steps. It reached BOE, and today it is passed.

  1. Introduced30 July 2010Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted3 September 2010The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendments8 September 2010Groups propose changes.
  4. Committee1 December 2010A committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenaryno dateAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senate24 February 2011The Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOE27 April 2011It is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 8 official steps on a timeline
Sept 2010Dec 2010Mar 201111. 30 July 2010: Presentación22. 3 September 2010: Comisión de Asuntos Exteriores Publicación desde 03/09/2010 hasta 08/09/201033. 3 September 2010: Calificación44. 8 September 2010: Comisión de Asuntos Exteriores Enmiendas desde 08/09/2010 hasta 01/12/201055. 1 December 2010: Comisión de Asuntos Exteriores Informe desde 01/12/2010 hasta 16/02/201166. 16 February 2011: Comisión de Asuntos Exteriores Aprobación con competencia legislativa plena desde 16/02/2011 hasta 24/02/201177. 24 February 2011: Senado desde 24/02/2011 hasta 27/04/201188. 27 April 2011: Concluido - (Aprobado sin modificaciones) desde 27/04/2011 hasta 24/05/2011

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

It is law, or will be once published in the BOE. It comes into force on the date its own text sets.

Published in the BOE: Law 9/2011, of 10 May, on consular fees.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

Read the full method · Report an error