What your embassy or consulate can and can't do for you

Key rules

• Money: Your consulate will not pay hospital, hotel, legal or travel bills, or fines and bail.
• Legal help: You get a list of lawyers, not legal advice, and the consulate cannot step into Spanish court or police proceedings.
• Detention: If you are detained, your consulate can check you are treated fairly, but it cannot get you released.
• Your nationality: Services, fees and opening hours differ by country, so check your own consulate's page.

What your consulate will do

Your consulate is a safety net, not a service provider for everyday problems. In general it can:

• Issue or renew passports or emergency travel documents.
• Register births, marriages and deaths for your home country's records.
• Provide notarial services, such as authenticating signatures, certifying copies and taking sworn statements.
• Issue certificates, such as a life certificate for pensions, a certificate of nationality or a certificate that you are free to marry.
• Give general information on local procedures and a list of lawyers, doctors and translators.
• Help if you are arrested, hospitalised, bereaved or the victim of a crime. In serious cases it can contact your family and help with repatriation.
• In an emergency, some consulates offer a loan that you must repay.

The documents you may need are listed below, so this page does not repeat them.

What it will refuse

Your consulate will not pay your bills. That covers hospital, hotel, legal and travel costs, and fines and bail. Plan to cover these yourself, with insurance or savings.

It also will not:

• Give legal advice or act as your lawyer. It usually only gives you a list, and it will not choose or pay for a lawyer.
• Interfere in Spanish court or police proceedings, investigate crimes or get a detainee released.
• Translate or interpret documents officially. Use a translator from the list or a sworn translator.
• Advise on Spanish residence, work or tax. Ask a Spanish adviser.
• Override Spanish law.

If you are detained, ask for your consulate to be told. It can check that you are treated fairly, as a local would be. That is the limit of its role.

Powers of attorney and notaries

A power of attorney for use in Spain is normally signed before a Spanish notary. Some countries, including the US, UK and Ireland, limit or stop notarial work and send you to a Spanish notary, often with an apostille. An apostille is an international stamp that makes a document valid abroad. Other consulates still draw up or legalise powers of attorney for use in your home country.

Services differ by country

The core help is similar everywhere, but the detail varies a lot:

• Some countries issue full passports in Spain. Others issue only emergency documents, and you get a biometric passport elsewhere.
• Notarial work, voting registration, civil registry and tax or pension certificates vary.
• Opening hours, appointment systems and fees vary.
• Large countries have several consulates. Small ones may have only an embassy in Madrid or an honorary consul.

Find your foreign ministry's page for its embassy or consulate in Spain. Check services, hours, appointments and fees before you travel. The checklist below walks you through it, and the quick answers cover the most common myths.

Documents you need

Documents a consulate can issue or handle

• A passport or emergency travel document, issued by your consulate if your country offers it in Spain. Some countries issue only emergency documents here and issue full biometric passports elsewhere.

• Birth, marriage or death registration for your home country's records, done through your consulate if your country offers it.

• A life certificate for pensions, a certificate of nationality, or a no-impediment (marriage-capacity) certificate, if your consulate issues them.

• A power of attorney for use in your home country, drawn up or legalised by your consulate if it still does notarial work.

• A power of attorney for use in Spain, normally signed before a Spanish notary. Some consulates (including the US, UK and Ireland) refer you to a Spanish notary, often with a Hague Convention apostille.

• A translation of any document you need. Your consulate cannot translate or interpret officially, so use a translator from the list it can give you.

Checklist

Before you contact your consulate

• Check which services your country offers in Spain: full passports or emergency documents only, notarial work, civil registry, voting, pension certificates.

• Check opening hours, whether you need an appointment, and the fees before you travel.

• Ask for the list of lawyers, doctors and translators if you need one, because your consulate will not choose or pay for them.

• Plan how you will pay hospital, hotel, legal and travel costs yourself, since your consulate will not cover them.

• Ask a Spanish notary about powers of attorney for use in Spain, and about an apostille if your consulate no longer does notarial work.

• Get Spanish residence, work and tax questions answered by a Spanish adviser, because your consulate cannot advise on them.

• If you are detained, ask for your consulate to be told so it can check you are treated fairly, and expect no release or intervention in the case.

Quick answers on what consulates will and won't do

Will my consulate pay my hospital bill in Spain?

No, your consulate will not pay your hospital bill. You, your insurer or your family must cover it. The consulate can contact your family and suggest local doctors. If you are an EU citizen on a temporary stay, the European Health Insurance Card may cover state healthcare.

Can my consulate get me released if I am detained?

No, a consulate cannot get you released or step into the court process. It can confirm your detention, visit you and check you are treated fairly. It can also contact your family and, in some cases, help move money from them into your prison account.

Will my consulate choose a lawyer or give me legal advice?

No, a consulate does not choose or pay for your lawyer and does not give legal advice. It usually gives you a list of local lawyers and interpreters. It can also explain how the local legal system works in general terms.

Can my consulate translate my documents?

No, a consulate cannot officially translate or interpret your documents. It also cannot advise you on residence, work or tax matters in Spain. For a translation you need to find a translator yourself.

Will my consulate lend me money if I am stranded?

Only in narrow cases, and only if your country runs a loan scheme. It is a last resort for real emergencies when family, friends, your employer, your bank or your insurer cannot help. The loan covers essentials such as a ticket home, and you must sign an agreement and repay it in full. Your passport may be limited or withheld until you repay.