Another good trick to use in this case is make sure that the job description that the company files with the Spanish authorities fits you and only you to a t. I was terrified when my employer had to do this to change my status. After being in the same job for over 12 years but with a "excepción de permiso de trabajo" that they decided they weren't going to renovate anymore I had to get a regular work permit and I freaked out when I heard this had to be done, I thought I was going to loose my job to some unemployed Spaniard, but no one ever even applied for it, like mariposita says, it's just a formality. However, my boss did make sure that the job description would be a very hard fit for anyone other than myself, that way she could be totally justified in hiring me (12 years previously )

Mariposita (any anyone else with translation experience): I just got a quote for the translation of my apostille-certified university transcripts. And it's USD $600. This came from the man who the DC Consulate referred me to when I asked for a "traductor jurado." Now, according to him, in the States there is no such thing as a traductor jurado. They are "jurado" in Spain and most Latin American countries, but as a translator here in the US, this guys credentials are as good as anyone elses. So, I'm wondering if maybe I should check out some translation company that would hopefully be cheaper. Thoughts?

Yikes--that is horrible. Damn those DC prices--and to think I once made the big bucks there myself...

Do you know if the lawyers will need to file your paperwork here in Madrid or will you do this in DC? If it is in Madrid, then you could send your stuff to a traductor jurado here and then have him/her forward it to the lawyers who are handling your case. My SO just had his transcript and apostille translated and it cost around 50 Euros. It was a very jam-packed full page, plus the Apostille that was attached. Last fall I had about 25 course descriptions/ syllabi and evaluations translated by her last year and it cost me around 175 euros, so I know she must be much, much cheaper--though I don't remember her rate per word. Here's her info in case you are interested:

Blanca Calvo
91 445 7640

Tell her that Megan and Christian recommended her--we've been to her place so many times that my son now thinks she is one of his aunts. She could probably do it in a few days.

Suerte. At least you got the transcripts with the apostilles. Don't you feel better educated now that you have that fancy gold sticker!

These paperwork will supposedely be filed there in Madrid. I know I need the transcripts translated, but I'm afriad she'll want the police and medical letters translated too. Although from what I know, I am to submit those to DC and for them they can be in English. I'm not technically supposed to be in Spain while we are processing this, but I guess that doesn't preclude me from mailing the documents to Blanca and having her forward them to the lawyer. That should be legit; I don't think the translation must be done here. I will call her tomorrow. Do you speak to her in English or Spanish? Thanks so much for the tip.

Hey binx--
I think that you are right, the medical clearance and police record are for later when you apply for the visa in DC, so they should be fine in English (though you will need the apostille for the police record). When you apply for the visa in DC, the consulate will give them a fancy stamp and squiggle, which will make them official, so you will be fine when you have to present them in Spain at the comisaría for your residency.

I don't see any reason as to why you would have to get the transcript translated in the US. The main thing is that you use a sworn translator (traductor jurado) for Spain so that it's all oficialísimo. I always speak Spanish to Blanca... but she probably speaks English, given that she translates it perfectly. If you don't feel comfortable calling, I'd be happy to call her for you and find out whether she could do it via mail and how much it might cost. Maybe you could even fax it to get an estimate.

i can call her; i need this done pretty quickly. btw- the consulate in dc had told me they don't need an apostille for the police record.

mariposita, i spoke to blanca and she said i could mail it to her and she could forward it on to my office. however, she charges 10 euro cents/word plus 16% iva. which brings it to .148 cents per word in US dollars, and the translator here in the States i spoke to charges .15 cents per word, and gave me a $600 estimate. thus, blanca would cost pretty much the same. man, this is an expensive process...

Yeah, .002 cents isn't exactly a big discount, is it?

How long is your transcript? It must be gargantuan. I wonder if the DC translator high-balled the number of words... maybe you could get a second opinion.

well, i did ask her how she wanted to handle the money and she (surprisingly) just said i could call her once i got there and paid her then. i'd most likely pay in cash then anyway.

the transcripts are normal, one page front and back. problem is the front just has the grades, as you know, but the back is LOADED with tiny fine print about the school, the grade point system, credits, etc. and that has to all be translated as well.

were the transcripts she translated for you like that? i had send the dc translator a scanned image of the sheets, and that's what he told me...

i wrote ana to confirm it would be .10 cents a word plus IVA. do you think i could ask her about the cash thing or not appropriate?

My transcript did have a separate page attached with a bunch of fine print explanations, but I only had certain parts of that page translated. I may have been able to get away with this because it was on a separate sheet that didn't have the official seal on it. I wonder if she would be willing to just translate the front for you and still make it all fancy and official. I doubt that anyone at the ministry cares about all of that jibber jabber (though you'll need it translated if you ever try to homologar).

About the IVA, maybe you can casually mention that I told you there was a discount when I pay in efectivo. Can't hurt to ask.

And, yes, all of this is a royal pain in the culo, but does it help if I tell you that today was the most beautiful spring day and everyone was outside dando paseos y tomando copas and the sky was that perfect Madrid blue. It really is worth it!

oh man, can't wait to get to madrid...

maybe you're right about just getting the front translated. for now the translation is only for the lawyer's use, and if we do need the back translated later for the Ministry i can always get it done later. the dc translator had told me that homologation is most necessary if i were trying to continue my studies and in spain and they had to see where i placed in the educational system. since these transcripts will be used to show i am "highly qualified personnel" it may not be necessary. however, the lawyer does want these translations so she can decide if they'll need to be "homologated" in the first place- so maybe she does need to see all of those explanations.

btw- the majority of the classes are abbreviated. do you know how does works around that?

also, does she normally make the translations look "fancy and official"?

I think the lawyer is a bit confused or didn't communicate the process well... I don't see how you could get your university degrees homologado in time to get the work visa. This can take at least a year or even longer and the outcome is not at all guaranteed. And to get it homologado you don't just need the transcript, but course descriptions, syllabi, reading lists, etc. And all of that translated officially.

From what we have found out, the the government doesn't have to consider a degree that isn't homologado, but the reality is that they most likely will take it into consideration. Especially when they see that fancy apostille and spectacular translation. In any event, it shows that you are willing to jump through hoops and that seems to always help here.

The main thing is to make sure that your degree is not required for the job position that they list with Unemployment, because for this purpose you wouldn't qualify without the homologación. But they can tailor the description in every other possible way to fit you, so that virtually no one else can qualify.

When Blanca translated my transcript, she abbrieviated, as well, but it was very clear as to what the Spanish equivalents were. In a few cases, she called me to get clarification, because the English abbreviations were so inscrutable. And she has to do it in the same layout as the original, so if it is really small cramped text in a bunch of columns in the original, it will the same in her version as well.

Since she is a traductora jurada, she makes it official by putting a little blue stamp and squiggle on the translated pages. For the apostille she has a special stamp that says it is a certificación that she signs and dates. When you show a Spanish funcionario a document with one of these stamps and squiggles they get really excited.

i have had the feeling all along that the lawyer is a bit confused. i don't that she actually wants to homologar it, but just (i hope!) verify. she has said this:

sigo esperando la traducción de los titulos de Rebeca, para posteriormente poder verificar si están homologados aquí en España, que si lo estuvieran podemos tramitar el expediente por personal altamente cualificado, siendo los trámites totalmente distintos.

do you think i could get away with having Blanca translate the front and parts of the back? sounds like she does a nice job... i just hope the lawyer knows what she's doing.


if she needs to do the homologacion process and it takes one year, i think i'm out of luck.

great thread so far, lots of good info.

saludos,
jer...

--covert content excised--

binkx--hopefully you could work that out with Blanca. I know that there are rules about certifying documents and that they have to be translated completely, but she was able to leave off the explanatory info in my case, because it wasn't technically a part of the transcript. Maybe she will be able to do so for you, as well.

About the homologación... perhaps some foreign degrees are recognized by Spain and that's what the lawyer is referring to? I've never heard of this in the case of an American degree... Also, a very small subset of jobs are easier to get visas for than others--scientists, engineers, etc.--there's a list on the ministry's site. I think that's what she means when she says applying as "altamente cualificado."