Short answer

• For immigration procedures within Spain, after six (6) months.
• For immigration procedures at consulates, generally after five (5) months. (!!!)
• For citizenship by residence, after six (6) months.

Long answer

First things first: Explicit and implicit expiration

There’ll be two different types of expiration: explicit and implicit.

Explicit expiration refers to an expiration date explicitly noted on the background check. Some countries —notably, until relatively recently, Mexico— issued criminal background checks with very short validities —30 days, in the case of Mexico. If a background check has a stated expiration date, or a stated term of validity, the background check expires on the date explicitly indicated on the document.

Example: Country A issues a background check on 1 January 2023, with a line stating, “this background check is valid for 30 days.” The background check is valid until the last instant of 30 January 2023 and expires at 00:00 on 1 February 2023.

Implicit expiration refers to a presumed expiration when no expiration date is noted on the background check. This is the case with most countries’ background checks. In these cases, in general, the document is considered valid for six (6) months (not 180 days) as of its date of issuance: this rule has legal backing in citizenship applications, but not in immigration applications, as we’ll see shortly.

Example: Country B issues a background check on 1 January 2023 with no stated validity period. The background check is valid until the last instant of 30 June 2023 and expires as of 00:00 on 1 July 2023.

Expiration in citizenship applications

With exceptions, citizenship by residence applications require a criminal background check from your country of origin. (Ojo: you may also be required to submit background checks from your countries of residence, although this is not what legislation requires). Any background checks you submit must be valid at the time of submission.

1. If your background check has an explicit expiration date, the background check must be submitted prior to the explicitly stated expiration date.
2. If your background check doesn’t have an explicit expiration date, the background check must be submitted no later than six (6) months from issuance.

This rule does stem from a valid regulation in Spain, Order JUS/1625/2016, which applies exclusively to citizenship applications.

Does this mean no case with expired background checks can prosper? No. This is law, and in law there are always exceptions. The Supreme Court of Spain has overturned rejections of Spanish citizenship applications due to “expired” background checks in certain circumstances. But, unless you’re in a bind and absolutely can’t follow the rule, or unless you have deep pockets, lots of time, and lots of principle, it’s best to avoid needing to go to the Supreme Court. (If you find yourself in this situation, you should talk to an immigration lawyer. Continentalis is associated with these immigration lawyers).

Expiration in stay, residence, and visa applications

Within the country, through Oficinas de Extranjería or the Dirección General de Migraciones

Within the country, although there’s actually no law or regulation establishing expiration dates for immigration procedures, immigration officials will most likely apply Order JUS/1625/2016. Thus, your background check will be valid through its explicitly stated validity, or else six (6) months.

The legal reasoning for applying Order JUS/1625/2015 by analogy is dubious. The two instances (citizenship and immigration) aren’t analogous. But, if a six-month-old document is good enough to obtain citizenship, it must be good enough to apply for stay or residence.

Outside the country, through consulates or, as of recently, BLS

Consulates and BLS are rogue agents very prone to making rules up which don’t have any basis in law. One such rule is the “requirement” to quit your job before you apply for a non-lucrative residence visa: it’s potentially harmful to you, has no legal backing, and was made up by consular busybodies who, genuinely, don’t care whether you end up jobless and visaless.

With that in mind, note that your local consulate or BLS may have wildly varying views on the subject, but, in an increasingly frequent interpretation, these people think background checks are valid for no more than five (5) months —unless they have a shorter explicit validity.

Your mileage may vary.

What if my background check has an explicit validity longer than six months?

We’ve never encountered such a background check. If it exists:

1. In theory, it should be accepted in citizenship applications;
2. In theory, it’d be accepted in immigration procedures within the country; but
3. Almost certainly, consulates and BLS would have issues with the document.

If you have questions about the validity of your background check or if the government denied your application due to the supposed expiration of your background check, schedule a consultation with an immigration lawyer.

If you need help obtaining a recent background check from your country of origin, or countries of previous residence, click here.