Cada papel que necesita, y la trampa de cada uno.

Atención: It must have at least a year of validity left. Renew first if you are anywhere near that, because renewing mid-process resets paperwork that references the old number.

Atención: It must show your parents’ names. Short-form certificates from several countries do not, and are rejected. Order the long form before you need it, since some registries take weeks.

Atención: Some certificates expire within months of issue, so ordering too early can be as bad as too late. Check the validity period for your country before you request it.

Atención: Start this first. It is the single most common cause of a delayed file, because it depends on someone else writing a letter and on records that may sit in another country or another century.

Atención: Recognition depends on the converting body. Establish early whether yours is accepted, rather than discovering it during the file review.

Atención: A civil divorce is not always sufficient on its own. If the marriage was religious, expect to be asked about a get as well.

Atención: People remember their own and forget the children’s. Every child is a separate document with a separate apostille.

Atención: Get these BEFORE you leave. Requesting transcripts from a school in another country after you have moved is far harder than it sounds.

Atención: Order transcripts as well as the certificate. Recognition usually needs both, and universities are slow.

Atención: A licence usually has to be current, and reinstating a lapsed one from abroad can be much harder than keeping it alive through the move.

Atención: Renew it before you leave if it expires within the year. Converting an expired licence is a different and much worse process.

Atención: Keep it safe and photograph it. Almost every benefit claim asks to see it.

Atención: The appointment is the bottleneck, not the card. Book the biometric slot the moment you can, because waits run from weeks to considerably longer.