Legal advice and handling of procedures between Mexico and Spain: Spanish Civil Registry certificates for descendants of Spaniards, apostilles, recognition of university degrees and real estate investment in both countries. Everything in writing, with a formal quotation and in-person handling before the Spanish authorities.
Written reply within 24 to 48 business hours.Five practice areas between Mexico and Spain: civil records and academic procedures, and real estate and business investment in both directions.
Official Spanish documents obtained in Madrid and sent wherever you need them, with full validity abroad.
When the document you need is not in plain sight: someone has to find it.
For professionals who want to practise or study in Spain with a degree obtained abroad.
For foreign investors looking to buy a home or commercial premises in Spain, with a practice that works on the buyer's side only.
For investors and companies that want to buy, invest or operate in Mexico.
Every cross-border file is different. Tell us your situation and we will say honestly whether we can help you, or point you to the right professional.
The same professional protocol on every file, from the first email to certified delivery.
Send us your case through the form on this page or by email, with whatever details and documents you have. We study it and confirm whether we can take it on.
A written document setting out services, fees, estimated timescales and conditions. No small print.
We begin once you sign and pay the 50 % retainer. Every payment is documented with a numbered receipt.
Handling before the competent Spanish authorities. We keep you updated on where your matter stands.
Verification of the document, apostille where applicable, and certified international shipping to your address or consulate.
Franco & Asociados grew out of real practice: years filing applications before Spanish Civil Registries, the Ministry of Justice and Madrid notaries on behalf of clients abroad, with the cultural closeness a purely Spanish firm cannot offer and the local knowledge a Mexican firm with no presence in Spain cannot reach.
The practice is led by Humberto Franco Díaz de León, law graduate, resident in Madrid and a dual Mexican and Spanish national. He holds a Spanish electronic certificate to act before the official government portals and has hands-on experience of the Spanish registry system.
Where our clients come from is also our best reference: the first ones were referred by the Honorary Consulate of Spain in Aguascalientes and Zacatecas, and it still recommends us.
A practice based in Madrid, working directly with the Honorary Consulate of Spain in Aguascalientes and Zacatecas.
Maximum time for the first written reply to any inquiry, counted in business hours.
Longest gap between updates on your file, whether or not there is news from the authority.
Formal quotation, numbered receipts and documented communication at every stage of the engagement.
If your question is not here, put it to us in writing and we will answer it in our first reply.
Yes. The whole process is carried out remotely and in writing: description of the case, quotation and authorisation by email, payment by bank transfer, and delivery by certified international courier to your address or to a consulate. You do not need to travel to Spain.
Yes, and it is one of the things we do most. We locate birth, marriage and death records of Spanish ancestors in Civil Registries and, for records predating 1870, in parish archives. Where you are not the record holder, we prove your legitimate interest before the Ministry of Justice by documenting the line of descent. You receive the certificates themselves plus a written report on what was found and where.
It depends on the Civil Registry of origin. Large city registries usually reply within 10 to 20 business days; magistrates' courts in small towns can take 40 to 80 days. The apostille in Madrid takes 3 to 7 days and certified shipping a further 3 to 5. Your quotation gives the specific estimate for your case.
It is the single certification that gives a public document international validity between countries party to the Hague Convention, including the United States and the United Kingdom. You need it when the Spanish document will be produced before authorities in your own country. If the procedure is before a Spanish authority (a Spanish consulate, for example), it is usually not required, and we will tell you so rather than let you pay for it.
Yes. Spain places no nationality restriction on buyers. You will need an NIE (foreigner identification number) and an account with a Spanish bank, and you can sign the purchase in person or through a power of attorney granted before a notary in your country and apostilled. Before that, we help you find the property, appraise it as an investment and check its Land Registry position, so you decide on real figures.
Yes. Outside the restricted zone (the strip of 100 km along the borders and 50 km along the coasts), a foreign national may buy directly, subject to an agreement filed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Inside that zone, residential property is acquired through a bank trust (fideicomiso). In business, most activities admit 100 % foreign investment. We review the title and encumbrances on the property and tell you the appropriate structure for your case.
The founding lawyer of the practice. Every engagement is signed with his full name and verifiable Mexican professional licence number (6538816, searchable in the National Register of Professionals of Mexico's Ministry of Public Education), and is documented with a formal quotation, numbered receipts and written communication.
No. The practice was founded by a law graduate qualified in Mexico, holding professional licence 6538816, who is not a member of a Spanish bar association. We practise Mexican law and handle procedures before the Spanish authorities as our clients' representatives. For action that Spanish law reserves to bar-admitted lawyers, we work with collaborating Spanish bar members in Madrid.
Every inquiry is submitted in writing, through the form on this page or by email, describing the matter and attaching whatever documents you have. With that information we tell you whether we can take your case on and send you the formal quotation, with the fee always stated in advance.
Short articles on nationality, apostilles, degrees, investment and procedures between Mexico and Spain, citing the rule each fact comes from.
Marrying a Spaniard does not grant nationality, it is not applied for at a consulate abroad, and being born in Madrid is not enough. What the Civil Code says.
Read the article → Documents and apostillesA Mexican Civil Registry certificate is apostilled in the state where the event was registered, not at the SRE or the consulate. What to ask for, in what order.
Read the article → NationalityThe grant does not make you Spanish: it opens a 180-day window to swear or promise and request registration. Without registration there is no nationality.
Read the article → Moving to SpainThe NIE is an identification number; the TIE is the card proving your legal status in Spain. What each one is, when to apply and the usual mistakes.
Read the article → Moving to SpainRegistering on the municipal padrón is compulsory for everyone living in Spain, but it grants neither legal residence nor automatic public healthcare.
Read the article → Investment and businessTransfer tax or VAT, stamp duty, notary, Land Registry, NIE and the D-2A declaration: what it actually costs to buy a home in Spain as a non-resident.
Read the article →Tell us about your matter in writing. We will reply within 24 to 48 business hours, telling you whether we can take your case on, which documents are worth gathering and the corresponding formal quotation.
Make an inquiryIf you would rather not use the form, write to us directly with a description of your matter and whatever documents you have.
Handled in writing and by prior appointment. In-person filing before the Central Civil Registry, the Ministry of Justice and Madrid notaries.
We work directly with the Honorary Consulate of Spain in Aguascalientes and Zacatecas for receiving and delivering documents.