Spanish-French Translation in Leuven: Spanish-Speaking Students at KU Leuven

KU Leuven attracts each year numerous Spanish-speaking students, whether Spanish students on Erasmus+ or Latin American scholarship holders from Mexico, from Colombia or from Argentina as part of the programmes VLIR-UOS and ARES. For your academic files, visas, civil status documents or diploma equivalences, our agency offers sworn translations Spanish-French recognised by all Belgian administrations.

Spanish-speaking students at KU Leuven: Erasmus and scholarship holders from Latin America

Spanish students on Erasmus

Spain is one of the countries that sends the most students on Erasmus+ to Belgium, and KU Leuven is among the most sought-after destinations. The Spanish partner universities - Complutense University of Madrid, University of Barcelona, Polytechnic University of Valencia, among others - maintain active mobility agreements with KU Leuven in numerous disciplines.

For an Erasmus stay of 3 to 12 months, the administrative procedures are generally simplified for EU citizens. However, certain documents in Spanish may be required: translated proof of registration for the municipality of Louvain, birth certificate for the foreigners register, or Spanish transcript to validate equivalences of ECTS credits on return.

Some Spanish students also choose to extend their stay beyond the Erasmus for a complete master's or a doctorate, which then requires more complete translated documents for the regular registration and the residence permit.

Latin American scholarship holders and VLIR-UOS programmes

Flanders, via the VLIR-UOS (Flemish Interuniversity Council for Development Cooperation), finances each year master's and doctoral scholarships intended for students from developing countries, including numerous countries of Latin America. French-speaking Belgium, via ARES (Académie de Recherche et d'Enseignement supérieur), offers similar programmes.

The Colombian, Mexican, Peruvian, Ecuadorian, Bolivian and Argentinian scholarship holders arriving at KU Leuven via these programmes must provide a complete file including official translations of their academic and personal documents. Unlike the European Erasmus students, these students also need a long-stay visa of type D, which requires sworn translations of several civil status documents.

Most frequently translated Spanish documents in Louvain

Here are the documents in Spanish that our translators handle most regularly for the Spanish-speaking students of KU Leuven:

• Expediente académico (complete academic record): translation of the entire Spanish or Latin American university course, with the subjects, credits and grades, for NARIC files or admission to a master's.
• Spanish or Latin American university diploma: sworn translation of the bachelor's, master's or doctorate qualification for the procedures of equivalence or admission to KU Leuven.
• Transcript (certificado de calificaciones): document listing the results obtained for each teaching unit, required for the validation of the equivalences of ECTS credits.
• Spanish birth certificate (partida de nacimiento): required for the foreigners register in Louvain and the applications for long-stay visa for the students from outside the EU.
• Mexican, Colombian or Argentinian birth certificate: sworn translation of Latin American civil status documents for the scholarship holders VLIR-UOS and ARES, often including several regional or municipal formats.
• Visa application documents: translation of proof of resources, motivation letters, scholarship certificates and personal documents in Spanish for the Belgian embassies in Latin America.

Ordering your Spanish-French translation from Louvain

Our online service is particularly convenient for students whose original documents are still in Spain or in Latin America at the time of the registration procedures. Here is how to proceed:

1. Send a digital copy of your documents in Spanish via our online form. Your relatives in Spain or in Latin America can send us high-resolution photos directly.
2. Receive a firm quote in less than an hour, with the all-inclusive rate per document and the delivery time.
3. Pay by bank transfer: IBAN provided with the quote. The transfers from Spain or Latin America are accepted (SEPA or international transfer).
4. Receive your sworn translation in PDF by email, with signature and seal of the sworn translator. Registered postal dispatch available for the required originals.

Our sworn translators Spanish-French are sworn in before the Belgian Courts of Appeal. They know the particularities of the Spanish, Mexican, Colombian, Argentinian and Peruvian education systems, as well as the formats of civil status documents specific to each country. Their translations are accepted by KU Leuven, the Immigration Office and NARIC Vlaanderen.