I recently had some family matters to attend to concerning a property in China, but I couldn’t travel back from Spain. It took quite a bit of effort to get the power of attorney sorted out. I noticed there isn’t much discussion about this on the forums, so I’m sharing my personal experience to give a heads-up to anyone who might need it, hoping you can avoid the detours I took.
The core of the matter is obtaining a document with what’s called ‘Double Legalization’ (双认证). Simply put, this means getting both Spain and China to recognize the legal validity of your power of attorney. Since the document is issued in Spain but intended for use in mainland China, this process is mandatory. If the power of attorney for property is for use in Hong Kong or Macau, a Hague Apostille might be sufficient, but you should always confirm the specific requirements for your situation.
Detailed Process Walkthrough
The entire process can be broken down into three steps, which must be followed in order:
Step 1: Find a Spanish Notary (Notario)
First, you need to draft the power of attorney. The content of this document is crucial. It’s best to get a standard template for the purchase and sale power of attorney from your real estate agent or the local property management bureau in China. Make sure it clearly specifies the scope of authorization—whether it’s a general power of attorney or limited to specific tasks like handling the transfer of title, receiving payments, etc. Then, take your original passport, NIE, and the draft to any convenient Spanish notary’s office (Notaría) for notarization. The notary will verify your identity, confirm you are signing voluntarily, and then sign and stamp the document. This step can usually be completed on the same day.
Step 2: Authentication by the Spanish Ministry of Justice / High Court
Once you have the notarized power of attorney, the next step is to take it to an official Spanish authority for authentication. This proves that the notary who signed it is legitimate. The specific department may vary by autonomous community, but it’s typically the local High Court of Justice (Tribunal Superior de Justicia) or an authorized body of the Ministry of Justice. They will attach an additional certification page with a seal to your notarized document. The time required for this step can vary; sometimes it’s done on the spot, while other times it might take a few days.
Step 3: Legalization by the Chinese Consulate
The final and most crucial step is to submit the document, now authenticated by the Spanish judicial authority, to the Chinese Consulate in your consular district for final legalization. Currently, the legalization services for the consulates in Madrid and Barcelona are mostly outsourced to the Chinese Visa Application Service Center. You’ll need to book an appointment on the visa center’s website in advance and submit all your documents on time. After they review everything and confirm it’s correct, they will accept the documents and notify you to pick them up after a few business days. Only then is the entire ‘double legalization’ process complete. When I did this in Madrid, it took about a week to get the final document.
The whole process isn’t complicated, but each step depends on the previous one, so you need to allow sufficient time. I highly recommend that before you start, you confirm the specific requirements for the power of attorney with the receiving party in China to avoid wasting your efforts on a document with incorrect content. Below is a simple checklist of documents and estimated times that I’ve put together for your reference:
| Step | Key Documents Required | Estimated Time |
|---|
| 1. Spanish Notarization | Original Passport/NIE, Draft of Power of Attorney | 1 business day |
| 2. Spanish Judicial Authentication | Notarized Power of Attorney | 1-3 business days |
| 3. Chinese Consular Legalization | Photocopy of Passport/NIE, Application Form, Original Power of Attorney (with previous two authentications) | 4-7 business days |
I hope my experience is helpful! If anything is unclear, feel free to leave a comment below to discuss. Let’s exchange information. Wishing everyone a smooth life in Spain!
