One missing page can change an application.

What happened

A US national applied in Spain for an initial residence authorization as an international teleworker. One of the points she needed to establish was that the foreign company behind her professional relationship had been carrying on real and continuous activity for at least one year.

The company certificate originally submitted contained only page 1 of 2. The missing page contained the company's incorporation date. There was also a problem with the apostille: the authority or signature certified by the apostille did not correspond correctly to the public document that needed to be proved.

The administration requested properly apostilled and translated official company evidence. The applicant responded, but the same incomplete certificate was initially supplied again. A new certificate showing the incorporation date and carrying the appropriate apostille was later obtained. By then, however, the procedural moment for supplying the required evidence had passed.

What the court decided

The Madrid High Court upheld the refusal. The judgment makes clear that the later existence of correct evidence did not automatically undo the failure to provide the required document correctly during the original procedure. The court also noted that a new application could be made with the complete evidence.

The legal lesson

A fact can be true and still not be proved properly.

Immigration applications are not only about meeting the substantive requirements. They are also about proving those requirements with the right document, the right authentication, the right translation and at the right procedural moment.