Criminal lawyer for foreigners in Alicante

Foreigners facing criminal justice in Alicante and on the Costa Blanca

Alicante and the Costa Blanca are home to residents of many nationalities and to tourists who arrive all year round. When one of them becomes caught up in a criminal matter, the distress any arrested person feels is compounded by other worries: not understanding the language, not knowing the Spanish system, having a return flight in a few days or fearing for their residence permit.

The most common situations are:

• Arrests during holidays for fights, theft, criminal damage or drink-driving.
• Arrests at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández airport, on entering or leaving Spain, because of a search notice, a European arrest warrant or something found in the luggage.
• Foreign residents under investigation or convicted who fear losing their residence or being expelled.
• Nationals wanted by the courts of their own country.

Our team will assist you in your language: English, French, German, Dutch, Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Albanian, Arabic and Chinese, including through our website in those languages. Your family can contact us from their country and explain the case to us without intermediaries.

Your rights if you are arrested in Spain

A foreign national who is arrested has the same rights as a Spanish national, and some additional ones, set out in Article 520 of the Criminal Procedure Act (Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal):

• Information in your language: you must be informed in writing, in a language you understand, of the acts you are accused of, the reason for your arrest and your rights (Article 520.2).
• A free interpreter if you do not speak or understand Spanish (Article 520.2.h), including for conversations with your lawyer relating to your statement (Article 123).
• Contact with your consulate: your country’s consular office must be informed of your arrest and of where you are being held, and you have the right to communicate with it and to receive visits from it (Article 520.2.e and g, and 520.3). If you have dual nationality, you choose which consulate to notify.
• The right to remain silent and not to incriminate yourself.
• A lawyer of your choice, or a duty lawyer if you do not appoint one. The lawyer must attend within a maximum of three hours of being instructed (Article 520.5).
• Maximum period of detention: 72 hours before you are released or brought before a judge (Article 520.1).

If you are arrested at the airport, also read our guide on what to do if you are arrested at Alicante-Elche airport. And if you need a lawyer right now, call our 24-hour lawyer for arrests service.

A speedy trial while you are on holiday

Many cases involving tourists are dealt with as a speedy trial (juicio rápido): offences punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment, initiated by a police report, where they involve, for example, flagrant offences, theft, robbery or road traffic safety offences (Article 795 LECrim).

A speedy trial allows something very important for anyone who needs to return to their country: a plea agreement at the duty court (conformidad). If the offence is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment or by a fine, the sentence requested, reduced by one third, does not exceed two years’ imprisonment and the other requirements are met, you can accept the charges and the judge gives judgment on the spot, reducing the sentence by one third (Article 801). In many cases the prison sentence can also be suspended, so that you can go home with the matter resolved at the duty court itself.

But a plea agreement is a conviction. It results in a criminal record and, if you are a foreign resident, it may have serious consequences for your immigration position. Don’t accept anything until your lawyer has assessed whether there is a possible defence and what effects the conviction will have in your country and on your residence. We explain this in more detail in our article on what happens when a tourist faces criminal law in Alicante.

Replacing a sentence with expulsion (Article 89 of the Criminal Code)

When a foreign national is sentenced to imprisonment of more than one year, the general rule is to replace it with expulsion from Spanish territory (Article 89.1 of the Criminal Code, Código Penal). The judge may order part of the sentence, not exceeding two thirds, to be served first, and for sentences of more than five years may order all or part of the sentence to be served (Article 89.2).

• Ban on returning: between five and ten years from expulsion (Article 89.5). If you return earlier, you will have to serve the sentence that was replaced (Article 89.7).
• Ties to Spain (arraigo): expulsion does not apply where, given the circumstances of the offence and your personal circumstances, in particular your ties to Spain, it would be disproportionate (Article 89.4). Family, work, years of residence or children in school are key arguments.
• European Union citizens: they can only be expelled if they represent a serious threat to public order or public security, with even stricter requirements if they have lived in Spain for the previous ten years (Article 89.4).

Depending on the case, expulsion may be a welcome way out (going home instead of going to prison) or the worst thing that could happen to you (losing the life you have built here). That is why it must be addressed from the start of the defence: a one-year sentence does not allow replacement by expulsion, whereas a sentence of one year and one day does.

Administrative expulsion because of a criminal record (Article 57.2 LOEX)

Separately from the criminal proceedings, Organic Law 4/2000 on the rights and freedoms of foreign nationals (Ley Orgánica 4/2000 de extranjería, known as LOEX) allows a foreign national to be expelled through administrative proceedings if they have been convicted, in Spain or abroad, of intentional conduct punishable by more than one year’s imprisonment, unless their criminal record has been cancelled (Article 57.2). Expulsion carries an entry ban of up to five years, or up to ten if a serious threat is found (Article 58).

The law provides enhanced protection for certain foreign nationals, such as long-term residents: before they are expelled, account must be taken of how long they have lived in Spain, the ties they have formed, their age and the consequences for them and their family (Article 57.5). This law applies to nationals of countries outside the European Union; EU citizens have their own regime, although the LOEX applies to them insofar as it is more favourable (Article 1.3).

That is why the criminal defence strategy of a foreign resident must always take their residence into account. And once the sentence has been served, it is advisable to have your criminal record cancelled as soon as possible.

European arrest warrant and extradition

If the courts of another European Union country are seeking you, the European arrest and surrender warrant is processed by the National High Court (Audiencia Nacional) under very short time limits: within 72 hours you must be brought before a judge, and within a further 72 hours a hearing is held at which you are asked whether you consent to surrender (Law 23/2014, Ley 23/2014, Articles 50 and 51). If a country outside the Union is seeking you, the Passive Extradition Act (Ley de Extradición Pasiva) applies. We explain this in detail on our page on extradition and the European arrest warrant.

What we do for you

1. We go to the police station or the duty court and assist you in your language through our team and an interpreter.
2. We contact your family and, if you wish, your consulate.
3. We assess whether a plea agreement is advisable or whether you should defend yourself, bearing in mind your return home or your residence in Spain.
4. We apply for suspension of the sentence or oppose expulsion when it is not in your interest, proving your ties to Spain.
5. We continue to handle your case even after you have returned to your country and keep you informed in your language.

Every case is different; after reviewing yours we give you a personalised written quote.