Spain Student Visa: Steps & Application Requirements

• U.S. citizens studying in Spain on Semester or Academic Year-long programs that last longer than 90 days are required by Spanish law to obtain a student visa.
• Winter Term and Summer Term students who are U.S. citizens do not need a visa.
• Students who are not U.S. citizens should contact the Spanish embassy in their country of residence about visa requirements, no matter how long the program is that they plan to attend.

Academic Year students will need to take additional steps: 

Students studying in Spain for the Academic Year (programs over 180 days long) must get a head start on their visa applications. All Spanish consulates now require a medical certificate and a background check with Spanish translations and Apostille authentication for students staying in Spain longer than 6 months. Police Criminal Record clearance must be verified by fingerprints. It cannot be older than 3 months from the application date. You must get a police record from the countries you have lived during the past 5 years.

A U.S. Criminal Record must be either from:

a) The Department of Justice of the State where you have lived in the past 5 years. It must be legalized with the “Apostille of the Hague Convention” from your corresponding Secretary of the State. Please visit your state’s website to find instructions on how to request both a background check and the Apostille authentication from your Secretary of State.

b) The FBI Records for International purposes, issued by the U.S. Department of Justice. It must be legalized with the “Apostille of the Hague Convention” from the U.S. Department of State. Learn how to obtain the FBI background check here. The FBI background check can take over 12 weeks to be processed, so please apply early! To reduce the processing time, it is highly recommended to submit your request for an FBI background check either electronically or through an FBI-Approved Channeler. See the link above for instructions on these options. For information on how to obtain the Apostille authentication for your FBI background check, please go here.

For documents issued by a state authority (option A), the Apostille authentication must be done by the Secretary of State of your state. If the document has been issued by a federal authority (option B), the Apostille must be from the U.S. Department of State.

• For U.S. citizens, you must apply for your visa at the Consulate of Spain located your jurisdiction of the U.S.  Check the Visa Handbook to see which consulate you should use.
• Some Spanish consulates allow students who attend a college or university in their jurisdiction to apply there even if the student’s permanent address is in a different consulate’s jurisdiction. However, you should always check with the consulate directly, as policies change and do vary from consulate to consulate.

Once accepted into your SSA program, you should contact the consulate in your jurisdiction immediately to research the student visa application procedure specific to your consulate. Spanish consulates impose tight time restrictions on the student visa process, so plan ahead!

• If your consulate requires that you schedule an appointment to apply for your visa, you must do so right away! Aim to have your appointment scheduled no later than 7-10 weeks before the start of your program. Students who wait to schedule their appointments will find that there are none left!
• If your consulate does not require that you schedule an appointment, you should apply for your visa no later than 7-10 weeks before the start of the program.
• An FBI background check or state background check may be required for Academic Year students or those staying in Spain for over six months. Please check the visa requirements for your Spanish consulate to see if this background check will be required, and allow ample time for its completion.

• Some Spanish consulates do not require you to schedule an appointment to apply for your visa. Check the website of the consulate you will visit to determine if you need to schedule an appointment ahead of time.
• If your permanent residency is in the Spain Consulate General of New York’s jurisdiction (CT, NY, PA, DE, NY), then you will be required to be represented by SSA via a batch service appointment. Please contact us for information regarding this service at [email protected]. 

• In your SSA Visa Handbook there is a page entitled “Line-by-Line Instructions for the National Visa Application.” You may use this as a guide to fill out the form.
• Keep in mind that you should ALWAYS follow the instructions given to you by your specific consulate over anything you are told by another person or by SSA.

• The consulate’s requirement for “proof of financial means” may be fulfilled in several ways. One option is to provide an original copy of the Letter to the Visa Officer from SSA. The Visa Letter states that you, the student, have paid all your fees.
• Be sure to check the consulate’s website for specific guidelines on how to meet this requirement!

• The combination of the Visa Letter from SSA and the copy of your program health insurance information (CISI Letter) will suffice as “proof of health insurance.” 
• Make sure your name and the dates of the program appear on your CISI form. Some consulates will not accept the form without this information.

• Copy of Health Insurance Information
• ORIGINAL copy of your SSA Acceptance Letter
• ORIGINAL copy of Letter to Visa Officer from SSA
• You will need to check the Student Visa instructions on your consulate’s website for a specific list of items to take to your appointment.

• No, you need to apply for a student visa using the National Visa Application. If your visa application is accepted by the consulate, you will receive a short-term visa to start your program. Then, during your first semester in Spain, SSA staff will explain how to go about extending your visa for the full academic year.
• Keep in mind that students who plan to be in Spain for more than 180 days must fulfill additional requirements, as part of the Student Visa application. Be sure to check your consulate’s website for more information.

• Try to find the answers to your questions on the consulate website, but, if you are an SSA student, do not hesitate to contact us by telephone at (413) 256-0011 or by email at [email protected] with any questions you have. We are happy to help!