There are two types of student visa: up to 180 days and from 180 days to a year. The maximum period of study visa is 1 year, but it can be extended several times without leaving Spain. And after a year of study it is possible to modify the student visa into a working residence.
You can apply for a student visa directly in Spain, being in the country on a tourist visa.
What you need for this:
For a stay of more than 30 days in the Schengen area. That is, if you have been issued a visa for 25 days with an expiry date in two months, such a visa is not suitable. But a visa for 90 days per half-year is ideal.
If you are only planning to apply for a tourist visa, we recommend that you add a short Spanish language course of 8 to 12 weeks to your application package - this will give you a much better chance of getting a visa for 30 days or more.
You can only apply for a Schengen visa in your country of citizenship or residence permit.
To confirm your arrival in Spain, your passport must be stamped with a Spanish border crossing stamp. If the first Schengen country is not Spain, you must declare your arrival (declaración de entrada en el territorio español) within 72 hours after crossing the border (preferably by plane). This is done at the National Police at El Prat Airport, where you must come with your passport and boarding passes.
You must have at least 30 days left before applying for a student visa out of a possible 45/60/90 days.
It is advisable to have a certificate of no criminal record with an apostille or order it with a power of attorney before coming to Spain. If this is not the case, this certificate can be ordered at the Consulate General of your country in Barcelona or Madrid.
The certificate is issued within 15 working days. The certificate must be translated by a sworn translator. The cost of such translation is 50 euros.
Scan of all pages of the passport with the entry stamp and tourist visa, if the visa and the stamp are in different passports or one passport is expiring but there is a new one - pages of both passports.
All boarding and qr codes on entry to Spain, in case there is no Spanish entry stamp.
Non-conviction certificate + apostille + certified translation.
The medical certificate on the official form. Available from Spanish clinics at a cost of €30-35.
Registration and payment for an Intensive Spanish course of 20 hours a week (4 hours a day from Monday to Friday). It is compulsory for the school to be accredited by Instituto Cervantes, and FreeDa is accredited.
Spanish bank statement. Proof of financial reliability cover all expenses while the applicant is in Spain and expenses to return to their country and, when is applicable, those expenses of their families, according to the following amounts: The sufficient sum is calculated from a minimum of 600,00€ per month. So the sum on bank account should be calculated following the period of stay. For the support of your dependent family members: for the first family member, 75% of the IPREM (Indicador Público de Renta de Efectos Múltiples), which this year (2023) amounts to €450.00 per month. For each of the other persons, 50% of the IPREM (Indicador Público de Renta de Efectos Múltiples), which this year (2023) amounts to €300.00.
Spanish health insurance with full coverage (sin copagos y sin carencia).
It is recommended that you take out ASSSA. Annual health insurance will cost between 500 and 650 euros.
To enrol in the course, you must fill in the following form and attach the home page of your passport: https://freedaspace.com/anketa/. If you already have a level of Spanish, you can join the group on any Monday of the month. If you are starting from scratch, the beginners' course starts on the first Monday of each month.
If you need a renewable visa and are interested in obtaining a student card (TIE), we recommend taking an annual course (see course prices).
You can submit the application yourself or electronically with the help of an immigration lawyer. The cost of our lawyer's services is 350€.
Important! Only adults who are applicants and future students can change their tourist status to a student visa from Spain.
Minor children can obtain residence on the basis of enrolment in a public school. In other cases, by submitting documents from the country of citizenship or temporary/permanent residence.
Fill out the form and we will contact you to discuss any questions you may have.
All of our teachers are native speakers and speak to students only in Spanish. This is hard for beginners to believe at first, but years of work have shown that it is real and brings results.
In class, the instructors structure their communication in such a way that students intuitively understand what is being said to them. Gradually they get involved in the process, catch what the instructor means more quickly, and begin to perceive live speech more confidently.
Of course, the teacher can always help and explain nuances in English, but only when necessary. The immersion in Spanish from the first meeting encourages students to adapt quickly and speeds up the learning process, so over time, the use of English becomes less and less frequent.
