Spain's student stay permit for €440, fully online.
If you are in Spain on a valid stay, the higher-education study authorisation can be requested without returning to your country. The whole case, online.
Spain's student stay permit for €440, fully online.
Spain's student stay permit: Long-stay authorisation for higher education (art. 52 of the Immigration Regulation). Adults admitted to a degree, master's, doctorate, higher vocational training or higher artistic studies. Booka's fee is €440, plus the official fee of 10,94 €. Applied for from within Spain.
The student stay authorisation for higher education (form EX-00, art. 52 of the Immigration Regulation) covers degrees, master's, doctorates, higher vocational training and higher artistic studies. Under the current regulation it is granted for the full duration of the studies — no more year-by-year renewals — and it strengthens the option of applying from within Spain while in a regular situation.
It also allows up to 30 hours of work a week, compatible with your studies (art. 57.2, RD 1155/2024), without your employer processing a separate authorisation. Exceeding that limit is grounds for the permit to be revoked.
Updated on · Rule: RD 1155/2024 · Source: boe.es
Spain's student stay permit: The facts that decide your case.
- What it is
- Long-stay authorisation for higher education (art. 52 of the Immigration Regulation).
- Who can apply
- Adults admitted to a degree, master's, doctorate, higher vocational training or higher artistic studies.As a general rule; the institution must be authorised to deliver those studies.
- Where you apply
- Can be requested from within Spain if you are in a regular stay situation.If your route is the consular visa instead, we spot it in the initial review.
- Official form
- EX-00, application for a stay authorisation and extensions.
- Can you work?
- Yes, up to 30 hours a week and compatible with your studies (art. 57.2, RD 1155/2024).With no separate authorisation for your employer to process. Going over 30 hours revokes the permit.
- Length of the permit
- For the full duration of the studies you are admitted to: no more year-by-year renewals.
- The documents that decide
- Admission letter from the institution, evidenced financial means and health insurance.
- Government fee
- The procedure's official fee, separate from professional fees.Paid directly to the administration and detailed in your case file.
Spain's student stay permit: Who it is for — and who it is not.
This is your procedure if…
- You hold an admission letter from an institution authorised for higher education in Spain.
- You are in Spain in a regular stay situation and still within its validity.
- You can evidence financial means for the study period with a bank certificate.
- You have, or can take out, health insurance covering you in Spain for the whole stay.
This is not your procedure if…
- You still live in your country and have not travelled yet: your route is the consular student visa.
- Your regular stay in Spain has already expired, or expires before you could file.
- The student is a minor on a school exchange programme.
- You have finished your studies and hold a job offer: yours is the modification, not a new student stay.
Is this really your procedure?
If you are torn between routes, answer them before hiring anything. Twelve questions, three minutes, and we tell you which ones fit your case, what you are missing for each, and what puts it at risk. It comes off the price if you then hire the full service.
Spain's student stay permit if you come from Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Argentina or Cuba
The student stay permit is processed in Spain, but the file carries documents from your country: the apostilled admission letter or academic transcript and, if the stay exceeds 6 months, the criminal record certificate from the body in the table, apostilled or legalised at MINREX if you are Cuban, with a sworn translation if not in Spanish.
| Country | Apostille or legalisation | Consulate of Spain | Criminal record certificate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | Colombia apostilles online at the Cancillería (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Colombian degrees are first legalised, free and online, at the Ministry of National Education. | Consulate General of Spain in Bogotá | Colombia's certificate of judicial records (antecedentes judiciales) is issued by the National Police and apostilled online by the Cancillería as a digital document. |
| Venezuela | Venezuela apostilles at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MPPRE), by appointment, with an electronic apostille for many documents. Venezuelan degrees first go through the Ministry of University Education. | Consulate General of Spain in Caracas | Venezuela's criminal record certificate is issued online by the Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace, valid for 3 months, and apostilled by the MPPRE. |
| Argentina | Argentina apostilles at the Foreign Ministry (TAD platform, digitally signed documents) or at any Colegio de Escribanos (notaries). Argentine degrees are first legalised at the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Health. | Consulates General of Spain in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza, Rosario and Bahía Blanca, depending on the province | Argentina's criminal record certificate is issued online by the Registro Nacional de Reincidencia, valid for 90 days, and apostilled via TAD or at a Colegio de Escribanos. |
| Mexico | Mexico has a dual apostille system: federal documents are apostilled by the Secretaría de Gobernación (SEGOB) and state documents by each state's Secretaría General de Gobierno. Mexican consulates do not apostille. | Consulates General of Spain in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, depending on the state | Mexico issues the federal criminal record certificate (SSPC, online, with SEGOB electronic apostille) and the state certificate of no criminal record; check with the Spanish consulate which one it requires. |
| Peru | Peru apostilles at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, online or in person in Lima. Peruvian degrees must be registered with SUNEDU before the apostille. | Consulate General of Spain in Lima | Peru's criminal record certificate is issued electronically by the Judiciary (Poder Judicial), valid for 90 days, and apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. |
| Cuba | Cuba is not party to the Hague Convention, so there is no Cuban apostille: Cuban documents are legalised at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) and, when the Spanish authority requires it, at the Consulate General of Spain in Havana. | Consulate General of Spain in Havana | Cuba's criminal record certification is issued by the Ministry of Justice and legalised by MINREX; it is the slowest document in a Cuban file, so it is requested first. |
| Ecuador | Ecuador apostilles online at the Cancillería, with no appointment, and the apostille arrives by email. An Ecuadorian degree must be registered with SENESCYT before it is apostilled. | Consulates General of Spain in Quito and Guayaquil | Ecuador's criminal record certificate is issued online and free by the Ministry of the Interior, valid for 90 days, and apostilled online by the Cancillería. |
| Chile | Chile's apostille is decentralised: the Civil Registry apostilles its certificates online, higher-education degrees are legalised and apostilled at Ayuda Mineduc and all other documents at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. | Consulate General of Spain in Santiago de Chile | Chile's certificate of criminal record for private purposes is issued by the Civil Registry with ClaveÚnica and apostilled online in the same request. |
Common to all eight countries
- Nationals of Ibero-American countries can apply for Spanish citizenship after 2 years of legal residence (article 22 of the Spanish Civil Code), instead of the general 10 years.
- Criminal record and civil certificates are usually required to be less than 3 months old when filed, and every document not in Spanish needs a sworn translation (traducción jurada) in addition to the apostille or legalisation.
Consular pages at exteriores.gob.es and the Hague Conference status table, checked 4 October 2026.
Spain's student stay permit: What you have to prove.
Admission to an authorised institution
The admission letter is the piece the whole file is built on: it evidences what you will study, where and for how long, and the length granted follows from it. The institution must be authorised to deliver those studies, so it is worth confirming before you pay tuition rather than after.
Requirement 1 of 6Being in a regular stay situation when you apply
The current regulation strengthens the option of applying without leaving Spain, but conditions it on your situation being regular and the deadlines being respected. It is not an open door for anyone who happens to be here: it is a window with conditions. We check it before opening the case, and if your real route is the consular visa we say so then.
Requirement 2 of 6Financial means for the study period
Evidenced with a bank certificate and, in some cases, documentation on the origin of the funds. The reference is the current IPREM index, so the amount moves with it and we give it to you referenced to the current year. If the funds belong to someone else — family, scholarship, sponsor — that backing has to be evidenced too, and that is where cases get complicated.
Requirement 3 of 6Health insurance valid in Spain
It must cover the entire stay applied for, not just the first year. Short-term travel policies do not qualify, and replacing one later means a correction request. We review the specific policy before filing, because what is examined is the detail of the cover, not the insurer's name.
Requirement 4 of 6Criminal record and medical certificate for stays over 6 months
Both are required for long stays, with the legalisation or apostille the issuing country requires. They expire quickly, so they are requested once the rest of the file is on track: asking too early means asking twice.
Requirement 5 of 6A complete, valid passport
Provided in full, not just the photo page, and valid for long enough to cover the stay applied for. A passport close to expiry does not prevent filing, but it caps the length granted and complicates the steps that follow.
Requirement 6 of 6Does your case fit?
Tick what applies to you. Nothing is sent and we ask for no personal data: the result is only for you.
This is guidance, not a decision: approval depends on the administration and on the complete file.
Spain's student stay permit: the documents you need.
This is the checklist. If one is missing, the file is not submitted — and that is precisely what keeps it from being returned.
Solicitante· 11
Familiares (si procede)· 4
Official source: information sheet 1, Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, and articles 52 and 57 of RD 1155/2024. boe.es
Spain's student stay permit: Who prepares and who files your case.
Two teams, one file. Booka prepares and checks your documents; Booka Legal (our in-house legal team, supported by external lawyers) reviews the case and files it as your representative.
- Booka prepares
- We ask for your documents, tell you what is missing or will not be accepted, and build the file in your online case file. 100 % online.
- Booka Legal files
- Booka Legal reviews the complete file and files it as your representative on the Mercurio platform of the Public Administrations e-office, with its digital certificate. You need no certificate or Cl@ve.
- If there is a request or a refusal
- Booka Legal can answer a request for more documents or appeal a refusal. The appeal is included in the price. No firm can guarantee the outcome: the administration decides.
- Price
- A fixed fee of €440, published on this page. Official government fees are paid separately to the administration.
- Follow-up
- Notices from the Immigration Office arrive through DEHú (also visible in Carpeta Ciudadana) and you see them in your case file.
€440, and you know it before you commit.
Document review, case preparation, filing and follow-up until the decision.
Fee 790-052, heading 1.1.1: €10.94 for the initial permit and €17.49 for an extension (Order PJC/617/2025, in force as of September 2026).
on signing, to open your case and start reviewing your documents.
when we file your application with the administration.
No interest, no surcharge: it is the same price, split. You request it from your case file and someone from the team confirms it within 24 working hours.
There is no paid consultation to find out the price, and no custom quote. This is the price, and it is published.
Almost nobody publishes the price.
Of the digital immigration firms we reviewed in September 2026, only one publishes a price and lets you hire online. The rest ask you to call, or to pay for a consultation before telling you what the procedure costs.
Fixed price, published before you commit. Official fees are separate in both cases.
Spain's student stay permit: Booka, a gestoría, a lawyer or on your own
The same application can go four ways. What changes is the price, whether you have to go in person and who checks the file before it reaches the administration.
Booka
- Price
- €440 in fees
- Online?
- Yes, end to end, without travelling to file
- Who reviews the file
- Booka's team, then Booka Legal, before filing
- Official fee included
- No, paid apart (10,94 €)
Traditional gestoría
- Price
- Variable quote, depends on the firm
- Online?
- Depends on the firm; often requires an in-person appointment
- Who reviews the file
- The gestor handling the case
- Official fee included
- Depends on the quote
Immigration lawyer
- Price
- Variable quote, depends on the firm
- Online?
- Depends on the firm; often requires an in-person appointment
- Who reviews the file
- The lawyer
- Official fee included
- Depends on the quote
On your own
- Price
- Only the official fee: 10,94 €
- Online?
- Depends on the procedure: online portal or in person
- Who reviews the file
- Nobody: you check it yourself
- Official fee included
- You pay it directly
Fully online, and you always know where it stands.
No office to visit, no phone calls and no waiting for someone to tell you where your case is: you can see it yourself, whenever you want.
From wherever you are
You open your case and upload documents from your phone, with no office visits. This procedure is filed from within Spain, and the rest of the process happens from home.
Stage by stage, nothing missed
You see which stage your case is in, which document is missing and which one is already reviewed. Every change is logged with its date, so you never depend on a callback to know how it is going.
Your questions, with the people handling your case
You ask from inside your own case file and the immigration team handling it answers — not a WhatsApp number that can stop replying. Every action is written down, with a name on it.
Nothing is filed half-done
The file is not submitted until it is complete: that is what keeps it from being returned, and what saves the most months. Once filed, the official receipt appears inside your account.
- Professionals on Booka
- 107,000+
- App rating
- 4.8 / 5
- Support
- 24/7
Granted for the full duration of your studies: no more year-by-year renewals.
Spain's student stay permit: 5 stages, and you see which one you are in.
Document collection
You upload your documents to the portal. We tell you what is missing and what will not be accepted before any clock starts.
Stage 1 of 5Internal review
The team reviews the complete file before filing. This is the step that prevents it from being returned.
Stage 2 of 5Official fees
Government fees are paid directly to the administration, with the receipt stored in your case file.
Stage 3 of 5Filing
Booka Legal, as your representative, files the application on the Mercurio platform of the Public Administrations e-office, with a digital certificate. You need no certificate or Cl@ve. You see the date and the receipt in your case file.
Stage 4 of 5Decision
The Immigration Office decides and notifies through DEHú (also visible in Carpeta Ciudadana). The next steps towards the TIE card are explained in your case file.
Stage 5 of 5Spain's student stay permit: How long it really takes.
| Step | How long |
|---|---|
| Admission and enrolment | Set by the institution's calendarIt sets the real deadline of the case: no admission letter, no application. |
| Gathering the documents | 2 to 5 weeksSet by the bank certificate, the insurance policy and, where they apply, criminal records from your country. |
| Review and case preparation | A few daysThe file is not submitted until it is complete. |
| Filing | While your regular stay is still validThis is the deadline that governs: filing late closes the route from within Spain. |
| Decision by the administration | Depends on the competent officeThe decision rests solely with the administration; we publish no forecasts. |
| TIE card, for stays over 6 months | After a favourable decisionFingerprint appointment and fee separately, with the authorisation already granted. |
The administration's timelines are nobody else's to promise, and pretending otherwise would be a lie. What is in our hands is everything before: filing while your stay is still valid and with a complete file, which is where most of the months are lost.
Spain's student stay permit: What gets files returned — and how we stop it.
Letting your regular stay expire before filing
What it costs you
The window to apply from within Spain depends on your situation staying regular. If it expires before you file, the route closes and the case has to be studied from the consulate instead.
Enrolling at an institution not authorised for higher education
What it costs you
The admission does not work for this authorisation, and the tuition is already paid. This is checked before enrolling — the only moment when checking it changes anything.
Submitting travel insurance instead of full health cover
What it costs you
Short-term travel cover does not meet the requirement and a correction request follows. Taking out the right policy from the start costs the same and does not stall the file.
Evidencing third-party funds without documenting the backing
What it costs you
A balance that is not yours, with no evidence of who supports it and why, is assessed as means not evidenced. It is among the most common grounds for refusal in student cases.
Criminal record or medical certificate expired at filing
What it costs you
They arrive with short validity. Requesting them at the start and filing months later means requesting them again, with the apostille all over and the course already starting.
Signing a contract for more than 30 hours a week
What it costs you
Art. 57.2 of RD 1155/2024 sets that ceiling and makes breaching it grounds for the stay permit to be extinguished. It is not a minor irregularity: you lose the permit, not just the contract.
Spain's student stay permit: the questions we get most.
Where can I apply for a student stay permit in Spain?
Online, on the Mercurio platform of the Public Administrations e-office, with a digital certificate or Cl@ve, choosing your province; notices arrive through DEHú. Without a digital certificate, a representative can file it: a lawyer or a gestoría, at a price quoted by each firm, or Booka for a €440 service fee; Booka Legal, our legal team, reviews and files the case. Government fees are paid separately.
Can I apply for the student permit from inside Spain?
The rules allow it if you are in a regular stay situation and within the deadlines. We check it before opening the case: if your route is the consular visa instead, we tell you.
How many hours can I work as a student?
Up to 30 hours a week, compatible with your studies and with no separate employer authorisation (art. 57.2, RD 1155/2024). Going over those 30 hours is grounds for the stay permit to be extinguished, so the contract is checked before it is signed.
Can my family join me?
The case file includes family members as an optional block (passports, marriage or birth certificates). Whether they fit depends on your specific case, confirmed in the initial review.
What happens when I finish my studies?
With your degree and a job offer, the natural next step is the student-to-work modification, also requested without leaving Spain. It is the continuation of this same path.
How long is the permit granted for?
For the full duration of the studies you are admitted to — one of the changes brought by the current regulation. Previously it was authorised course by course.
Which studies qualify for this authorisation?
Degrees, master's, doctorates, higher vocational training and higher artistic studies, always at an institution authorised to deliver them. A standalone language course or unaccredited training does not fit this route, and it is worth checking before paying tuition.
How much money do I have to prove?
The reference is the current IPREM index and the amount depends on how long your studies last, so the figure changes every year. When we review your case we give you the one that applies, referenced to the current year rather than carried over from an old one.
Does my university's health insurance count?
It depends on the policy's actual cover, not on who offers it. It must cover the whole stay applied for, and a short-term travel policy is not enough. We review the policy before filing, because replacing it later means a correction request.
Do I need a TIE card?
If the authorised stay exceeds 6 months, yes: it is requested in Spain, with a fingerprint appointment and a separate fee, once the authorisation is granted. For shorter stays it does not apply.
What if my application is refused?
The decision rests solely with the administration and nobody can guarantee it. If a refusal arrives, we explain the specific ground and what options exist — appeal or a fresh application — which are separate procedures with their own cost.
Can I pay in two instalments?
Yes, with no interest or surcharge: the total is identical either way. The first half opens your case and starts the document review; the second is paid when we file your application — if we have not filed, you do not pay it. You request it from your case file and someone from the team confirms it within 24 working hours.
Are official government fees included?
No: Booka's fee covers review, preparation, filing and follow-up. Government fees are paid directly to the administration, and we tell you which ones apply and when inside your case file.
How do I know this is not a scam?
Three things you can check: the price is published before you pay, payment is online with an invoice, and the second half is only charged once your application has been filed, with the official registry receipt visible in your case file. No informal intermediary gives you those three proofs.
Spain's student stay permit as a doctor or nurse: your degree too.
The permit is one thing; practising is another. A foreign doctor, nurse or dentist also needs the degree recognised (homologación) and professional registration. Bookahospi, Booka's healthcare vertical, handles the recognition before the Ministry and wrote a step-by-step guide to this procedure for healthcare professionals.
Once granted, the authorisation covers the full duration of your studies, so the next procedure does not arrive until you finish. With your degree and a job offer, the natural continuation is the student-to-work modification, also requested without leaving Spain.
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Booka's fees cover the professional handling of your application only and do not include official government fees, which are paid separately to the relevant authority. Approval of any permit rests solely with the competent administration and depends on the applicant meeting all legal requirements. The information on this page is for guidance only, may change as regulations evolve, and does not constitute individual legal advice.