# Spain's student visa > Page: https://www.usebooka.com/en/tramites/espana/visado-de-estudios > Last reviewed: 2026-09-14 Spain's national student visa lets adults take higher-education courses longer than 90 days. It is requested at the consulate in your country of residence, at least 2 months before the course starts, and under the current regulation the authorisation covers the full duration of the studies. If the stay exceeds 6 months, you must request the TIE card within 1 month of arrival. Every consulate adds its own nuances: your file is prepared against the checklist of your specific consulate, not a generic one. - **Booka fee:** €550 - **Official fees:** Consular visa fee: varies by country and is detailed in your case file. Paid directly to the consulate. - **Where to apply:** Applied for at the consulate in your country of residence. Requested at the consulate in your country of residence, at least 2 months before the course starts. - The authorisation covers the full duration of your studies, and the visa needs only 2 months' minimum lead time. ## At a glance | | | | --- | --- | | What it is | Spain's national visa for higher-education courses longer than 90 days. | | Who can apply | Adults admitted to an authorised institution. (If the student is a minor travelling within an exchange programme, the route is the student mobility visa.) | | Where you apply | At the Spanish consulate for the place where you live, and you must evidence residence in that consular district. | | Minimum lead time | 2 months before the course starts, save justified cause. (That is the rule. Appointment dates and processing are set by each consulate.) | | Official form | The national visa application form of your consulate. | | Length | Under the current regulation the authorisation covers the full duration of the studies. | | Can you work? | It allows up to 30 hours of work a week, compatible with your studies (art. 57.2, RD 1155/2024). | | Government fee | Consular visa fee, which varies by country and reciprocity. (Paid directly to the consulate; the amount is detailed in your case file, not published here.) | ## Who it is for **This is your procedure if:** - You are over 18 and hold an admission letter from an authorised institution in Spain. - You currently live outside Spain and can evidence residence in that consular district. - The course lasts longer than 90 days and starts at least 2 months from now. - You can evidence funds for the period and take out health insurance valid in Spain. **This is not your procedure if:** - You are already in Spain on a regular stay: the in-country student stay authorisation is requested from here, without returning home. - You are in Spain without a permit: this visa is applied for at the consulate in your country of residence and does not resolve your situation here. - The course lasts 90 days or less: that is not a national student visa. - The student is a minor joining an exchange programme: that route is the student mobility visa. If you are already in Spain, see the in-country student stay: https://www.usebooka.com/en/tramites/espana/estancia-por-estudios ## Requirements - **Admission letter from an authorised institution.** This is the piece the whole file is built on: no admission, no visa to request. It must come from an institution authorised to deliver those studies and state the programme and its dates, because those dates drive both the lead time for filing and the length requested. - **Filing at least 2 months in advance.** The rule requires the visa to be filed at least 2 months before the course starts, save justified cause. It is the figure worth checking on day one: consular appointments are not always available when you want them, and a course starting in six weeks leaves very little room. - **Funds for the period.** You evidence sufficient means referenced to Spain's public income index, and the amount depends on the length of the course and on whether family travels with you. Evidence means verifiable documents — bank certificates, scholarships, the income of whoever supports you — not an unbacked letter of support. - **Health insurance valid in Spain.** Cover for the whole stay, on the terms your consulate requires. An ordinary travel policy with low limits or co-payments is frequently rejected, so it is reviewed before you buy it, not after. - **Criminal record and medical certificate for stays over 6 months.** Stays longer than 6 months usually require criminal record certificates from the countries where you have lived plus a medical certificate. Both expire quickly and need translation and legalisation, so they are requested once the rest of the file is assembled. - **Residence in the consular district.** The visa is handled by the Spanish consulate covering where you live, and that is evidenced by document. Filing at the wrong consulate is not a formality: the application is simply not accepted. ## Documents **Solicitante** - Formulario de solicitud de visado nacional - Pasaporte: página de datos biométricos - Fotografía - Carta de admisión - Medios económicos - Seguro médico - Documento acreditativo de residencia en la demarcación consular - Justificante del pago de la matrícula (optional) - Certificado de antecedentes penales (optional) - Certificado médico (optional) **Familiares (si procede)** - Pasaporte completo (optional) - Certificado de matrimonio o pareja de hecho (optional) - Certificado de nacimiento (optional) - Certificado de antecedentes penales (optional) ## Stages of the file 1. **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. 2. **Internal review.** The team reviews the complete file before filing. This is the step that prevents it from being returned. 3. **Official fees.** Government fees are paid directly to the administration, with the receipt stored in your case file. 4. **Filing.** The application is registered with the competent authority. You see the date and the receipt in your file. 5. **Decision.** The authority decides and notifies, with the next steps explained inside your case file. ## Timelines | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | Admission and enrolment | Set by the institution's calendar | Without an admission letter the file cannot start. | | Gathering documents at home | 2 to 6 weeks | Criminal records, medical certificate, translations and legalisation depend on your country. | | Review and file preparation | A few days | Prepared against your specific consulate's checklist, not a generic one. | | Filing at the consulate | At least 2 months before the course starts | That is the legal lead time. Appointment availability is set by each consulate and is not ours to control. | | Consular decision | Varies by consulate | We do not publish consular timelines because they are not uniform: the decision and its timing belong to the consulate. | | TIE card after arrival | 1 month from entry if the stay exceeds 6 months | A legal deadline. It sits as a stage of your case file, with its appointment and fee. | There are two clocks here and only one is ours. The legal one — 2 months' minimum lead time, 1 month for the TIE — can be planned, and is. The consular one, both appointment and decision, varies by country and is outside anyone's control on this side, which is why we do not promise it. ## Common mistakes - **Starting with less than 2 months to spare** — The minimum lead time is a legal requirement, and on top of it sits each consulate's appointment and processing time. The course starts and the visa has not arrived. - **Using a generic document checklist found online** — Every consulate adds its own rules on format, legalisation and number of copies. Filing against a universal list is the most common road to a second appointment. - **Health insurance that does not meet the required conditions** — Travel policies with co-payments or capped cover are often rejected. Fixing it means buying again and filing again. - **Evidencing funds with a one-off balance of unclear origin** — A large recent deposit with no explanation raises more doubts than it settles. Funds are evidenced with documents showing origin and continuity. - **Foreign documents without sworn translation or apostille** — They count as not submitted. It is the most frequent correction request, and the most avoidable if planned from day one. - **Forgetting the TIE card on arrival** — If the stay exceeds 6 months you have 1 month from entry to request it. Letting it slip complicates your stay right when the course has just begun. ## Next With the visa and after entering Spain, a stay over 6 months means requesting the TIE card within 1 month. When the studies end and you have a job offer, the student-to-work modification lets you stay without leaving the country, if you meet the requirements.: https://www.usebooka.com/en/tramites/espana/modificacion-estudios-a-trabajo ## FAQ **Do I apply from my country or from Spain?** This visa is requested at the consulate in your country of residence. If you are already in Spain on a regular stay, your route may be the in-country student stay authorisation instead, priced on its own page — we tell you which applies before opening anything. **How much money do I need to show?** Sufficient means referenced to Spain's public income index (IPREM). The exact figure depends on the course length and whether family travels with you: we give it to you referenced to the current year when reviewing your case. **Every consulate asks for different things. How do you handle that?** True — which is why your file is prepared against your specific consulate's checklist, not a generic one. That is the difference between filing once and filing twice. **What do I do on arrival in Spain?** If your stay exceeds 6 months, request the TIE card within 1 month of entry. It sits as a stage of your case file, with its appointment and fee, so it cannot slip. **How far in advance do I need to apply?** The rule requires filing at least 2 months before the course starts, save justified cause. On top of that sits your consulate's appointment availability, which varies by country — which is why the file starts the moment you have an admission letter, not when the date gets close. **Can I work while studying in Spain?** The student authorisation allows up to 30 hours of work a week, compatible with your studies (art. 57.2, RD 1155/2024), and exceeding that ceiling is grounds for the permit to be extinguished. It is not an ordinary work permit and does not replace one: if your real plan is full-time work, the route is a different one. **How long does the authorisation last?** Under the current regulation it is granted for the full duration of the studies rather than year by year. That means fewer renewals, but it makes accurate programme dates more important from the outset. **Can my family travel with me?** The file allows for documentation of family members travelling with you, and in that case the funds required increase. We review it when the case opens, because it changes the whole financial evidence, not just one document. **What if the consulate refuses the visa?** The decision rests with the consulate and nobody can guarantee it. If a refusal arrives, we explain the specific reason and the options — appeal or a new application — which are separate procedures with their own cost. **I am under 18. Is this my visa?** If you are a minor joining an exchange programme or educational project at a recognised centre, the route is the student mobility visa, filed by whoever holds parental authority or guardianship. We tell you which one applies before anything opens. **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. ## Official source Official source: the Spanish consulate's national visa page (exteriores.gob.es) and information sheet 1, Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.: https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/migraciones/hojas-informativas ## What the fee includes Document review, case preparation, filing and follow-up until the decision. ## Notice 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.