Requesting a Long-term Student Visa to Spain in 2025

Today, there are several ways to emigrate to Spain:

• digital nomad
• startup
• non lucrative visa
• student visa.

Nomad implies official remote work and further taxes in Spain (around 25%).
Startup requires the existence of an innovative project to be developed in Spain.
Non lucrative requires a confirmed passive income of 2,600 euros per month + 30,000 euros in a bank account.

Therefore, many people take the easy way: a student visa through language courses or university preparation. Student visa does not imply paying taxes in Spain and does not require significant savings.

This type of visa allows you to stay in the country of issue for the entire period of your study. There are 2 types of Spanish student visas:

• Up to 180 days
• more than 180 days (up to 1 year).

Despite the fact that the maximum duration of the first visa is 1 calendar year, studies can be extended without leaving Spain, if the study program allows it. Spanish language courses can be extended for 1 more year, while the visa issued for Bachelor's degree programs have the duration of the course (4-5 years).

To extend it, you do not need to leave Spain. The student simply submits documents and continues to study, waiting for a decision from the local Spanish authorities.

Thus, with a student visa you can stay in the country 2-5 years. After that you can apply for a full-time work residence.

Any foreign citizen can apply for a student visa to Spain because officially there are no restrictions. The main condition is to be enrolled in a full-time program (20 hours per week) in an officially accredited educational center. This can be either a higher education center (university, business school), or a private language school accredited by the Cervantes Institute.

However, there are certain red flags that Consulates check with every applicant. For example, when applying for the Spanish language school, the Consulate looks at the age, prior travel's to Spain and if the candidate has studied Spanish before. This is all due to the fact that, instead of applying for a more costly nomad or non-lucrative visas, many applicants use Student visa as the easiest migration option.

If you want to study Spanish language in Spain, starting from 20th of May, 2025 you can apply only in the Spanish Consulate (or Embassy) in your country of citizenship or residence.

If you have enrolled in the Spanish University (Bachelor's or Master's degree), you can either apply in your country or come and request student residence directly in Spain. However, to do so, you must apply during the first 28 days of the 90 day period of your legal stay as a tourist.

The main document (the reason for the student visa) is an invitation letter from the Spanish Language School in Spain.

We help you purchase a long-term language course (4-12 months) providing a discount. The course must be 20 hours per week (4 hours per day). The schools must have the Cervantes Accreditation (we only work with licensed schools in Spain).

After the payment for the course is made in full, that school sends us (and we send to you) the letter, which you then present to the Spanish authorities. To learn more about the long-term course, please see the link below

The Spanish authorities tend to request a booking confirmation of an apartment or a student room in the city or region where you will study. However, there is no need to book and/or pay in advance the whole period of your stay. You can show a contract or reservation for the first 1-2 months.

There are two ways to find the accommodation:

• Search the websites like Spotahome and Uniplaces and book a room, studio or an apartment directly
• Book through the School (if, of course, the School offers accommodation).

This second option is much easier as the School will just add the room information in you letter of invitation although it can be much more expensive. When booking with the first option, you would need to provide the Consulate with a contract or booking confirmation and payment.

If the visa is requested for a stay exceeding 180 days, you must provide a certificate of criminal record in your country of origin. It is a standard document normally issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs or Police.

When you receive the certificate, you must also request an Apostille to be added to the certificate. Apostille is a stamp that authenticates the document outside of the country of issue. It is also known as a "certificate of authentication".

The certificate must be accompanied by an official translation into Spanish.

After receiving the invitation from the School, you can request a health insurance as many companies offer special student insurance, which is usually cheaper. The insurance must cover the entire period of your studies.

The mandatory conditions in the insurance must be:

sin carencia - no waiting periods
sin copagos - no extra charges for essential medical services
sin limites - no restrictions

The cost varies from 500 to 900 euros, depending on the insurance company and your age (the older you are, the more expensive it gets). We work with three insurance companies (HNA Clinicum, Caser and Sanitas) and help with the selection of an insurance company

If the visa is requested for a stay exceeding 180 days, a medical certificate must be provided, certifying that the applicant does not suffer from diseases that may have serious consequences for public health in accordance with the International Health Regulations 2005. The certificate must be accompanied by an official translation into Spanish.

Documents proving that the applicant (or their legal representative or family member representing them) has sufficient financial means to cover the costs of the stay and return of the student and accompanying relatives.

The minimum amount required is 100% of the IPREM (Multifunctional General Income Indicator), which as of 2025 amounts to 600 euros per month. If it is proven that accommodation has already been paid in advance for the entire stay, this amount will be reduced, although we do not recommend lowering the amount as their is no indication of what the reduced amount must be.

To prove financial means students normally provide:

• Bank certificate with the whole amount for 1 year (minimum of 7.200 euros or more)
• A notarized letter from the sponsor (a family member) stating that he/she will provide the necessary minimum of 600 euros per month + their bank certificate + confirmation of kinship (for example, your birth certificate)

The documents must be accompanied by an official translation into Spanish.

When you have all the aforementioned documents prepared, you request a visit to the Embassy/Consulate and bring both the originals and the copies of all the documents except the Invitation Letter from the School and Medical Insurance (these are usually accepted as copies).

After the documents are checked by the consular officer, you pay a visa fee, leave the copies in the Consulate and take back the originals.

Your application is then reviewed by the Consulate and local Spanish authorities in the region where you are going to study. This process takes around 1 month, although in many cases it may take up to 3-4 month to review you case. That is why we recommend to request the student visa at least 3 months before the start date of your course.

This last reason is the most probable cause of student visa denial, as there is no real way to prove the contrary. However, if you are younger than 30 and you can prove that your goal is not just study Spanish language, but to later access the Bachelor's or Master's degree, then your chances will be much better.

If the visa is denied, the schools request you file an appeal to the authorities requesting a re-evaluation of your application siting your goals. If the visa is denied for the second time, the schools will refund you the full amount of the course paid minus administrative fee (usually around 150-300 euros).

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