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Spain Student Visa Instructions

Spanish Visa Application Instructions

Step #1: Choose your consulate

I need to know which consulate you will apply through because the program acceptance letter I provide will be consulate-specific. You  may usually apply at the consulate with jurisdiction over your permanent or your school address. Use this list to help you decide: https://www.middlebury.edu/schools-abroad/schools/spain/student-visa 

Step #2: Make a plan to apply

If you live or go to school in Boston’s jurisdiction (ME, VT, NH, MA, or RI) Nicole can send your materials and apply on your behalf. I will plan to send your applications to the consulate in early June. Plan to send me physical application materials by mail to arrive by May 8 (updated). The residency requirement applies to graduate students who will be in Vermont this summer as well.

Those of you who do not have a permanent or school address in Boston’s jurisdiction will have to apply on your own. Students may not apply more than 90 days before the start of their program. 

If you need to make an appointment, start by emailing your consulate’s visa department (now) and asking for an appointment for sometime in June (no more than 90 days before your program start date).

  1. Boston Nicole can apply for you only if your driver’s license or valid student ID is from MA, ME, VT, NH, or RI. Boston expects study abroad advisors to apply for their students, so do not miss our group application process.
  2. Chicago Email cog.chicago.vis@maec.es​ to request an appointment for a study visa. The consulate will send you an email with a link to schedule your appointment, which cannot be more than 90 days before your program start. In addition to the standard materials, this consulate further requires a letter from your home institution stating that the courses you take in Spain will transfer back to your degree
  3. DC Accepting complete applications by mail, no more than 90 days before your program start: Visa Office - Consulate of Spain in Washington DC - 2375 Pennsylvania Ave. NW - Washington, DC 20037. Be sure to include a pre-paid return mailing envelope from the US post office addressed to you (so they can send your passport back to you once ready) and track your package. You’ll buy two pre-paid mailing envelopes and fold the one addressed to you inside the other (addressed to the consulate) with your application materials.
  4. Houston Accepting complete applications by mail:1800 Bering Drive, Suite 750; Houston. Texas 77057. Be sure to include a pre-paid return mailing envelope from the US post office addressed to you (so they can send your passport back to you once ready) and track your package. You’ll buy two pre-paid mailing envelopes and fold the one addressed to you inside the other (addressed to the consulate) with your application materials.
  5. Los Angeles opens its appointment scheduler one month in advance, so pay close attention in late April/early May and don’t miss your opportunity for an appointment.
  6. Miami Accepting complete applications by mail:Consulado General de España en Miami, Departamento de Visados; 2655 Le Jeune Road, Suite 203Coral Gables Fl 33134. Track your package.
  7. New York Middlebury will not apply on your behalf in NY (only in Boston), so you should make an individual appointment or go through your home school’s process, if offered. For an individual appointment, email visadoscgny@gmail.com with the following:
    -Full name and address
    -Name of college you attend 
    -Dates you are planing to stay in Spain
    -Copy of your college ID
    - Copy of your driver’s license in any case (even if it’s from within the NY jurisdiction)
    - Scanned copy of passport ID page (the one with your photo and personal data).
  8. San Francisco Email cog.sanfrancisco.vis@maec.es to request a visa appointment, but understand that they have been replying with a request that students mail a complete set of applications to their office (this includes your passport). They will email when it’s ready, at which point you would go to the consulate in person to pick up your passport with visa inside. They also may not be strictly adhering to the 90 days rule, and getting your application in early is always best.
     

Step #3: Make sure your plans do not include travel outside the US

Some consulates require you to leave your passport with them for processing (different consulates quote between 4-6 weeks).  They will not call you when it’s ready, nor will they answer your call. Make a plan to return to the consulate to pick it up six weeks after your appointment.

Boston will currently allow applicants to apply using only a copy of the passport in the case of students who are traveling, then present the original passport to obtain the visa stamp during pick-up. Talk to Nicole if you hope to make travel plans outside the US to be sure they will work with the timing, as I’ll need to have your passport in late July/early August when i go to the consulate for pick-up.

Step #4: Gather your materials

Checklist of application materials for BOSTON—please refer to your own consulate’s list, linked from their websites above:

  • Your original, valid, signed passport + copy (send notarized copy in lieu of physical passport in case of travels during processing)
  • Your completed, double sided, signed application for national visa (1 original)
  • 1 passport photo—glued to the visa application. This must be a passport-sized photo, such as those taken at the UPS, USPS, or drug store and must be printed on photo paper with white (or very light) background. It does not need to match the photo in your passport, and as it must be no older than six months, it cannot match the photo in your passport unless your passport is less than six month old when you apply for your visa.
  • Completed money order for $160 (this is the fee for US citizens—other nationalities have different fees, so check the fees section of your consulate’s website) payable to the “Consulate General of Spain” and include your name on it
  • Notarized proof that you live in or go to school in the consulate’s jurisdiction (driver’s license or student ID)—our office can notarize these for you if you bring the original to us to copy
  • Certificate of admission in Spanish—Nicole prepares this for you and will send it to you if you’re applying on your own
  • Availability of financial means:original + copy showing at least $700/month of stay
  • Health insurance coverage of at least $500,000—Nicole prepares this for you and will send it to you if you’re applying on your own
  • Pre-paid priority mail envelope addressed to a secure address where you’ll be before leaving for Spain. Please have the post office affix actual stamps for the postage (don’t use a metered label with a date) AND the tracking number. Students can skip the return envelope if you’ll be on campus when Nicole picks them up in late July/early August.
  • Disclaimer form​, signed
  • GROUP ONLY: Notarized letter allowing Nicole to apply and pick-up on your behalf
  • YEAR REQUIREMENT: Medical certificate in Spanish + copy. This cannot be more than 3 months old at the time of application.
  • YEAR REQUIREMENT: FBI background check, [apostilled and officially translated, if required] + copy. This cannot be more than 5 months old when you enter Spain.
  • Non-US citizen requirement: notarized copy of permanent resident card, valid US student visa along with Form I-20, work permit, passport stamp or parole.

If applying with the group through Nicole, bring/send your materials here, to arrive by May 8.

Nicole Chance
356 College St.
125 Sunderland Language Center
Middlebury, VT  05753

GENERAL EXPLANATION OF ALL REQUIREMENTS/MATERIALS

Word of warning: each consulate makes its own rules—and they change these rules at will.  They tend to re-evaluate their application fee in June.  You will need to research your individual consulate’s requirements, but these are standard across many consulates, including Boston, so I’ll offer them here with a brief explanatory note for some of the questions I get most often.  Please take to the consulate/send to Nicole originals, plus one photocopy when indicated , including a copy of the ID pages (signature page and photo page) of your passport.  Also, make one copy of everything for your own records to take with you to Spain. Year-long students will only be granted a 90 day visa and will need to take your original documents to Spain in order to register with the local police (our staff will help with this upon arrival). 

  • National Visa Application—Some boxes have been filled in. See below for help answering other questions.
  • Passport AND PHOTOCOPY of the ID pages including all numbers across the bottom—photocopy the photo part and the signature part (do not take a picture with your fingers in it)
    • The passport must be signed and valid for three months after the intended period of stay in Spain. 
    • The passport must be in good condition (they’ve turned down ones that are damaged and students have had to get replacements).
    • The passport must have at least two blank visa pages (the ones that say “visa” on the top—the last two pages of US passports do not count).
    • If you need to obtain/renew a US passport, do so immediately: http://travel.state.gov/passport/
  • One notarized COPY of your current student ID or driver’s license as proof that you may apply at your chosen consulate. 
  • One recent, color, passport sized photo with a white (light) background. This photo does not need to match the photo in your passport, and it cannot match the photo in your passport unless you’ve renewed your passport within six months of your visa application (because these photos must be no more than six months old). In Middlebury, you can get passport photos at the post office (call 802.388.3020 for an appointment), the UPS store (no appointment required—arrive before 4:30pm)., or Kinney Drugs. Alternately, you can try an on-line service like this one: https://www.epassportphoto.com/  Do not try to print these yourself. Attach one photo to the original application form (glue sticks work best—I have one, so if you’re turning your materials in to me, you can use mine). Some students have used photos that are too small in the past, so be sure yours are 2x2 inches square, even though that’s too big for the square provided on the form. Do not trim the photo to fit the box on the form.
  • Letter of acceptance as a full-time student from Spain’s University/School or US program that indicates: name, address and registration number of the school with Spain’s Department of Education; (Ministerio de Educación de España) full payment of tuition, duration of the program, subjects of the study and hours of study per week which must be no fewer than 20. This is the letter in Spanish provided for you by our office—signed by Patricia Rodriguez. If I’m applying for you, I won’t send this to you—I’ll keep it here to match with your other application materials.
  • Health Insurance: International insurance coverage for health/accident with $500,000 coverage amount. I will provide you with a letter (in Spanish) you can use if you’re applying on your own; I’ll match it with your other materials if you’re sending them to me. Do not enroll yourself in health insurance through GeoBlue—the cost of this is included in your tuition. Later, once we have actually enrolled you in the health insurance plan, you will get an email from GeoBlue. You should follow their instructions to register and print your insurance card from their website.
  • Proof of the availability of financial means. Original and a copy of the documents that prove that the applicant (or his legal representative or family member who supports him) has sufficient financial means to cover the expenses of the stay and return of the student and accompanying family members. The minimum amount required is equivalent to 100% of the IPREM. To this amount must be added 75% of the IPREM for the first family member and 50% of the IPREM for each additional family member. If the student travels to Spain without relatives, the minimum amount required for 2023-24 is $700 dollars per month.

          One of the following documents must be presented:

  • Student’s own personal bank account statements (past three months) showing at least $700 per month of stay.
  • Letter from the financial aid office showing aid or scholarship for at least $700 per month for room and board.
  • Notarized letter from the parent or legal guardian assuming full financial responsibility for at least $700 per month for room and board. In addition, a copy of the past three months of their bank statements and the applicant’s (student’s) birth certificate.

Template for letter from parent—use both the English and Spanish to avoid having to pay for an official translation:

I [name of parent or guardian] hereby take responsibility for air tickets between the United States and Spain and for all monthly accommodation and living expenses of my son/daughter [full name of the child] during their stay in Spain, as well as any emergency that may arise during it.

Yo [nombre del padre o tutor] por la presente asumo la responsabilidad de los boletos aéreos entre los Estados Unidos y España y de todos los gastos mensuales de alojamiento y manutención de mi hijo/hija [nombre completo del niño] durante su estancia en España, así como cualquier urgencia que pueda surgir durante la misma.

  • Money-Order (no personal checks or cash accepted at consulates) to pay the non-refundable visa fee of $160 for US citizens or $80 for most other (though notably, not Canada, which is $86) nationalities (double check this amount with your consulate—they seem to change it whenever the exchange rate between the dollar and the Euro fluctuates or the US raises its visa fee). Make the money order payable to the Consulate General of Spain (city) and include your name and address on the money order—the top is your receipt, which you should keep until after the visa is returned to you.
  • BOSTON GROUP APPLICANTS: notarized letter (our office, banks, major post offices, schools, and law offices have notaries on staff) from you allowing Nicole to apply on your behalf:

    Date
    To the Consulate General of Spain in BOSTON

  • I, (your name), give permission for Nicole Chance to apply for my student visa to study in Spain for the (fall semester/academic year) of 2023-24.  Furthermore, I grant her permission to pick up my passport with visa stamp when it is ready.
    Sincerely,
    (Your signature—WAIT to sign it in front of the notary public)
    (Your printed name)
    (Signature from the notary public)

    There is a list of campus notaries here. Please call to schedule an appointment and be sure to take your photo ID with you. In Sunderland, see Alessandra Capossela in room 124.

  • BOSTON GROUP APPLICANTS who will not be in Middlebury in late July/early August should provide Nicole with a pre-paid, priority mail envelope addressed to a secure address where you’ll be before leaving for Spain. Please have the post office affix actual stamps for the postage (don’t use a metered label with a date) AND a tracking number. Save the receipt with the tracking number so when I tell you I’ve picked up your passport and sent it back to you, you’ll be able to track it. 

Additional Requirements for Students Staying the Full Academic Year, ***including graduate students*** (US citizens abroad for only one semester do not currently need any of the following):

  • Medical Certificate: Doctor’s statement on practice or medical center letterhead or with stamp from the practice (important) indicating that you have been examined and found to be in good health.  This cannot be written on a prescription pad—it must be a typed letter signed by a doctor (not a nurse practitioner or other medical professional). Use this template to avoid having to get it translated.
  • Background check—consulates require an FBI background check and have stopped accepting the state-level background checks. While the background check itself is fairly quick, the requisite apostille can take months. They require a background check from every country you’ve lived in during the past five years, including Spain.

FBI background check: https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks. You’ll complete the on-line request, the results of which will come to you notarized by default in a couple of days (though you won’t see a raised seal).  To get fingerprinted in Middlebury: call the Sherriff’s office at 388.2981 to make an appointment (available only on Tuesdays, 1-3:30pm).

First complete your on-line request with the FBI.  You’ll submit your email and receive an email back with a link that says “Click here to access your request” and a PIN that you’ll input.  Then you’ll complete the on-line request.  After you pay, you get another e-mail that is from the same e-mail as before (Criminal Justice Information Services) with the subject line: Identity History Summary Request Confirmation.  The e-mail is a receipt that has your order number, the payment verification code, the preference (e.g. you indicated your fingerprints would be delivered by mail), and instructions to mail your fingerprints here:

FBI CJIS Division
ATTN: ELECTRONIC SUMMARY REQUEST
1000 Custer Hollow Road
Clarksburg, WV 26306

Then take the following with you to your appointment to be fingerprinted:

  • $35 check (preferred) or exact cash (for the fee to get fingerprinted)
  • Government-issued (passport or drivers’ license) photo ID
  • Email receipt from the on-line background check application
  • Pre-paid trackable mailing envelope (UPS, FedEx or USPS all okay), addressed to the FBI at the address above.

Once you receive the results of your FBI background check (which come in the form of an email—you then print the results yourself), you will then need to send those results away for an apostille from the US Dept. of State. You’ll see they ask for a document with a raised seal, but this is apparently the exception (if you want to read that for yourself it’s in the FAQs on the FBI background check). The consulate also requires a translation, which you should have the translation processed concurrently with the apostille.  For the apostille on the FBI background check, send the FBI background check results, Form DS-4194, payment, and return mailing envelope (not FedEx—that one is now excluded in the directions, but still listed as an option on the form—don’t use it) to:

Office of Authentications
U.S. Department of State
CA/PPT/S/TO/AUT
44132 Mercure Cir, P.O. Box 1206
Sterling, VA  20166-1206

The American Translators Association recognizes many services: http://www.atanet.org/
Here is an on-line one we have used. You may send the document electronically for the translation.

Additional Requirement for Non-U.S. Citizens

  • Evidence of your migratory status in the USA (Only for non US citizens): Provide your “Permanent Residence Card,” “Alien Registration Card,” or “US Visa with I-20/IAP-66” (except B1-B2).  The consulate requires a notarized copy or, in some cases the original, which they will return to you, as well as a copy.

 

DIRECTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE NATIONAL VISA APPLICATION
Print the form and GLUE (use a glue stick) one passport photo to the front. I have a glue stick in my office—don’t buy one just for this.

1. Last name as it appears in your passport
2. Leave blank if your name has not changed since birth (married women use your maiden name, if different)
3. First, middle names as they appear in your passport
4. Date of birth: written two digit day, two digit month, four digit year (ex. 15-03-1985)
5. Place of birth means city and state
6. Country of birth
7. Current nationality, then list your nationality at birth, if different, then list any other nationalities you hold
8. Gender—male or female as stated in your passport
9. Marital Status
10. None of you are minors, leave blank
11. Unless you are a grad student who has been recently living in Spain, you do not have one—leave blank
12. Type of passport is “ordinary passport” (unless your parents are diplomats or you’re in the military, in which case, you might have a “diplomatic” or a “service” passport)
13. Your “travel document” is your passport and your passport number is the nine-digit number in the upper right corner of the ID page (of a US passport). 
14. Date of issue (use same format as for date of birth throughout this form).
15. Valid until—give the expiration date.
16. Issued by: whatever country issued your passport
17. Use your home address, even if outside the consulate’s jurisdiction AND email address
18. US citizens should check “no.”  Otherwise, check yes and list your current residency status and validity.
19. Current profession: “student.”
20. Principal purpose of journey: “studies.”
21. Date you plan to enter Spain. If you are not a US citizen and you require a tourist visa to travel to Spain, you may not enter until the date your visa begins, so be careful not to plan to arrive too early.  US citizens may have up to 90 days in Spain outside the dates of the visa. Use the actual date your plan to travel, even if you haven’t bought your ticket—it must be at least one day prior to the program start date, which we list on your calendar as your arrival date. If you will be going a week early to look for an apartment, include this additional week. The guideline from the Boston consulate is they won’t give you a start date earlier than 14 days before your program start.
22. Number of entries: “multiple” or “more than two”
23. Applicant’s address in Spain—select the bolded information from your site below (the unbolded part is there for your information):

Madrid: Grads and Undergrads in Madrid at the Sede Prim, including those taking courses at the Autónoma
Middlebury College School in Spain
Calle Prim, 19 Primera Planta
28004 Madrid SPAIN
Telephone: 011.34.91.319.8188 Fax: 011.34.91.310.0036
Contact: Patrícia Rodriguez
Email address: prodriguez@middlebury.edu

Córdoba
Juan de Dios Torralbo: internacional_ffl@uco.es
Universidad de Córdoba
Facultad de Filosofía y Letras
Plza. Cardenal Salazar, s/n
14071 Córdoba, SPAIN
Tel: +34 957 218 752

Getafe
Penélope Barrero: pbarrero@pa.uc3m.es
Universidad Carlos III International School
C/ Madrid, 126
28903 Getafe, Madrid
Tel: +34 91 624 9326

Logroño
Ana Pajares Ciércoles: internacional@adm.unirioja.es
Relaciones Internacionales
Universidad de La Rioja
Avda. de la Paz, 93
26004 Logrono (La Rioja)  SPAIN
Tel: +34 941 299 152

24-25. Leave blank (unless you’re a grad student who does have an NIE—this is like your social security number, so if you already have one, write it here)
26. The “Data of individual resident…” section does not apply to you.  Leave all questions here bank.
27. The “Data of employer or company…” section does not apply to you.  Leave all questions here bank.
28. This “Data of educational establishment” section is the one you need to complete.
Name of educational institution in Spain:
Middlebury College in Spain: Madrid/Getafe/Córdoba/Logroño (indicate YOUR site)

Address:
Middlebury College School in Spain: Madrid/Getafe/Córdoba/Logroño (indicate YOUR site)
Calle Prim, 19 Primera Planta; 28004 Madrid SPAIN (regardless of site—this is our official program address)
Telephone: 011.34.91.319.8188
Email address: prodriguez@middlebury.edu

Please use these PROGRAM DATES on your application, but remember to arrive earlier than the first day of the program (calendars here): TBD

FALL

  • Undergraduates in Madrid for the fall:
  • Undergraduates in Getafe for the fall:
  • Undergraduates in Córdoba for the fall:
  • Undergraduates in Logroño for the fall:

YEAR

SPRING

  • Undergraduates in Madrid (Sede Prim, Getafe UC3M or UAM courses) for the spring:
  • Undergraduates in Córdoba for the spring:
  • Undergraduates in Logroño for the spring:

30. The place (city and state) you are when signing the form and the date you are signing.
31. Original signature required—print the form before signing/dating in blue ink.

 

What to expect at the consulate
Consulates can be intimidating places, so here are a few things to keep in mind: 

  1. You should know that the security officers in the building will not let you go up to the consulate until it officially opens, so get to the general vicinity early, then grab a coffee and wait. 
  2. You will need to show ID and sign in, and in some cases pass through metal detection, so be prepared.
  3. Use the bathroom before you go, as some consulates only have bathrooms on the first floor, and you don’t want to have to duck out of the waiting room.
  4. Some consulates do not allow food and beverages (Boston, for example) in the waiting area, so plan accordingly (especially if you grabbed that aforementioned coffee).
  5. Some consulates do not allow you to use your cell phone, so pack a book.

Picking up your visa
Some consulates will return the visa to you by mail, so if this is an option, you should definitely take advantage of it and include the pre-paid, self-addressed USPS Priority Mail envelope. 

For the majority of you, when your visa is ready, no one will call you; when you apply, you should ask when it will be ready. They’ll probably quote you sometime between four and six weeks. After the wait they quote you has passed, give one additional week (if your timing allows), then you can reasonably assume your visa is ready for pick-up. You could call so you feel as though you’ve done all you can to be certain, but they do not answer their telephone and you are equally unlikely to receive a return to your call.  You can either go in person to pick it up or, at some consulates, you may send a “legal representative.”  This means you should prepare the following letter and sign it before a notary public. The person picking up your visa does not need to be a relative, but will need to have this notarized authorization from you as well as photo ID (for him/herself). The letter should read:

Date
To the Consulate General of Spain in (City)
I, (your name), give permission for (name of person picking it up) to pick up my student visa to study in Spain for the (semester/year) of (year(s)).
Sincerely,
(Your signature—WAIT to sign it in front of the notary public)
(Your printed name)
(Signature from the notary public)

**********************************************************************

Updated 3/24/2023 NC