Do you need a visa?
It depends on your passport and on how long you study.
| Your situation | What you need |
|---|---|
| EU, EEA or Swiss citizen | No visa. Within 3 months of arrival, you apply for a registration certificate (€12), issued on the spot: enrolment at a school, health insurance covering all risks and a statement that you have enough money. No fixed amount is required.BOE — Real Decreto 240/2007 (ciudadanos de la UE y del EEE); Policía Nacional — Certificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE; Policía Nacional — Tasa 790, código 012 (TIE y certificado de registro) |
| Any other passport, studies longer than 90 days | A national long-stay study visa, from the Spanish consulate. It carries your stay authorisation. If you stay more than 6 months, you then apply for your TIE card at the police station within one month of arrival (€16.08).BOE — Reglamento de extranjería (Real Decreto 1155/2024); Policía Nacional — Tasa 790, código 012 (TIE y certificado de registro) |
| Studies of 90 days or less | No student visa. Depending on your passport, you may need a Schengen short-stay visa.Consulado General de España en Londres — Visado de estudios; Reglamento (UE) 2018/1806 — países exentos de visado |
| Already in Spain on another residence permit | You can apply for your study stay authorisation from inside Spain, without going back through a consulate.BOE — Reglamento de extranjería (Real Decreto 1155/2024) |
Apply for your visa at least 2 months before your studies start. The regulation accepts a shorter lead time only for a justified reason.
Not verified
A bilateral agreement or a consulate practice specific to one country was not researched. ETIAS and EES rules for short stays could not be read on the official pages.
Getting a place
It all depends on the country where you finished secondary school.
- Diploma from an EU country or a country with an agreement, European or International Baccalaureate
- UNEDasiss accreditation, no entrance exam
- UNEDasiss — Acceso a la universidad según tu sistema educativo
- UNEDasiss converts your grade into a Spanish admission grade
- Diploma from any other country
- Recognition as a Bachillerato, then the PCE exams
- UNEDasiss — Acceso a la universidad según tu sistema educativo
- for a public university; UNEDasiss advises at least 4 subjects
A foreign secondary diploma taken online or at a distance from Spain cannot be recognised.
Not verified
The 2027 intake dates (not published yet), the time and cost of recognition by the ministry, pre-registration in Madrid, and the level of Spanish required: each university sets it, no national threshold was found. UNEDasiss prices (€70 for the admission grade, €35 to €140 for the PCE exams) appear on an undated image: nothing confirms they are the 2026 ones.
From application to visa
- Get your place and pay enrolment
- Prepare your file
- Apply at the consulate
- Wait for the decision
- Arrive and apply for your TIE
- Renew
Not verified
The regulation starts the one-month TIE deadline from your arrival in one article and from the grant of the authorisation in another: counting from your arrival is the safe choice. Real consulate appointment times are not published on any page read. A stay authorisation fee of €10.94 exists; nothing says clearly whether the consulate adds it to the €90.
Money to show
For the visa, you show at least €600 a month: 100% of the IPREM, Spain’s reference income index.
- For you
- €600 a month
- BOE — Reglamento de extranjería (Real Decreto 1155/2024)
- unless your housing is paid in advance for the whole stay
Not verified
How many months to show: the regulation sets a monthly amount, not a length. For housing paid in advance, the regulation speaks of an exemption, the London and Hamburg consulates of a deduction.
Health
| Your passport | Your cover |
|---|---|
| Outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland | Health insurance from an insurer authorised in Spain, with benefits close to those of the public system, for the whole stay.BOE — Reglamento de extranjería (Real Decreto 1155/2024) |
The London and Hamburg consulates also require insurance with no co-payment and no waiting period, and at least €30,000 of cover. Travel insurance is refused.
Consulado General de España en Londres — Visado de estudios; Consulado General de España en Hamburgo — Visado de estudios
Not verified
Whether the European card alone is enough for an EU student doing a full degree in Spain: no official page read says so. Ask the Oficina de Extranjeros.
Working while you study
| Your situation | Work allowed |
|---|---|
| Stay authorisation for higher education | You can work, employed or self-employed, with no extra permit: 30 hours a week at most, as long as the work stays compatible with your studies.BOE — Reglamento de extranjería (Real Decreto 1155/2024) |
| Internship that is part of your course | No extra authorisation.BOE — Reglamento de extranjería (Real Decreto 1155/2024) |
| Internship outside your course | An internship residence permit, 12 months at most, renewable once (2 years in total). Decision within 30 days; no answer means it is granted.BOE — Ley 14/2013, disposiciones adicionales 17.ª y 18.ª |
Your right to work stops at the borders of the autonomous community that granted your authorisation, and its neighbouring towns. Going over 30 hours a week can cost you your stay authorisation.
Bringing your family
Your spouse, your registered partner, your stable partner (at least 1 year living together, unless you have a child together) and your children under 18 can apply for a visa for the time left on your stay, if at least 90 days are left.
Source: BOE — Reglamento de extranjería (Real Decreto 1155/2024)
Your family is not allowed to work during your study stay.
Not verified
The visa price for each family member: consulate lists group students and families together, and no official sentence says each one pays €90.
The companies and registers for your file
For each need of your file: the official rule, the register that lists the approved providers, and the companies that serve students.
After graduation
A residence permit gives you 24 months to find a job or start a business that matches your level of study.
- Degrees covered
- bachelor’s (grado) or higher
- BOE — Ley 14/2013, disposiciones adicionales 17.ª y 18.ª
- at least level 6 of the European Qualifications Framework
Tuition fees
In public universities, each autonomous community sets the price per credit. A full-time year is 60 credits.
- Catalonia, bachelor’s
- €17.69 a credit
- DOGC — Decreto 96/2026, precios de las universidades públicas de Cataluña 2026-2027
- 2026-2027, first enrolment; €1,061.40 for 60 credits
Not verified
Madrid has not published a 2026-2027 list: its page still shows 2025-2026, and the 2022 decree stays in force until it is replaced. Andalusia applies a 2023 decree; no newer scale was found.