MAKING A VISA APPOINTMENT
Please note: This information is for long-term student visas (“de larga duración”). Scholars and grantees coming to Spain for less than 180 days should follow the instructions in the packet emailed to them as the process for a short-term student visa is simpler.
Visas must be issued by a Spanish consulate, the diplomatic representation of the Spanish government abroad, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación (MAEC). They cannot be obtained in Spain.
All Fulbright grantees on awards of more than three months must apply for and obtain a student visa at a Spanish consulate. If you have dual citizenship with an EU country please reach your main contact at the Commission.
Note: Neither Fulbright nor the Commission can provide any extra funds to cover costs associated to procuring the visa (travel to consulates, fees associated to the background check, etc.). Because of this we encourage you to submit your documentation to the Commission and IIE as soon as possible in order to receive your travel allowance early and thereby have the funds you may need to cover these costs.
CONSULATES
There are nine consulates at which you can apply for your visa. Clicking the name of each consulate below will bring you directly to their webpage with student visa requirements:
You can only apply at the consulate with jurisdiction over the state where your permanent address is or, in some cases, the state where you are currently studying.
A list of jurisdictions, websites, and contact information can be found in the 2019-2020 Visa Guide (Obtaining a student visa from a Spanish Consulate, pages 13-17), which was sent to you via email.
In past years, the following consulates did not require a visa appointment and worked on a first-come, first-served walk-in system: Miami, San Juan, and Washington, DC. However, this may change at any time, so check your consulate’s website to make sure!
Most consulates require an appointment to begin the visa process so find out today if yours requires one. Visa appointment slots fill up very quickly (think about all of those study abroad students leaving at the same time as you!), so you should secure a convenient date straightaway and do not wait until you have all of the documentation prepared.
Having the visa appointment from mid-June to mid-July is ideal. Before this, it may be difficult to get all the documentation ready in time, and after July you may not have enough time to receive the visa as it normally takes at least four weeks to process.
Most Consulates recommend applying for visas up to three months before departure since processing time is much greater depending on the time of year and the number of other applications being handled at that time. However, some Consulates do not accept visa applications more than three months before the program start date, so please double check with your Consulate. Therefore, if your grant starts on September 15, it would be ideal to have your appointment around June 15 at the earliest. If it is more convenient for you to apply earlier, make sure to check that your Consulate will indeed accept the application before June 15. The Los Angeles Consulate, however, will accept applications up to 120 days in advance of the program start date.
If and when you contact your Consulate, ask about minimum and maximum processing times, physical presence and/or how to make an appointment to submit the documentation, and the number of photos and photocopies required. Any family accompanying you to Spain will have a visa related to yours.