How to get a Spanish Visa?

Disclaimer: The information on this post limits to obtaining a Study visa or a student Class D visa. Although this post is targeted for Indian visa applicants, others might also find the information presented in this post useful in their visa application process to Spain. Also the following is based on my personal experience and is to be taken only as a friendly suggestion rather than a step by step guide. The information in this post holds good at the time of writing and the process could change in the future. Hence please don't hold me liable to any misinformation.

So if you have survived the GMAT, the essays, the interview process and managed to get an admit, then i suggest give yourself a pat on the back and take a vacation. This is because if you think you have overcome the tough part you are in for a shock!

If Spain is where you are going then you better be prepared coz my friend the visa process is not a walk in the park. Well this is in no way to scare you but I just want to alert you as the entire process is pretty time consuming. So without further ado here is how to get a Spanish Study visa:

There are two types of Spanish visas: Long term stay and Short stay. Basically if you are going to Spain to study and your course is more than 3 months in length then you need to apply for a "long term stay visa".

Timeline for application:

Keep in mind that even if you are applying for a long stay visa you will be issued a visa with only 3 months or 90 days validity. This is the norm so don't panic. What you need to do is to get a Student Resident card after going to Spain. So since your visa needs to be valid till the time you get your Resident card (which is after your school starts) do not apply too early. Yes, you read right - Do Not Apply Early.

So if your schools starts by September 1, do not apply before June 15th. Original

Requisite Documentation:

1. Original Application Form.

2. Three photocopies of the Application Form.

3. Bank Draft in favor of Embassy of Spain, New Delhi for Rs. 3,424/-

4. Photocopy of Bank Draft.

5. Photocopy of passport (all the pages including blank ones).

6. Original Police Clearance Certificate with the Apostille (More info on this below)

7. Photocopy of the Police Clearance Certificate.

8. Admission letter from the educational institution where admitted (in English).

9. Admission letter from the educational institution where admitted (in Spanish)

10. Letter from the school with the contents of the program of studies.

11. Proof of health insurance coverage during the course of the program. In my case since IESE covered my insurance, i got a letter from them stating the same.

12. Original Medical Certificate.

13. Photocopy of the Medical Certificates.

14. 10th and 12th std. marks cards.

15. Graduation Degree certificate.

16. Official transcripts from my Undergraduate University (Just in case)

17. Proof of financing the program. Eg. educational loan sanction letter etc.

18. Proof of funding for living expenses. Eg. Affidavit or letter of support from parent.

19. IT Returns for the past year.

20. Pay slip from the latest employer for atleast 3 months.

The Process:

There is a Spanish Visa Application center in Mumbai called IVS but unfortunately at the time of writing this it processes only Short term visas. Nonetheless, the IVS website has all the information about Long term visas too. You can find more information on their website - http://www.ivs-spainvisa.com/.

There are certain important documents that are required by the Spanish Consulate for processing your visa (also mentioned in the above website). Obtaining each document is in itself a process so let me split them into 3 stages as follows.

Stage 1 - Police Clearance Certificate (PCC). This document should be issued by the Regional Passport office where you have been living for the past several years (5 years I guess!). PCC falls in to the Miscellaneous Services section of the RPO. Its simple but a painful process considering the fact that you probably would have to stand in que for atleast 4 hours depending on the Passport office before you will be able to turn in your request form along with the original passport.

You require: Your original passport, a copy of it, an address proof if the address on the passport is not current, a copy of it and a photo to be stuck on the application form.

Time to get the PCC: You should get your PCC (which is a certificate stating that there is not criminal record against you) within a week at your address delivered by speed post. Make sure you are available at home as the passport and the PCC will be only hand delivered to you.

Stage 2 - Apostille from the Ministry of External affairs. Certain countries need the External Ministry to endorse Government issued documents. PCC being one of them and Spain being one such country, you need to get the PCC apostilled by the ministry of external affairs in Delhi. The apostille is simple a stamp or rather a Sticker stamped on the back of the PCC and it states that this PCC is genuine. Now there are two ways to get this.

- IVS center can get the apostille for you for a fee. All you have to do is take send the original passport, the original PCC, two copies of both and a draft covering their fee. Then send all these to their address (in Mumbai) or take it to their office. You can collect it from them in about 7-10days.

- Another way to get the apostille is to go personally to the Ministry of External Affairs, Patiala House Court, New Delhi and get it done personally. Its a 1 Day process, and the fee is Rs.50 per apostille.

Stage 3 - Submitting the Application:

Once you have reached this stage then you can breathe easy. Coz this is the simplest stage.

There are two Spanish Consulates - one in Mumbai and one in Delhi. The one in Mumbai processes visas for Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Andra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa plus Daman & Diu. Check the IVS website to make sure you go to the right consulate. So once you know where to apply, go to the consulate in person with all the required documentation and submit the documents at the counter when you are called. Basically that concludes the application process. If you are curious about the status of your application you can call them and inquire about the status by using the phone number mentioned in the IVS website. Give them atleast 10 days before you call them with status inquiry. Oh btw you have to go and collect the passport stamped with the visa in person from the consulate. While collecting check whether your name is printed correctly on the visa, whether the validity and expiry period mentioned are correct and whether you have infact been issued a class D visa!

Also they tell you that it takes 3 weeks to process your visa, I got my visa within 2 weeks and so is the case with many of my friends. So you can try your luck by calling them.

Write to me or leave a comment if you have any questions.

All the best.