Spain student visa guide

For non-EU students who will study full time in Spain for more than 90 days at an authorised centre. You apply in person at the Spanish consular network (in Nigeria through the visa centre in Lagos), with a definitive admission and proof that you can support yourself. After arriving you apply for your foreigner identity card (TIE) within one month.

Use the guide below as a planning reference, then check the official source before you pay anything or submit an application.

Tips from experience

• Book your appointment as soon as you can, because the legal decision period starts only after your application is accepted.
• Keep a clean record of bank movements for the last year, and be ready to explain large deposits.
• Make sure every legalised document and translation matches your passport spelling exactly.
• Ask the university early whether your qualification needs a UNEDasiss accreditation or a credential check.
• Do not enter Spain on a Schengen visa to apply for a study visa there, because consulates treat that as avoiding the correct procedure.

Documents most applicants need are marked required. Others depend on your case or on what the office asks for. Build a printable checklist.

• Valid passport Required

  Should be valid for at least 3 months beyond the visa expiry date and allow return to the country that issued it.

• National visa application form Required

  Usually two copies, completed and signed.

• Passport photo Required

  Recent photo that meets the consulate specification.

• Definitive admission letter Required

  A mere place reservation is not accepted.

• Proof of tuition payment Required

  Scholarship holders can provide a scholarship certificate instead.

• Proof of full-time study Required

  Course dates, programme and a schedule that involves attending in person.

• Previous academic certificates Required

  Legalised or apostilled and translated as the consulate requires.

• Proof of funds (IPREM minimum) Required

  Show the source and the last year of bank movements. Guarantor documents and unsupported declarations of support are not accepted.

• Proof of accommodation Required

  For the whole academic period, with documents the consulate accepts.

• Health insurance Required

  From an insurer authorised in Spain, with minimum cover of EUR 30,000 and repatriation cover.

• Consular fee receipt Required

  Paid at the visa centre in Lagos.

• Medical certificate Required

  Required for courses over 180 days, and must show no serious public health risk under the 2005 WHO regulation.

• Police certificate Required

  Required for adults on courses over 180 days, from each country you lived in during the last 5 years.

• Spanish language proof If asked

  Needed where the course is taught in Spanish, at the level the university sets.

The government fee is not listed here because it changes or is charged locally. Check the current figure on the official page.

Indicative government fees only. School fees, translations, tests, courier and service charges are extra.

Living funds

€600 a month for 12 months (€7,200)

Basis

Spain sets the minimum at 100% of the monthly IPREM (public income indicator) for each month of stay, and does not count money used to pay tuition.

Tuition included

No, add your first year tuition

The IPREM figure of EUR 600 a month is indicative for 2026 and the consulate may calculate the months from your course length, so confirm both on the consulate page. Add 75% of IPREM for a first accompanying family member and 50% for each further one. The consular fee is set by the authorities and charged in naira at the visa centre, so check the current figure on the consulate or visa centre page.

Typical decision time

Consulates cite a legal decision period of about 38 days for study visas, counted once the application is accepted. You also need to wait for an appointment, and approved visas must be collected in person within two months.

How early you can apply

Once you have definitive admission, proof of tuition payment and your other documents ready. Do not apply on a short-stay visa to avoid applying for a study visa.

Latest sensible time to apply

Apply at least 3 months before your course starts, so that appointment waits, legalisation and a possible request for more documents do not make you miss the start.

1. 1

   Get definitive admission

   Apply to an authorised centre and get a definitive admission letter. A place reservation alone is not accepted. For bachelor's degrees, ask the university whether you need a UNEDasiss accreditation or a credential check for non-EU qualifications.

2. 2

   Pay tuition and keep the proof

   Pay the enrolment fee the university requests and keep the receipt, because consulates ask for proof of tuition payment. Scholarship holders can submit the scholarship certificate instead.

3. 3

   Prepare your funds evidence

   Show at least the IPREM minimum for your months of stay, from your own account, family, a grant or a scholarship. The consulate looks at your bank movements over the last year, and a signed loan contract is needed for any loan.

4. 4

   Legalise and translate documents

   Have your certificates and the police certificate legalised or apostilled as required and translated into Spanish. Use sworn translators where the consulate asks for them.

5. 5

   Get the medical and police certificates

   For courses of more than 180 days you need a medical certificate and, if you are an adult, a police certificate from each country you lived in over the last 5 years.

6. 6

   Arrange insurance and accommodation

   Buy health insurance from an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, covering medical and repatriation costs with a minimum of EUR 30,000. Prepare proof of accommodation for the whole academic period.

7. 7

   Book an appointment and apply in person

   Book through the BLS Spain visa centre in Lagos, submit your application in person with your biometrics, and pay the visa fee and service charge there. Applications cannot be submitted online.

8. 8

   Collect your visa and register

   Collect the visa yourself within the period the consulate gives. After entering Spain, make sure your passport is stamped and apply for your TIE within one month of arrival.

Work and post study rules change often. Confirm them on the official source before you plan around them.

• The funds shown are below the IPREM minimum for the months of stay, or the source and bank movements are not clear.
• Admission is not definitive, or tuition payment is not proven.
• Documents are missing, not legalised or apostilled as required, or not translated into Spanish.
• Accommodation is not shown for the whole academic period, or the insurance does not meet the consulate's conditions.
• The consulate doubts that the study is full time or that the course is genuine.
• A guarantor letter or declaration of support is used instead of the applicant's or family's own means.

Refused before? Read what to do after a visa refusal.