Student visa in Spain (estancia por estudios): requirements, extension, work and appointments

What it is

What almost everyone calls a "student visa" or a "student NIE" is, in the law, an authorisation for a long-term stay for studies (estancia de larga duración por estudios). It is the permit to remain in Spain for more than 90 days in order to study, and nationals of countries outside the European Union need it.

It is a stay, not residence. That is why it is not renewed: it is extended, with a prórroga. And the card that documents it is the same TIE any resident holds.

Which studies qualify

Spain's immigration regulation (article 52 of Real Decreto 1155/2024) accepts five cases:

Higher education, full time: university bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, universities' own degrees (títulos propios), higher arts education and higher-level vocational training (formación profesional de grado superior).
Post-compulsory secondary education, full time: bachillerato and intermediate vocational training (formación profesional de grado medio), among others.
A student mobility programme at secondary level.
A volunteering programme.
Training activities, which are a closed list. The most common: working as a language assistant (auxiliar de conversación), in-person courses in Spanish or a co-official language at an official language school (escuela oficial de idiomas) or at a school accredited by the Instituto Cervantes, courses that prepare for the entrance exams to specialised health training, and level 2 and 3 professional certificates (certificados profesionales).

"Full time" means being enrolled in at least 90% of the credits or of the programme. Non-university studies can be hybrid or blended, but at least half of the programme has to be taught in person.

The requirements

Admission to the school or university, with the tuition paid.
Financial means. For yourself, 100% of the IPREM (the public income index Spain uses as a reference) per month, which is €600 in 2026, unless your accommodation is paid in advance for the whole stay. Tuition money does not count towards that amount. If family members come with you, 75% of the IPREM for the first (€450) and 50% for each of the others (€300).
Health insurance with an insurer authorised in Spain, with cover similar to that of the public health system and valid for the whole stay.
A passport valid for at least one year.
A criminal record certificate from the countries where you have lived in the last five years, if you are an adult and the stay is longer than six months.
A medical certificate, if you apply from outside Spain.
Age: over 17 for higher education, and over 18 for post-compulsory secondary education and training activities.
The fee for the procedure.

Documents from other countries have to be legalised or apostilled and, if they are not in Spanish, come with a sworn translation.

Where to apply: from your country or without leaving Spain

From your country, it is a visa. You apply at the Spanish consulate at least two months before the studies begin. The consulate consults the extranjería office, which has seven days to decide on the authorisation. If it is granted, the consulate has one month to issue the visa.

From inside Spain you can apply in two situations:

If you are going to take higher education and you are in Spain lawfully, for example as a tourist.
If you already hold a residence authorisation, for any of the five cases.

In both you have to be an adult. The application is filed at least two months before the studies begin and at least two months before your lawful status ends. Someone who entered as a tourist with 90 days has, in practice, the first month to file it.

It is filed on form EX-00 at the extranjería office of the province where you are going to study, in person, through a representative or online through the sede electrónica. The office has two months to decide; if it does not answer in that time, the application is deemed rejected. In the meantime, having filed it extends your lawful status until there is a decision.

For higher education, the university or school can also file it for you, electronically. In that case the time limit for a decision is 15 days.

How long it lasts

Higher education: the official length of the studies. If the authorisation is for more than a year, you have to prove each academic year that you are still enrolled.
The other cases: the length of the activity, up to a maximum of one year.

The authorisation starts one month before the studies begin and ends fifteen days after they finish.

The card

If the authorisation lasts more than six months, you have to apply for the TIE in person within one month: from your entry into Spain if you come with a visa, or from the date it was granted if you applied here. That means two appointments at a Comisaría de Policía Nacional, one for fingerprints and one for pickup, with form EX-17 and the fee paid on form 790, code 012: €16.08 for the first card and €19.30 for the card that follows an extension.

The extension

When. In the two months before the date your authorisation expires. It is also accepted in the three months after, although filing late can bring a penalty.
How. Electronically, addressed to the extranjería office of the province that granted your initial authorisation.
While it is decided. If you file on time, your previous authorisation remains valid until the decision. The office has one month; once that time passes with no answer, the application is deemed rejected.
How long it lasts. The academic year you are enrolled in, up to a maximum of one year.
How many times. Up to two extensions per authorisation for higher education and post-compulsory secondary education. Only one for volunteering and training activities.

If you study Spanish at an accredited school, the extension requires that you have obtained a DELE or SIELE diploma, or at least that you are registered for the DELE exam. At an official language school, that you have passed the course.

If you have to travel with an expired card while the extension is pending, you need a return authorisation.

Can you work?

Yes, up to 30 hours a week and as long as the work is compatible with your studies. Going over that limit is grounds for the authorisation to be terminated.

In higher education, the authorisation itself lets you work, employed or self-employed, with no further paperwork.
In the other cases you need a work authorisation, which either the employer or you can apply for.

As a rule you can only work in the autonomous community that granted your stay. Internships that are part of the curriculum need no authorisation.

Your family

Only students in higher education can bring their family: a spouse or partner, minor children, and adult children who need support because of a disability or an illness. Their stay lasts as long as yours and does not let them work. It is not family reunification, which is a route for residents.

When you finish your studies

If you have completed higher education, post-compulsory secondary education or a professional certificate, the qualification lets you move to a residence and work authorisation without leaving Spain and without applying for a visa. Language courses do not open this route. The application is filed in the two months before or the three months after the date your stay ends or the date you obtain the qualification. The first authorisation is for one year. The residence routes that follow from there are in temporary residency in Spain.

The appointments you will need

The filing appointment, if you apply in Spain and in person. On the official cita previa portal it appears, depending on the province, as estancia por estudios or inside reagrupación inicial, menores y estancia por estudios.
The extension appointment. The application is electronic, but some provinces still list the procedure prórroga de estancia por estudios on the portal.
The work authorisation appointment, if your studies are not higher education: autorizaciones de trabajo por estudios.
The two card appointments: fingerprints and pickup.

If any of them does not appear in your province, you can create an alert and you will get a notification by email or Telegram as soon as our checks find available appointments. You book it yourself on the official portal, free: Cita Ping does not book for you and cannot guarantee you an appointment.