One of the most important requirements to successfully obtain a student visa in Spain has to do with the specific course and study you enroll in. No matter if you have your private health insurance and sufficient funds, if the academic institution or course does not meet the right requirements, your application won’t be valid.
In this article, you are about to learn how to know if your studies or course is valid to obtain a Spanish student visa, and in which type of institution should you enroll.
Good news: the answer is yes. Nearly all types of courses and studies are valid to obtain a student visa in Spain.
It is not uncommon to discover that a foreigner who wants to obtain a student visa mistakenly thought that just a university degree or master’s would make their application work.
And the truth is that year after year, foreigners from all around the world get their student visas after enrolling in any type of education program, no matter its level or content.
One important thing you must consider is that online courses are not valid. So as long as you must attend your classes in person, it will work.
The reason for having a student visa is to come to Spain to a specific academic center. Thus being able to study online makes the move unnecessary.
Hence, as long as your studies are not online, you can successfully complete your application by enrolling in:
- University degrees and bachelor’s programs
- Masters and PhDs
- Professional training
- Higher artistic or sports education
- And even language courses!
Bear in mind that the institution does not have to be private. Studies at both public and private centers are valid.
Which courses are eligible for student visa in Spain?
As we have just seen, all types of education are valid to obtain a student visa. This means that early childhood education, primary and secondary, vocational training, and university degrees are valid for application of the student visa.
However, the course must lead to receiving a title or degree. For example, if you take a training course that does not provide a title at the end, it would not be valid for the student visa.
Other things that may generate red flags are the characteristics of the program or studies.
If you want to get your student visa, make sure that the course you’re taking meets the following requirements:
- The course must be of a minimum of 20 hours per week
- The studies must be held at an authorized institution by the Ministry of Education (or by the government of the region in which you are currently living). This means it must be registered in the Official Public Registry or in the registry of the autonomous community that you are applying in
- It must provide an official certification upon course completion
And, in case you are enrolling in any language course (something quite common for foreigners), the academy must be accredited.
That is, if you are taking a Spanish course, the center must be accredited by the Cervantes Institute; and if the program is on any other language, by the analogous institution.
Use this extra filter to stay in the country for the long-run
Many foreigners use the student visa as the entry gate to stay in the Spanish territory for the long run.
They obtain their student permit but don’t take the time to analyze what will be required to move to any other type of residency once they complete the course.
And that is a big mistake, as many times the studies themselves and the specifics about the program will be the most important factor to allow them to stay for extra years.
You can learn more about how to move from a student visa to a work permit here.
One of the most common paths when finishing your studies is the residency to look for a job.
But, in order to move to that special type of residence permit, your completed studies must be within a list created by the government called RUCT.
Hence, our advice is to make sure your studies are accredited and recognized within this list when applying for your student visa.
And in case you have any other questions, do not hesitate to get in touch with our immigration lawyers.
Get in touch with our lawyers and let us guide you step by step:
