How to get to Spain during the Corona Virus Pandemic

September 17, 2020BlogBy slc

Hi! I’m David, the director of Sevilla Language Center, a language academy located in the center of Seville, Spain. As most people know, Spain is not currently allowing tourists from outside the European Schengen area except for a short list of the following countries: Australia, Canada, China, Georgia, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, and Uruguay.

However, there are several exceptions to this rule and one of them is for students with a visa.

Student visas are not limited to high schools and universities, but also can be issued for people who enroll at language academies such as SLC. So, if you want to come to Spain and to learn Spanish, you can sign up for your language course and come here despite the current restrictions.

The requirements for obtaining a visa are the following:

Not be a citizen of one of the EU countries in the Schengen area and not be prohibited from entering Spain.
Have sufficient economic means to support yourself during your stay;
Have health insurance from a company licensed to do business in Spain;
Authorization for minors who come without their parents;
Acceptance in an educational institution for full-time study in Spain (20 hours/week);
If the stay is superior to 6 months, a police report and a health report are necessary.

Documentation required:

Visa application form;
Passport valid until past the end of the planned stay;
Proof of economic means (bank or investment account statement, proof of income, etc.);
Parental authorization for minors;
Proof of medical insurance;
Admission letter from the educational institution in Spain;
In case of stays of over 6 months: Health certificate and police certificate.

** Important note: All documents must be translated into Spanish. (Can be done by anyone, not necessarily a professional translator.) Also, any documents that come from a government office (i.e. the police report), must be certified by the local Spanish consulate as valid.

Where do I apply and how long does it take?

At the consular office of Spain with jurisdiction over the region where you currently reside. The student (or their parents), must actually go to apply. Normal response time is 2-3 weeks.