Spain Student Visa Instructions (2023)

Spanish VisaApplicationInstructions

Step #1: Chooseyourconsulate

I need to know which consulate you will apply through because the program acceptance letter I provide you will be consulate-specific. You must apply at the consulate with jurisdiction over your school’s address. Use this list to help you decide: https://www.middlebury.edu/schools-abroad/schools/spain/student-visa

Step #2: Make the appointment to appear in person and apply for the visa,ifapplicable

If you go to school in Boston’s jurisdiction (ME, VT, NH, MA, or RI) Nicole can take your materials and apply on your behalf, so you will not need your own appointment. It’s too early yet to schedule my appointment, but I’ll shoot for late October/early November. Do not plan any travel outside the country before your leave forSpain.

Those of you who do not have a school address in Boston’s jurisdiction will have to apply on your own. Some consulates have instituted protocols that do not require a personal appearance to drop off your materials, but instead want to see a perfect set of application materials by mail and a personal appearance to pick-up the visa. Students applying through Boston may apply up to 120 days before their program starts; students applying elsewhere may apply up to 90 days before the start of their program. Most consulates prefer that your program apply on your behalf, which is why I go to Boston, but the Catch-22 is that you have to go to school within their jurisdiction for that to work. If you do not, talk to me early aboutyoursituation.

If you need to make an appointment, start by emailing the consulate’s visa department (now) and asking for an appointment for sometime in mid-October or early November (no more than 90 days before your program start date). You should apply through the consulate with jurisdiction over your schooladdress.

1. Boston Nicole will have a group appointment for the Boston consulate for any student who can show residency in the Boston consulate’s jurisdiction in late October or so. I can apply for you only if your valid student ID is from MA, ME, VT, NH, or RI. Boston opens very few slots during the peak months, as they expect study abroad advisors to apply for their students, so it’s very difficult to get an individual appointment there. If you cannot go through the group process, make an appointment for yourself by email: cog.boston.vis@maec.es
2. Chicago Emailcog.chicago.vis@maec.es​ to request an appointment for a study visa. In the body of the email, include your:
   -Passport number
   -Email address
   -Phone number
   -NAME and LAST NAME (in capital letters)
   To the email, attach the following (2MB total size limit):
   -A photo of yourself, close-up, holding your passport open to the identification page and picture
   -A copy of your driver’s license and/or student ID (whichever allows you to apply at the Chicago consulate)
   -Program acceptance letter (the one the program sends to you in Spanish)
   -Copy of your FBI background check (only for stays over 180 days)
   The consulate will send you an email with a link to schedule your appointment, which cannot be more than 90 days before your program start.
3. DC Accepting complete applications by mail:Sección Consular;Sección Consular, Embajada de España;2375 Pennsylvania Ave. NW; Washington, DC 20037. Track your package.
4. Houston Accepting complete applications by mail:1800 Bering Drive, Suite 750; Houston. Texas 77057. Track your package.
5. Los Angeles opens its appointment scheduler one month in advance, so pay close attention and don’t miss your opportunity for an appointment.
6. MiamiAccepting complete applications by mail:Consulado General de España en Miami, Departamento de Visados; 2655 Le Jeune Road, Suite 203Coral Gables Fl 33134. Track your package.
7. New York Middlebury will not apply on your behalf in NY (only in Boston), so you should make an individual appointment or go through your home school’s process, if offered. For an individual appointment, email visadoscgny@gmail.com with the following:
   -Full name
   -Email address and phone
   -Passport number and nationality
   -Type of visa requested: STUDENT
   - Scanned copy of University ID or driver’s license—whichever indicates the student lives in the NY Consulate jurisdiction (New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware)
   - Scanned copy of Passport page with personal data.
8. San Francisco Email cog.sanfrancisco.vis@maec.es to request an appointment for a study visa and attach all your visa application materials. They may ask you to send copies or originals, and then they should give you an appointment to appear in person.
   

Step #3: Make sure your plans do not include travel outsidetheUS

Some consulates require you to leave your passport with them for processing (different consulates quote between 4-6 weeks). They will not call you when it’s ready, nor will they answer your call. Make a plan to return to the consulate to pick it up six weeks after your appointment. If you want to leave the country while the visa is processing, you’ll need to plan ahead and apply for a second US passport (which requires you to send away your original US passport to get). The link above is for a processing agent we have used many times (though as of this update, the US Dept. of State has suspended its authority to grant second passports—I’m leaving this information in hopes they return to offering thisservice).

Boston will currently allow me to apply using your passport, return your passport to you for travel, and then take it back to the consulate a second time (when I go to pick up the visas) so they can affix your visa inside the passport. Talk to Nicole if you hope to make travel plans outside the US to be sure they willwork.

Step #4: Gather your materials foryourappointment

Checklist ofapplicationmaterials:

• Your original, signed passport + copy
• Your completed, double sided, signed application for national visa (1 original)
• Your completed, signed “Supplement” form (1 original) [Boston only]
• Proof that you go to school in that consulate’s jurisdiction (student ID)
• Copy of your COVID vaccine card
• 1 (or 2 if required) passport photo(s)—one each glued to each required visa application
• Proof of financial means + copy
• Completed money order for $160 (US citizens—other nationalities are different, so check the fees section of their website) payable to the “Consulate General of Spain”
• Pre-paid priority mail envelope addressed to where you’ll be six weeks after your visa appointment (if your consulate will return by mail or if Nicole will apply on your behalf). Please have the post office affix actual stamps for the postage (don’t use a metered label with a date) AND the tracking number. Midldebury students can skip the return envelope if you’ll be on campus when Nicole picks them up.
• GROUP ONLY: Notarized letter allowing Nicole to apply and pick-up on your behalf
• YEAR REQUIREMENT: Medical certificate [apostilled and officially translated, if required] + copy
• YEAR REQUIREMENT: FBI background check, [apostilled and officially translated, if required] + copy

If applying with the group through Nicole, send your materials here, to arrive by OCTOBER4.

Nicole Chance
356 College St.
125 Sunderland Language Center
Middlebury, VT05753

GENERAL EXPLANATION OF ALLREQUIREMENTS/MATERIALS

Word of warning: each consulate makes its own rules—and they change these rules at will. They tend to re-evaluate their application fee in June. You will need to research your individual consulate’s requirements, but these are standard across many consulates, including Boston, so I’ll offer them here with a brief explanatory note for some of the questions I get most often. Please take originals, plus one photocopy of everything to the consulate, including a copy of the ID pages (signature page and photo page) of your passport. Also, make one copy of everything for your own records to take with you to Spain. Year-long students will only be granted a 90 day visa and will need to take your original documents to Spain in order to register with the local police (our staff will help with thisuponarrival).

• National Visa Application—Some boxes have been filled in. See below for help answering other questions.
• Supplement Form ONLY IF applying in Boston (not required by other consulates)
• Passport AND PHOTOCOPY of the ID pages including all numbers across the bottom—photocopy the photo part and the signature part (do not take a picture with your fingers in it)
  • The passport must be signed and valid for six months after the intended period of stay in Spain.
  • The passport must be in good condition (they’ve turned down ones that are damaged and students have had to get replacements).
  • The passport must have at least two blank visa pages (the ones that say “visa” on the top—the last two pages of US passports do not count).
  • If you need to obtain/renew a US passport, do so immediately: http://travel.state.gov/passport/
• One COPY of your current student ID as proof that you may apply at your chosen consulate.
• One COPY (do not submit the original) of your COVID vaccine card.
• One (or two for some consulates) recent, color, passport sized photo with a white (not off-white—double check when you get yours taken) background. This photo does not need to match the photo in your passport, and it cannot match the photo in your passport unless you’ve renewed your passport within six months of your visa application (because these photos must be no more than six months old). In Middlebury, you can get passport photos at the post office (call 802.388.3020 for an appointment) or the UPS store (no appointment required—arrive before 4:30pm). Alternately, you can try an on-line service like this one: https://www.epassportphoto.com/ Do not print these yourself. Attach one photo to the original application form (glue sticks work best—I have one, so if you’re turning your materials in to me, you can use mine). Some students have used photos that are too small in the past, so be sure yours are 2x2 inches square, even though that’s too big for the square provided on the form. Do not trim the photo to fit the box on the form.
• Letter of acceptance as a full-time student from Spain’s University/School or US program that indicates: name, address and registration number of the school withSpain’s Department of Education; (Ministerio de Educación de España) full payment of tuition, duration of the program, subjects of the study and hours of study per week which must be no fewer than 20. [This is the letter in Spanish provided for you by our office—signed by Patricia Rodriguez.]
• Health Insurance (original form): International insurance coverage for health/accident with no maximum coverage amount. I will provide you with a letter (in Spanish) you can use. Do not enroll yourself in health insurance through GeoBlue—the cost of this is included in your tuition. Later, once we have actually enrolled you in the health insurance plan, you will get an email from GeoBlue. You should follow their instructions to register and print your insurance card from their website.
• Proof of the availability of financial means. Original and a copy of the documents that prove that the applicant (or his legal representative or family member who supports him) has sufficient financial means to cover the expenses of the stay and return of the student and accompanying family members. The minimum amount required is equivalent to 100% of the IPREM. To this amount must be added 75% of the IPREM for the first family member and 50% of the IPREM for each additional family member. If it is proven that the accommodation is already paid in advance for the entire stay, this amount will be reduced. If the student travels to Spain without relatives, the minimum amount required for 2022 is $700 dollars per month.

At least one of the following documents must bepresented:

• If it is the applicant himself who assumes full financial responsibility for his accommodation and living expenses, he must present his bank statements for the last 3 months, which must include his full name and the final balance (which must cover the minimum funds required). Bank statements do not need to be translated intoSpanish.

• Statement from the Spanish or American university or academic institution, assuming full financial responsibility for accommodation and living expenses (this information may be contained in the letter of admission outlined in the epigraph). An original (and a copy) of this declaration must be submitted (in principle, only an electronic copy will be accepted, without the need for the original, as long as that copy includes an electronic signature). The official stamp and signature of the issuing entity must appear on this declaration. Photocopies or prints obtained from the Internet will not be accepted. A Spanish translation of this statement must also be submitted.[Middlebury includes in your Spanish acceptance letter that the program fees have been paid, so your additional proof of financial support need only cover your living expenses inSpain.]

• Proof of award of financial aid, loan, scholarship or other type of economic aid, which covers the minimum funds required for room and board. If this document is written in English, a Spanish translation must also besubmitted.

• Notarized letter from one parent/legal guardian, assuming full financial responsibility for room and board expenses. Include the English and Spanish to avoid having to translate it after the fact. Suggested text of said letter: I [name of parent or guardian] hereby take responsibility for air tickets between the United States and Spain and for all monthly accommodation and living expenses of my son/daughter [full name of the child] during their stay in Spain, as well as any emergency that may arise duringit.

Yo [nombre del padre o tutor] por la presente asumo la responsabilidad de los boletos aéreos entre los Estados Unidos y España y de todos los gastos mensuales de alojamiento y manutención de mi hijo/hija [nombre completo del niño] durante su estancia en España, así como cualquier urgencia que pueda surgir durante lamisma.

In addition, this letter must be accompanied by all of the following documents: 1) notarized copy of the identity document of the parent or guardian; 2) original and notarized copy of the student’s birth certificate that proves the parental bond, or of the sentence or decision of the competent authority that establishes the applicant’s guardianship; 3) bank statements for the last 3 months of the parent or guardian who assumes full financial responsibility, which must include the full name of the parent or guardian and the final balance (which must cover the minimum funds required for maintenance and accommodation, in addition to the cost of the studies themselves).Bank statements do not need to be translated into Spanish. [The letter Middlebury provides states that your tuition has been paid, so all that is needed from the proof of financial support is enough to cover your livingexpenses—$700/month.]

• Money-Order (no personal checks or cash accepted at consulates) to pay the non-refundable visa fee of$160 for US citizens or$80 for most other (though notably, not Canada, which is $86) nationalities (double check this amount with your consulate—they seem to change it whenever the exchange rate between the dollar and the Euro fluctuates or the US raises its visa fee). Make the money order payable to the Consulate General of Spain (city) and include your name and address on the money order—the top is your receipt, which you should keep until after the visa is returned to you.
• If applicable: notarized letter (banks, major post offices, schools, and law offices have notaries on staff, though they may be more difficult to find these days) from you allowing someone else to apply on your behalf (applicable only if you are not applying in person for your visa and if permitted by the consulate). Some consulates do not permit anyone to apply on your behalf.
  Date
  To the Consulate General of Spain in (City)
  I, (your name), give permission for (name of person applying) to apply for my studentvisa to study in Spain for the (semester/year) of (year(s)).
  Sincerely,
  (Your signature—WAIT to sign it in front of the notary public)
  (Your printed name)
  (Signature from the notary public)
• BOSTON GROUP APPLICANTS: Nicole needs to show the consulate permission to apply on your behalf and to pick it up when it’s ready. Please write the following:
  Date
  To the Consulate General of Spain in BOSTON
  I, (your name), give permission for Nicole Chance to apply for my studentvisa to study in Spain for the (fall semester/academic year) of 20XX(-XX). Furthermore, I grant her permission to pick up my passport with visa stamp when it is ready.
  Sincerely,
  (Your signature—WAIT to sign it in front of the notary public)
  (Your printed name)
  (Signature from the notary public)

  There is a list of campus notaries here. Please call to schedule an appointment and be sure to take your photo ID with you. In Sunderland, both AlessandraCap

  (Video) Guaranteed Student Visa for SPAIN | Apply yourself Easily | Important Docs List | Study in Europe

• Postage paid, Priority Mail envelope addressed to you (wherever you will be 4-6 weeks after you apply for the visa) if the consulate will mail it back to you. Save the receipt you receive from the post office, as your tracking information will be on that. Consulates will not let you know where your passport is, so you’ll only know it is on its way to you by tracking it yourself with the numbers on that receipt. BOSTON GROUP APPLICANTS who do not go to Middlebury/will not be in Middlebury 6 weeks after my visa appointment should provide Nicole with a self-addressed (to your home address, mostly probably) Priority Mail envelope for return of your passport/visa and save your receipt for tracking purposes too. If you’re on campus, you can wait and give me this if we learn that you’ll be gone before I’m able to pick them up.
• Some consulates also require proof of round-trip flight itinerary—though no consulate requires that you have actually purchased the ticket prior to applying. Boston does not require the flight itinerary.

Additional Requirements for Students Staying the Full Academic Year, ***including graduate students*** (US citizens abroad for only one semester do not currently need any ofthefollowing):

• Medical Certificate: Doctor’s statement on practice or medical center letterhead or with stamp from the practice (important) indicating thatyou have been examined and found to be in good health. This cannot be written on a prescription pad—it must be a typed letter signed by a doctor (not a nurse practitioner or other medical professional).This may need to be notarized and apostilled (state level). Use this template to avoid having to get it translated.
• Background check—consulates are now requiring the FBI background check ad have stopped accepting the state-level background checks. While the background check itself is fairly quick, the requisite apostille can take months.

FBI background check: https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks. You’ll complete the on-line request, the results of which will come to you notarized by default (though you won’t see a raised seal). To get fingerprinted in Middlebury: call the Sherriff’s office at 388.2981 to make an appointment (available only onTuesdays,1-3:30pm).

First complete your on-line request with the FBI. You’ll submit your email and receive an email back with a link that says “Click here to access your request” and a PIN that you’ll input. Then you’ll complete the on-line request. After you pay, you get another e-mail that is from the same e-mail as before (Criminal Justice Information Services) with the subject line: Identity History Summary Request Confirmation. The e-mail is a receipt that has your order number, the payment verification code, the preference (e.g. you indicated your fingerprints would be delivered by mail), and instructions to mail yourfingerprintshere:

FBI CJIS Division
ATTN: ELECTRONIC SUMMARY REQUEST
1000 Custer Hollow Road
Clarksburg,WV26306

Then take the following with you to your appointment tobefingerprinted:

• $35 check (preferred) or exact cash (for the fee to get fingerprinted)
• Government-issued (passport or drivers’ license) photo ID
• Email receipt from the on-line background check application
• Pre-paid trackable mailing envelope (UPS, FedEx or USPS all okay), addressed to the FBI at the address above.

Once you receive the results of your FBI background check (which come in the form of an email—you then print the results yourself), you will then need to send those results away for an apostille from the US Dept. of State. You’ll see they ask for a document with a raised seal, but this is apparently the exception (if you want to read that for yourself it’s in the FAQs on the FBI background check). If your consulate requires a translation, you can have the translation processed concurrently with the apostille. For the apostille on the FBI background check, send the FBI background check results, Form DS-4194, payment, and return mailing envelope (not FedEx—that one is now excluded in the directions, but still listed as an option on the form—don’t useit)to:

Office of Authentications
U.S. Department of State
CA/PPT/S/TO/AUT
44132 Mercure Cir, P.O. Box 1206
Sterling,VA20166-1206

The American Translators Association recognizes many services: http://www.atanet.org/
Here is an on-line one we haveused. You may send the document electronically for thetranslation.

Additional Requirement forNon-U.S.Citizens

• Evidence of your migratory status in the USA (Only for non US citizens): Provide your “Permanent Residence Card,” “Alien Registration Card,” or“US Visa with I-20/IAP-66” (except B1-B2). The consulate must see the original, which they will return to you, so also make them a copy.

Submitting your Application to theConsulate (or to Nicole to apply foryou)

Submit one set of originals (include the passport and money order in this set) + one set of copies (include the passport copy in this stack) + keep one set of copies for you to take with youtoSpain.

DIRECTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE NATIONAL VISA APPLICATION
Print the form and GLUE (use a glue stick) one passport photo to the front. I have a glue stick in my office—don’t buy one just forthis.

1. Last name as it appears in your passport
2. Leave blank if your name has not changed since birth (married women use your maiden name, if different)
3. First, middle names as they appear in your passport
4. Date of birth: written two digit day, two digit month, four digit year (ex. 15-03-1985)
5. Place of birth means city and state
6. Country of birth
7. Current nationality, then list your nationality at birth, if different, then list any other nationalities you hold
8. Gender—male or female as stated in your passport
9. Marital Status
10. None of you are minors, leave blank
11. Unless you are a grad student who has been recently living in Spain, you do not have one—leave blank
12. Type of passport is “ordinary passport” (unless your parents are diplomats or you’re in the military, in which case, you might have a “diplomatic” or a “service” passport)
13. Your “travel document” is your passport and your passport number is the nine-digit number in the upper right corner of the ID page (of a US passport).
14. Date of issue (use same format as for date of birth throughout this form).
15. Valid until—give the expiration date.
16. Issued by: whatever country issued your passport
17. Use your home address, even if outside the consulate’s jurisdiction AND email address
18. US citizens should check “no.” Otherwise, check yes and list your current residency status and validity.
19. Current profession: “student.”
20. Principal purpose of journey: “studies.”
21. Date you plan to enter Spain. If you are not a US citizen and you require a tourist visa to travel to Spain, you may not enter until the date your visa begins, so be careful not to plan to arrive too early. US citizens may have up to 90 days in Spain outside the dates of the visa. Use the actual date your plan to travel, even if you haven’t bought your ticket—it must be at least one day prior to the program start date, which we list on your calendar as your arrival date. If you will be going a week early to look for an apartment, include this additional week. The guideline from the Boston consulate is they won’t give you a start date earlier than 14 days before your program start.
22. Number of entries: “multiple” or “more than two”
23. Applicant’s address in Spain—select the bolded information from your site below (the unbolded part is there foryourinformation):

Madrid: Grads and Undergrads in Madrid at the Sede Prim, including those taking courses at the Autónoma
Middlebury College School in Spain
Calle Prim, 19 Primera Planta
28004 Madrid SPAIN
Telephone: 011.34.91.319.8188 Fax: 011.34.91.310.0036
Contact: Patrícia Rodriguez
Email address: prodriguez@middlebury.edu

Córdoba
Juan de Dios Torralbo: internacional_ffl@uco.es
Universidad de Córdoba
Facultad de Filosofía y Letras
Plza. Cardenal Salazar, s/n
14071 Córdoba, SPAIN
Tel: +34 957218752

Getafe
Penélope Barrero: pbarrero@pa.uc3m.es
Universidad Carlos III International School
C/ Madrid, 126
28903 Getafe, Madrid
Tel: +34 916249326

Logroño
Ana Pajares Ciércoles: internacional@adm.unirioja.es
Relaciones Internacionales
Universidad de La Rioja
Avda. de la Paz, 93
26004 Logrono (La Rioja) SPAIN
Tel: +34 941299152

24-25. Leave blank (unless you’re a grad student who does have an NIE—this is like your social security number, so if you already have one, write it here)
26. The “Data of individual resident…” section does not apply to you. Leave all questions here bank.
27. The “Data of employer or company…” section does not apply to you. Leave all questions here bank.
28. This “Data of educational establishment” section is the one you need to complete.
Name of educational institution in Spain:
Middlebury College in Spain: Madrid/Getafe/Córdoba/Logroño (indicateYOURsite)

Address:
Middlebury College School in Spain: Madrid/Getafe/Córdoba/Logroño (indicate YOUR site)
Calle Prim, 19 Primera Planta; 28004 Madrid SPAIN (regardless of site—this is our official program address)
Telephone: 011.34.91.319.8188
Email address: prodriguez@middlebury.edu

Please use these PROGRAM DATES on your application, but remember to arrive earlier than the first day of the program (calendars here):

FALL

• Undergraduates in Madrid for the fall: August 25, 2022-January 20, 2023:
  149 days
• Undergraduates in Getafe for the fall: August 25, 2022-December 22, 2022:
  120 days
• Undergraduates in Córdoba for the fall: September 1, 2022-January 24, 2023: 146 days
• Undergraduates in Logroño for the fall:September 1, 2022-January 28, 2023: 150 days

YEAR

• Undergrads in Getafe for the year: August 25, 2022-June 1, 2023: 281 days
• Grads in Madrid for the year: August 30, 2022-June 1, 2023: 276 days

SPRING

• Undergraduates in Madrid (Sede Prim, Getafe UC3M or UAM courses) for the spring: January 19, 2023-June 2, 2023:135 days
• Undergraduates in Córdoba for the spring: February 2, 2023-June 18, 2023: 137 days
• Undergraduates in Logroño for the spring: February 7, 2023-June 27, 2023: 141 days

27 (yes, they reused #27 and #28 on their form, so I’m replicating that mistake in my instructions). The place (city and state) you are when signing the form and the date you are signing.
28. Original signature required—print the form before signing/dating in blueink.

Directions for completing the Supplement Form formforBoston

Complete all information in CAPITAL LETTERS these are answers to the trickier questions, but complete the whole form:
Place of Birth: city and state of birth
Legal status: citizen (or whatever your immigration status is—if you don’t know, then you’re a citizen)
Maiden name: maiden name for married women—others leave blank unless you’ve changed your name
Address of residency: use your street address (not your PO box), city, state, and zip
Type of visa/number/expiration: leave blank if you are not in the US on an F-1 student visa
Profession: student
Company name: Middlebury College
Address: Middlebury, VT 05753
Number of entries: multi
Dates: Use the date you actually plan to enter Spain, not the start date of your program (always must be at least the day prior to the start of your program).
Port of entry: Madrid unless you’re coming overland through another border
Main destination: whatever city you’ll be studying in
Purpose of travel: study
Contact information: Patricia Rodriguez, Middlebury College School in Spain
Address: Use the address according to you site (seeabove)

Place and Date: where you are and the date you are signingtheform

Signature: sign in blue ink so it’s easy to see that your signatureisoriginal.

What to expect at the consulate
Consulates can be intimidating places, so here are a few things to keepinmind:

1. You should know that the security officers in the building will not let you go up to the consulate until it officially opens, so get to the general vicinity early, then grab a coffee and wait.
2. You will need to show ID and sign in, and in some cases pass through metal detection, so be prepared.
3. Use the bathroom before you go, as some consulates only have bathrooms on the first floor, and you don’t want to have to duck out of the waiting room.
4. Some consulates do not allow food and beverages (Boston, for example) in the waiting area, so plan accordingly (especially if you grabbed that aforementioned coffee).
5. Some consulates do not allow you to use your cell phone, so pack a book.
6. If you want to make the process easier on yourself, photocopy each of your documents twice and make one pile of originals and two piles of copies. Keep one stack of copies for yourself. Put the passport and the money order on top of the pile of originals—you should have copies of the passport, but not of the money order. Have the photocopy of the passport on top of the stack of copies for the consulate. The consular officer will return the originals to you, as you will need them when you get to Spain and go to register yourself at the police station (which you must do within 30 days of entering Spain). This will be explained to you once you get to Spain, but make sure you pack these originals and take them with you to Spain.

Picking up your visa
Some consulates will return the visa to you by mail, so if this is an option, you should definitely take advantage of it and include the pre-paid, self-addressed USPS PriorityMailenvelope.

For the majority of you, when your visa is ready, no one will call you; when you apply, you should ask when it will be ready. They’ll probably quote you sometime between four and six weeks. After the wait they quote you has passed, give one additional week (if your timing allows), then you can reasonably assume your visa is ready for pick-up. You could call so you feel as though you’ve done all you can to be certain, but they do not answer their telephone and you are equally unlikely to receive a return to your call. You can either go in person to pick it up or, at some consulates, you may send a “legal representative.” This means you should prepare the following letter and sign it before a notary public. The person picking up your visa does not need to be a relative, but will need to have this notarized authorization from you as well as photo ID (for him/herself). The lettershouldread:

Date
To the Consulate General of Spain in (City)
I, (your name), give permission for (name of person picking it up) to pick up my student visa to study in Spain for the (semester/year) of (year(s)).
Sincerely,
(Your signature—WAIT to sign it in front of the notary public)
(Your printed name)
(Signature from thenotarypublic)

**********************************************************************

Updated9/21/2022NC