Spain student visa from the UK: BLS, timing and requirements
Studying in Spain for up to 90 days needs no study visa: a British citizen goes as a visitor. Beyond 90 days, for a degree, a full-time course, a postgraduate programme or Spanish lessons at an accredited school, you need the student visa, applied for from the UK.
What counts as studies
Higher education, upper secondary education at an authorised school, mobility programmes, volunteering, Spanish or co-official language courses at official language schools or centres accredited by the Instituto Cervantes, and complete vocational training.
A doctorate is different: doctoral students are treated as researchers.
When and where
Apply two months before your course starts, unless you can justify why that is not possible. The application goes to the BLS centre of your consular district. If the stay authorisation is favourable, the consulate decides on the visa within a month, and you collect it in person.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| No visa | up to 90 days |
| When to apply | 2 months before the course |
| Where | BLS for your district |
| Decision | 1 month after the authorisation |
| Fee (British, over 6 months) | £345.00 |
- National visa form
- Passport valid a year with two blank pages
- Admission letter from the school
- Proof of funds, health insurance and a medical certificate
- Criminal record certificate, if the stay exceeds 180 days
What you file
The national visa form, a passport valid for at least a year with two blank pages, proof of admission and of the fees paid, proof of funds, health insurance and a medical certificate.
If the stay goes beyond 180 days, add a criminal record certificate from every country you lived in during the last five years; language assistants bring the ACRO International Child Protection Certificate. Foreign documents legalised or apostilled and translated.
What it costs a British applicant
For studies of more than six months, £345.00 on the 2026 list for British nationals, plus the BLS service charge.
Doctoral students do not apply for a student visa: they go as researchers.Related guides
Checked against the official pages on 10 November 2026.
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