If you are enrolled in one of our on-campus programs and a citizen of a country outside the European Union and European Economic Area and Switzerland, you are required to obtain a Spanish study visa to study at the Swiss School of Management Barcelona. Applying for a Spanish study visa can be a long process depending on your country of residence. We advise that you start the process on time to secure your study visa before the start of your studies in Barcelona.
Steps to Secure your Spanish Study Visa
After your enrolment at the Swiss School of Management Barcelona, you need to take the following steps to secure your long-term Spanish study visa for programs that last longer than 6 months.
Visa Appointment
You can submit your visa application up to 120 days before starting your study at the Swiss School of Management in Barcelona. Search for Spanish Embassies and Consulates around the world and find an office closest to your place of residence. You may be required to book an appointment at the embassy/consulate to submit your application. We advise you to take this step as soon as you are enrolled at the Swiss School of Management Barcelona. If you are allowed to travel to Spain without a visa for a period of 90 days or have a Schengen tourist visa for the same period, you can convert your tourist visa into a Spanish study visa directly from Spain. In this case, please contact our admissions team for more information.
Gather the necessary documents
Check the Spanish Embassy / Consulate website in your country of residence for the full list of required documents required to obtain a Spanish study visa as this usually varies from country to country. You will be required to provide Spanish translation and legalization of some documents. Required documents generally include:
Visa Application
On the appointment date, all required documents have to be submitted. You may also go through an interview process. You will be required to pay an application visa fee at this point, so make sure to know the methods of payments accepted by the Embassy.
Visa Notification
You should receive notice of the decision taken on your visa application within 2 weeks to 1 month from your visa application submission. In some cases, the embassy/consulate may take longer to provide a decision. If the answer is positive, you will receive a 90-day Spanish study visa on your passport, and you will be required to get your Spanish student residence card upon arrival in Spain. Your newly issued Spanish student card will replace the student visa in your passport. If the answer is negative, you will be informed of the reasons why you were denied your visa and will have the option to reapply or appeal your case.
Arrival in Spain
Get your Spanish Student Residence Card in Spain
Upon your arrival to Spain, you will need to register yourself as a resident in Barcelona at the nearest Citizen Help and Information Offices (OAC) (this process is called “empadronamiento” in Spanish) and afterwards book an appointment on the government website to get your student residence card. Your card which is called a TIE (Tarjeta de Indentidad del Extranjero) is normally issued after a month. Your fingerprints will be collected and you need to submit the following required documents:
With a valid student residence card (TIE), you will be allowed to work for up to 30 hours a week on an employment contract, take on an internship, and travel to countries within the Schengen region.
Spanish Student Residence Card Renewal
Your Spanish Student Residence Card is renewable every year for as long as you are a registered student at the Swiss School of Management Barcelona or in Spain. You will be required to start the process up to 60 days before the expiry of your previous residence card, or 90 days after its expiry. We always recommend that you start the process before your current student residence card expires.
Post Study Visa Options
Once you have successfully completed your Bachelor, Master, or Doctorate studies at the Swiss School of Management Barcelona, you can go on to apply for the following residence permits to remain in Spain if you meet the conditions for obtaining them.
Please note that our programs do not give access to Job-Search Visas in Spain.
Our admissions team will provide support with the visa application process whenever necessary, however, you will need to apply for your visa in person at the nearest Spanish consulate in your region.
Swiss School of Management Barcelona collaborates with immigration lawyers to provide professional support at an additional cost. If you are interested in getting legal assistance with your visa and immigration procedures, please contact us.
Your study visa will be issued for the duration of your studies at Swiss School of Management Barcelona, up to one year. If your programme at Swiss School of Management Barcelona is longer than a year, your visa can be extended directly in Spain if you still meet the required conditions and can provide evidence that you have passed the relevant exams and meet the requirements to continue your studies. In this case, the process can be done 60 days before the expiry or 90 days after the expiry of the student card.
Your direct family (spouse, common-law partner, and children under 18) can also apply for a visa to enter and stay in Spain for the same duration as your studies at Swiss School of Management Barcelona. To apply for a family visa, you must show financial means to support your family and give strong evidence of your family ties. Family members are not allowed to work and cannot obtain a work permit in Spain.
If there were errors in your visa application that can be corrected, we advise that you present an appeal directly to the Spanish Consulate where your visa application was presented. An appeal can be presented up to a month after receiving the decision on your application. If you have missed the appeal deadline and/or start date of your course, we advise that you defer your studies to the next semester (without paying any additional fee) and resubmit your visa application. The result of your first application will not influence the outcome of your next visa application as long as you fully meet all the requirements for the study visa.
Refund requests may be presented only after the above steps have been taken to secure your study visa. We advise that you take a look at our refund policy for more information about how refund cases are handled at Swiss School of Management Barcelona.
You are permitted to work during your period of student residence only if your work activities do not conflict with your studies. Moreover, the income you obtain must not represent a necessary resource for your maintenance or stay and the company hiring you must be registered in the Spanish social security system.
The health insurance companies recommended by Swiss School of Management Barcelona, as well as our legal partners, are as follows: Allianz and Sanitas.
Please make sure that the insurance covers €100,000.00 in damages, repatriation, or any emergencies, and cannot have a waiting period of more than 6 months. Depending on the country in which you are applying for the insurance, there might be some additional requirements. Please contact our Admissions office for more details.
Financial evidence is proof you have enough money to pay for your studies and support yourself while studying in Spain. The requirement includes evidence you can pay for your full Swiss School of Management Barcelona tuition fees, as well as your living expenses. Living expenses are at least €12,000.00 per year. Documents accepted as financial evidence are as follows: bank statements, salary receipts, period income, scholarship document certificate (exact amount in euros), or a letter from the parents or relatives covering financial resources (a notarized document that needs to be legalized).
In some cases, it is easier to obtain a tourist visa and directly convert your tourist visa to a study visa in Spain. You will need to start the conversion process within the first 50 days from your arrival to Spain. Required documents for the conversion generally include:
