Considering Spain? Explore Your Study, Work and Residence Options

Are you considering a fresh start in Spain but unsure where to begin? Whether your goal is to study, work, start a business or move with your family, choosing the route that suits your situation is the first step. In this guide from ElWijha, you will learn about the main requirements for visas, admission, scholarships and residence options, along with what to arrange for housing and healthcare after arrival. These focused answers will help you understand your options and prepare before starting the application process.

First, define your goal: studying, working, family reunification and residence without employment have different requirements depending on your nationality and country of residence.

Short visits are generally limited to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen Area as a whole, while respecting the duration authorised by your visa. Moving for more than 90 days generally requires an appropriate national visa for those who are not exempt. Different rules apply to European Union citizens and their family members.

Choose your programme, then check the institution’s admission requirements, fees, deadlines and language of instruction.

For a bachelor’s degree, you may need recognition of your secondary school qualification, UNEDasiss accreditation or admission tests, depending on your qualification and the university. UNEDasiss is a service of Spain’s National University of Distance Education that assesses foreign qualifications and issues accreditation used when applying to Spanish universities. This accreditation does not replace the university admission application.

To study for more than 90 days, you must meet the requirements relating to admission, financial resources, health insurance and supporting documents. The application must be submitted at least two months before the start of your studies, with justified exceptions, such as enrolment schedules or exceptional circumstances.

To fund your studies, explore institutional scholarships and government scholarships. A study stay authorisation alone is not enough for an adult student from outside the European Union to meet the residence requirement for the government’s general scholarship. Each scholarship has its own academic, financial, nationality and residence criteria.

Under the general route for employed workers, the employer submits the residence and work authorisation application. Requirements concerning the contract, the business and labour market rules, or applicable exceptions, must be met. Obtaining a contract alone is not enough.

Other routes are available depending on your activity:

• Self-employment: subject to requirements concerning qualifications, licences and the investment needed for the activity.

• Entrepreneurship: for innovative projects and/or projects of particular economic interest to Spain, with a favourable assessment report from ENISA, Spain’s National Innovation Company.

• International remote work: for working for companies outside Spain, subject to requirements concerning the professional relationship, qualifications or experience, financial resources and social security.

If your profession is regulated, check which recognition is required for your qualification. Academic equivalence alone does not grant the right to practise a regulated profession.

Non-lucrative residence allows you to live in Spain with sufficient financial resources and appropriate health coverage, without working or carrying out a professional activity.

Under the general family reunification route, an application can usually be submitted after one year of residence and after applying for residence authorisation for a further year. Income, housing and health coverage requirements apply, with exceptions depending on the circumstances. The renewal must be granted, or the required residence status obtained, before the family members’ authorisation is issued. Different rules apply to the families of Spanish or other European Union citizens.

Higher education students have a route allowing certain family members to accompany them. However, the authorisation granted to accompanying family members does not permit them to work.

Prepare a budget for housing, bills, food, transport and healthcare, and check the rental agreement before making any payment. Look into registering your address with the local municipality, obtaining health coverage appropriate to your status, the requirements for the foreigner identity card (TIE), and renewing your authorisation.

If a student’s stay exceeds six months, the TIE must be requested within one month of entering Spain. The NIE is a foreigner identification number; it does not, by itself, grant the right to reside or work.

Under the general route, you can apply for national long-term residence after five years of continuous legal residence, provided you meet the requirements and comply with the permitted absence limits.

A study stay is legally distinct from residence. For EU long-term residence, study periods count for half their duration, subject to the applicable conditions, including holding resident status in Spain when applying.

The general qualifying period for citizenship by residence is ten years of continuous legal residence immediately before the application. Shorter periods apply to certain categories, alongside requirements concerning good civic conduct and integration. Completing the qualifying period does not mean citizenship is granted automatically.

A higher education study stay authorisation allows employment or self-employment without an additional work authorisation, provided the work is compatible with the studies and complies with the general limit of 30 hours per week. This does not automatically apply to every type of study.

A study stay authorisation holder who has completed higher education at a recognised institution in Spain and obtained a qualification at least equivalent to level 6 of the European Qualifications Framework, corresponding to a bachelor’s degree, may apply for residence to seek employment or start a business project, provided the other requirements are met.

This authorisation lasts 24 months and cannot be extended. It does not, by itself, permit work; the appropriate authorisation must be obtained before starting work.

It depends on the programme’s teaching language and the institution’s requirements. If the programme is taught in Spanish, you may be asked to provide evidence of your Spanish proficiency. If it is taught in English, evidence of your English proficiency may be required. There is no single test or proficiency level required by all universities: check the programme’s requirements before applying.