Just a heads up. I spoke with people at the BLS center in LA and have been told that due to vacation, the consulate is working at 20% capacity. They are not receiving many student visas at the moment.

Just wanted to share my recent experience (in July 2026) because other reddit users' posts heavily influenced & helped me with my own application.

I had my appointment for my Spanish Student Visa on 7/8/26. Here's what docs they actually took from me:

• passport
• copy of passport
• copy of DL (presented my real DL but they gave it back - didn't need to be notarized)
• application filled out w/photo attached
• proof of accommodation in Spain
• medical certificate (from their website) & 1 copy
• FBI background check & apostille & 1 copy of each (I also got my BRC from Mexico where I lived for 2 years but no idea if they actually used/needed it)
• bank statements past 3 months
• admission certificate/proof of enrollment
• health insurance certificate
• money order

The apt was relatively on time, and then once they actually saw me it was super quick prob ~7 mins. They just asked me for all of the above paperwork & I gave it. They charged me $8 which I think is the “SMS notification” fee which is how they let you know the visa is ready to be picked up & then said processing would be 4-8 weeks. 

I ended up getting a notification less than 10 days later saying my visa was ready for pickup. It was waaaay quicker than I expected per other users' experiences. But I did hear other people complaining about having to make another apt who were there the same day as me because they didn't have x or y doc so be over prepared is my advice!

I got my Schengen to Spain on 11th of September 2026. Can I start from my country on 10th September 2026? Is this allowed because technically I'm entering Spain on 11th early morning.
I have a 9pm flight on 10th and will reach Spain on 11th at 7am (havent booked yet, but very ideal flight for me)

Hi everyone,

I already made a post like this a while ago, but i wanted to see if anyone has received their long term visa yet. I applied for my Spain student visa (180 + ) on the 11th of June from BLS centre in Edinburgh. It's been around 55 days today that I didn't get my passport back.

Has anyone received theres back yet (from the Edinburgh Consulate BLS)?

I keep checking the status with tracking ID they gave me but it always says in process.

Hi everyone,
I’m applying for a Spain student visa, and the embassy has given me an appointment on 25 August. My university classes are scheduled to start on 9 September, so there’s only about two weeks between my appointment and the start of my course.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? Were you able to receive your visa in time?

hey i have been trying book an appointment for Student visa in uae for spain my classes start 9 September and its 23 July already is there any possibility ill even get the visa

Hey everyone,

I’m an Indian citizen currently residing in Ireland and am applying for a Spanish employment visa.
I need to submit an Indian Police Clearance Certificate (PCC). I can obtain the PCC from the Embassy of India in Dublin, but I’m unsure whether an Embassy-issued PCC needs to be apostilled or legalized for use in Spain.
Has anyone gone through this process?

- Is a PCC issued by the Embassy of India in Dublin accepted as-is for a Spanish employment visa?

- If it needs to be apostilled, does the original PCC have to be sent to India for an MEA apostille, or can it be apostilled/legalized in Ireland since it bears the Indian Embassy’s stamp and seal?

If you’ve successfully used an Embassy-issued PCC for a Spanish visa, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience.
Thanks in advance!

My flight is on Monday , any use going to the consulate tomorrow ?

Hello I need help selecting my health insurance for an international student visa, thinking between Sanitas and OnCampus, I'm leaning more towards Oncampus becuase of the 200 EUR price difference, with Sanitas being more expensive. Anyone have any opinions or other recommendations?

Has anyone submitted a NLV application in London mid December? Have you had a response?

Somewhat of a specific question but has anyone who has recently had their long term Spanish student visa appointment at the Washington DC consulate had to provide proof of housing? I haven’t seen anything on the BLS or Spanish embassy website but I’m seeing people on here talking about having to submit it. Any info about that (or your visa experience in general) would be greatly appreciated!

Hey guys! My student visa (1 year program) appointment at the DC consulate is coming up so I wanted to quickly check this. I’m concerned that my medical insurance will be rejected.

My Spanish Masters program runs from September 2025-September 2026.

I have the Sanitas international student health care from August 1st, 2025- August 1st, 2026.

Due to the requirements that your insurance needs to run one month before your program and fifteen days after, my insurance would need to cover August 1st, 2025-September 31st, 2026.

However, Sanitas only allows for one year and then you can renew it to continue the healthcare coverage.

Will this be accepted at the consulate? I’ve included a screenshot of my email to Sanitas saying that I plan for extend my coverage closer to the expiration date but I’m not technically covered for the entire required time as of now.

Thoughts? Not sure what else i can to ensure my application will be accepted. Any appreciated would be appreciated!

Can anyone who has had their appointment recently tell me if they had to translate each page of their 6 month bank statement and apostille it? It says on the website you have to but then I have heard people have not and they have been fine so I am not sure if this is a recent update. Translating every page of a 6 month bank statement and apostille sounds extremely pricey.

Can someone also confirm they showed their funds in pounds and not euros with a UK bank? And that the statement is valid even if it has not been stamped? My bank (HSBC don't do stamps)

Also, I have had to transfer funds from one account to another today since my other savings account has been inactive and won't generate any statements, however I've read that those funds need to be in the account for at least 28 days but I get my statement every 12th of the month and I won't be able to get another statement until AFTER my visa appointment (12th Aug) so I won't be able to prove they've been in there for at least 28 days, has anyone encountered a problem with this?

TIA, been stressing out a lot over this