Visa Victory: 5 tips for Mastering the Spanish Visa Process

"The most important part of every plan is planning on your plan not going according to plan.” — Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money

Applying for a Spanish visa is anything but easy. From confusing paperwork to ever-changing requirements, the visa application process is a daunting one. Luckily, I’m here to help!

My Visa Experience

Every state has a different designated BLS visa application center. You can find out your state’s assigned BLS office by locating the nearest Spanish consulate. Then, you can click on your consulate’s city here to make an appointment. Since I’m from Florida, my designated application center is BLS Miami.

Timeline 

MARCH / APRIL - CIEE sent out a preliminary visa guide detailing all the documents we’d need to gather and when to start preparing them. I ordered my FBI background check and apostille.

MAY - A busy month! I hired a sworn translator to translate my background check and apostille from English to Spanish, visited my doctor to have my medical certificate filled out, and booked my visa appointment.

JUNE - I renewed my driver’s license since it was close to expiring. A few days later, I visited the BLS Miami office for my appointment where everything went smoothly. I made sure to pay extra for SMS notification and flexible pick-up times.

JULY - I waited for my visa and checked its status by tracking it through the BLS website.

AUGUST - I collected my passport from the Miami BLS and booked my one-way ticket to Spain!

So Where Did I Go Wrong?

I lost a friend- I mean- my mind. See, despite having paid extra for SMS and checking my application’s status on the BLS website, I never was notified that my visa was ready for pick up. 

My application status was stuck on a perpetual “passport ready for dispatch” label that I didn’t know the meaning of. I reached out to CIEE staff who told me to contact the BLS office—who I later found out wasn't replying to anyone—and I tried googling it to see what it meant. I couldn’t find an answer.

So if you’re in a similar situation: YES! The “passport ready for dispatch” status means your visa was processed and you can head to the BLS center to pick up your passport.

While I only had a minor hiccup, here’s a few other issues that popped up this year causing major delays in processing times and headaches for other auxiliaries:

• The Spanish consulate added a new requirement for proof of funds
• The consulate began denying student visas to minors who applied after the end of May
• The Junta de Andalucía cancelled all auxiliary placements for the 2025-2026 academic year due to a labor dispute

The only thing guaranteed when it comes to visa planning is that it will not go to plan. Here’s how you can minimize errors and “expect the unexpected” to have a relatively easy time.

5 Tips for a Smooth Visa Application Process

1. Start early

The earlier you start, the more time you have to gather all the necessary documents. Plus it gives you (or the consulate) more time to fix any mistakes. 

Other documents you simply cannot leave until the last minute—namely your FBI background check and apostille. Though the background check will be relatively quick, it will not be accepted by the Spanish government until it has an apostille. The apostille may take anywhere from four to eight weeks depending on the volume of people ordering one. The earlier you start, the less people there are ordering the apostille, the faster it will be and the sooner you can do everything else for your visa.

2. Say up-to-date 

Please please please check your email! Especially if you’re going abroad with CIEE! They send out informational guides that tell you how to apply for your visa and other vital information. They also update these guides frequently to stay up-to-date with the latest consulate requirements.

It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when: the consulate can and WILL change something about the visa process. I know it’s boring and tedious and sometimes you don’t want to read a bunch of information on stuff you’re already stressed out about BUT the more informed you are on current information and potential delays, the better you can adapt and plan. 

3. Other sources of information

On top of checking my email often, I also made sure to check the BLS website for updates on my visa and the subreddit r/SpainAuxiliares for first-hand accounts of other people in the same position as me. This subreddit has been a huge life-saver in terms of answering common questions about the visa process as well as having a community to support you. Just remember: we're all in the same boat here so you're never truly alone! 

If you're not going abroad with CIEE, or your program doesn't provide you with detailed guides on how to apply for your visa, definitely check the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs website often. Make sure you're clicking on the "Study visa or Auxiliar de conversación" link for the required documents. 

4. Check twice, arrive once

Once you’ve collected the necessary documents, checked them a billion times over, filled out the application, and made your appointment, the next thing to do is show up—and EARLY.

A chauffeur once said to me and my other 5th grade companions one bring-your-dad-to-school-day: "If I arrive early, I’m on time. If I arrive on time, I’m late. If I’m late, I’m fired."

Wise words for a ten-year-old to hear. And they still ring true! As much of an inconvenience it may cause, you’re better off arriving early than scrambling at the last minute. With plenty of time to spare, you’ll be able to make sure you have everything you need and account for unexpected inconveniences like heavy traffic or poor weather. 

5. Keep a positive mindset

At the end of the day, only a small portion of the legal processes you’ll have to go through in order to live abroad are in your control. The rest is up to the government and the offices that process them. As long as you prepare well, stay up to date on current information, and arrive on time, everything is likely to go well. Whatever happens, whether with your visa or another document, it WILL work out. That sounds like a load of bologna when you’re stressing about your visa arriving on time, or if some other issue arises, but take it one day at a time and things will work themselves out (I write this while currently stressing about housing, trust me, I understand). You got this!

Dual Citizenship (US + EU)

If you're reading this with a EU passport in hand, I'm incredibly jealous. 

Like lots of people with Spanish relatives, before I applied for my Spanish visa, I applied for my Spanish citizenship through my abuelo. 

Though gaining dual citizenship is a lengthy process (and I’m still waiting for mine), having citizenship in an EU country grants an amazing advantage: you can skip the visa application and travel with a passport issued by any country that is a member of the European Union.

You're not alone

For more information about moving abroad, or general questions, feel free to contact me on Instagram @victoriaenespana