Spain Tourist Visa for Visitors

A Spain Short-Stay Tourist Visa is a permit that allows you to travel to Spain for the main purpose of performing touristic activities, like vacation, sightseeing, exploring and visiting friends or family members living in Spain and staying there for a maximum of 90 days within a 180-day period.

Do I Need to Apply for a Spanish Tourist Visa?

You will not need to apply for a Spanish tourist visa if you are from:

• EU member countries.
• The EFTA member countries.
• The 62 world countries under the Schengen visa-free regime.
• Or, you are residing in any of the Schengen countries with a residence permit, as long as your residence permit is valid.

However, if you are a national of any of the world countries not listed above will need to apply for a visa in advance, before taking a trip to Spain for any of these two purposes.

Spain Tourist Visa Requirements

To apply for a Spain tourist visa, you need to submit the following required documents:

• Two Spain biometric photos. Identical and taken within the last three months according to the Schengen photo specifications.
• Passport. Valid for another three months beyond the date you plan to leave Spain. It should also have at least one blank page, in order to affix the visa sticker in it.
• Copies of passport pages. You also need to make a copy of all passport pages that contain information: the two main pages with your details and the pages with visa stickers and stamps.
• Flight Booking. You need to show proof of the dates when you plan to travel to Spain and then leave the country. This proof is a flight reservation, with your name, as well as the dates and places of arrival and departure in it.
• Travel Medical Insurance. It must cover not only the whole territory of Spain but also all of the other Schengen member countries and any incident or unforeseen illness with a minimum of 30.000€, including repatriation for medical reasons or in case of death. In addition, it must be arranged at least for 7 days even if you are planning to stay less than that, i.e. two days.
• Proof of Sufficient Funds. You need to attest owning the overall amount for duration up to 10 days that is representative of a 90% of the gross national minimum wage (636.93 €) that is 573.23€. On the other hand, if your trip is to last more than 10 days, the daily-required amount is 70.77€. To prove you have this money you should present
  • Your bank account statements.
  • A letter of support, if someone else is going to finance your trip. They should submit their bank statements alongside with the letter.
  • Hotel booking, that contains your name, the dates of stay, and the details of the hotel.
  • Invitation letter, if you will be staying over at friends or family members living in Spain. The letter should include your host’s details (address, contact details, intended period of stay, etc.). Note that photocopy is not acceptable! You can still submit a colored print.
  • Rental agreement. If you will be renting a place for your stay in Spain, you should present the rental agreement with the owner of the premises. The document must state the area of the place you are renting, address and owner’s details.

  In addition, you will also need to submit proof of employment status, according to your situation, as follows:

  • If employed:
    • Employment contract
    • Current bank statement of the latest 6 months
    • No-objection certificate from the employer
    • Income Tax Return (ITR) form or Certificate of Income Tax deducted at the source of salary
    • A copy of your business license
    • Company bank statement of the latest 6 months
    • Income Tax Return (ITR)
    • Proof of enrollment
    • Leave approval letter from school or university
    • Pension statement of the latest 6 months

    How to Apply for a Spain Tourist Visa for Visitors?

    To apply for a Spain Tourist or Visitor visa you will need to follow these steps:

    1. Fill in the tourist/visitor visa application form.
    2. Collect the required documents.
    3. Appoint an interview.
    4. Attend your interview.
    5. Pay the tourist visa fees.

    Fill-in the Spain Tourist Visa Application Form

    As soon as you make the appointment, you should start collecting the documents required to present on the day of your appointment. Start with the application form.

    There is one common visa application form for all types of short-stay visas, for every country in the Schengen territory. Complete this form, print it, and then sign it at the end.

    After you complete the form, check if all your questions are correct and if you made any typo. Note that your answers in this form must comply with the information in the rest of the required documents for a Spain Visitor Visa or Spain Tourist Visa, whichever you are applying for.

    Appoint an Interview

    After figure out the two things listed above, you should make an appointment for the submission of your visa application file and the interview.

    You can make an appointment for a Spain Visa application through the website of the authority responsible for the admission of your application or through a phone call. In some countries, there is only one option available, while in others are both.

    Gather the Required Documents

    Next, proceed collecting the rest of the documents required for a Spain Visitor Visa, or Spain Tourist Visa, according to your purpose of the application.

    Attend Your Spain Visa Appointment

    Once you make the appointment, and you have all the required documents ready, you should wait for the day of your interview.

    When that day comes, make sure you show up at the Spanish embassy/consulate/VAC on time. Have all your documents with you, arranged in order. You will attend a meeting with a consular officer. The latter will ask you questions regarding your trip to Spain, the purpose of the application for a visa, and will ask you to hand the documents to her/him.

    If this is the first time in the last 5 years that you are applying for your Schengen visa, you will also need to provide your biometric data – your facial image and fingerprint.

    Pay the Fees

    You will need to pay a fee of €90 to apply for a Spain Tourist Visa or a Spain Visitor Visa. The fee is required in order to cover the expenses that come out of the processing of your application.

    Note that children under the age of 12 are subject to a fee of €45, while those under six are exempt from any fee for a Spain short-stay visa.

    In addition, the nationals of a few countries and several other categories are exempt from paying a fee for a short-stay visa for Spain. Check here for a full list of these categories.

    Where Should I Submit My Application for a Spain Tourist Visa?

    The Spanish authorities are responsible for the admission and the processing of your application only if Spain is your main Schengen destination, which means:

    • You will only visit Spain and no other Schengen country.
    • You will visit other Schengen countries aside from Spain, but you will stay in Spain the longest.
    • You will visit several Schengen countries and you will spend the exact same amount of days in each, but you will enter the borderless territory through Spain.

    Once you make sure that Spanish authorities are the ones responsible for the admission of your visa application, check at which Spanish representation in your country you should lodge your application. This could be:

    • The Spanish embassy or consulate in your country of residence.
    • A Visa Application Center, to which Spain has outsourced visa processing in your country.
    • One of the three listed above, located in a neighboring country, in the absence of them in your country of residence.

    When Should I Apply?

    According to the Short Stay visa rules for Spain, the earliest that you can submit an application is six months before the date of your planned trip to Spain, while the latest is two weeks in advance.

    How Long Does it Take To Get a Tourist Visa for Spain?

    Normally, the Schengen embassies, including the Spanish ones, are obliged to process visa applications for short-term visas for tourism and visiting within a period of 15 days. Yet, in some cases this period may be extended for 30 days, or even 60 days.

    Such extension may happen at times when the embassy where you lodge your application is receiving many requests for visa application processing, or due to your specific case.

    Spain Tourist/Visitor Visa Validity

    A Spain tourist or visitor visa can be valid for a maximal period of three months within half a year. Yet, it is the authority that grants you the visa that decides on the validity of your visa, depending on how they see it reasonable. You can calculate your legal stay in Spain here.

    While you can get a visa valid for three months, you can also get one valid for three days. When you receive your passport with the Spain visa sticker on it, pay attention to the following tags:

    • FROM – stands for the first day you are permitted to enter the Schengen Area.
    • UNTIL – stands for the last day when you will have to leave the Schengen Area.
    • DURATION OF STAY – stands for the number of days you are permitted to remain in the Schengen Zone within the given dates near the “from” – “until” tags.

    The visa sticker in your passport contains a lot of other information, as the countries in which you may not be permitted to enter, the permitted number of entries with that visa, etc. Check how to read a Schengen visa sticker to learn more.

    In case of visa Rejection

    If you receive a negative response on your Spain visa application, you will also get a letter with a reason why your application is being rejected. In this case, you have two choices:

    • Move one and make a new application, by avoiding the previous mistakes and improving your situation.
    • Write an Appeal Letter for Schengen Visa rejection, but only if you think that your application has been rejected by mistake or unjustly. You should have a strong basis to write this letter, and present facts that support your point.

    Can I Extend my Spain Tourist/Visitor Visa

    You can extend your Spain tourist or visitor visa only in some very specific cases as late entry, humanitarian reasons, force majeure, or other important personal reasons.

    Can I Visit Other Countries With my Spain Visa?

    A Spain visa permits you to visit all Schengen countries, as long as it is valid. Pay attention to your visa sticker if it contains the minus sign (-) and the acronym of any Schengen country, i.e. SCHENGEN STATES (-DK). This will mean that you will not be able to enter only that particular country, in our example Denmark.

    Can I Work in Spain with a Tourist Visa?

    No, you cannot work in Spain with a tourist or visitor visa. You will instead have to apply for a Spanish work visa, or even a working holiday visa.

    Can I Join my Family Members in Spain With a Visitor Visa?

    You can visit your family members in Spain with a Spanish Visitor visa, but you cannot settle and live with them. Instead, you will need to apply for a Spanish family visa.