Spanish Student Visa Update

January 10, 2008

The Ministry of Education and Science Commissioner’s Office within the Spanish Embassy reports that all visa applications will be approved and ready to send or to pick up (depending on whether the students left a stamped envelope on the day of their application) one month from the date the application was submitted to the consulate.

Students are advised to contact consulates directly, and may need to allow one or two days past one month from the date the application was submitted to the consulate.

The Commissioner's Office will continue to update NAFSA with the status of visa applications at consulates. Advisers may also email the Commissioner's office to follow up on certain applications (please see section below on other Advocacy Options for Advisers).

If an adviser knows that a consulate is not processing visa applications within the one month timeframe, please report to NAFSA through Report an Issue.

January 4, 2008

The Ministry of Education and Science Commissioner’s Office within the Spanish Embassy is working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' consular services, as well as NAFSA and U.S. universities and programs, to help all students who have chosen a Spanish university get their visas as soon as possible. The delays are due to relatively recent legislation applicable to student visa applicants from all over the world, reciprocity issues and a significant increase in demand.

The student visa process has become more time-consuming this year because it now involves coordination and approval by three distinct government bodies: a Consulate General office in the USA, a central visa office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Madrid and a Government Delegation in the city where the host university is located.

The Consulate General offices vary in terms of processing times (see the Consular Web sites for information for the specific consulate). Average processing times are 3-4 weeks; 8 weeks should be the worst case scenario.

As of yesterday, the following Consulates General report that they have processed all student visa applications, but cannot actually issue the visas until the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also approves the application and notifies the consular office:

New York
Miami
Chicago
San Francisco
Houston
Boston

The Commissioner’s Office is contacting the other Consulate General offices and will provide more information regarding the status of visa applications at individual consulates as soon as possible.

Contacting Consular Offices regarding the status of an application

Students and parents may contact the Consular Offices using the public phone numbers listed at http://www.maec.es/en/WebEmbajadasConsulados. In addition, some consular office Web sites provide additional contact information for emergency cases when students are within days of departure.

The Commissioner’s office is aware that some lines have been blocked by numerous calls, and during the holidays, fewer consular officers have been on duty. This situation is expected to be resolved on Monday with staff returning after the holidays.

The Commissioner’s Office is also requesting direct contact information for officers within the consulates, and is willing to work with NAFSA leaders in emergency requests if a consular office cannot be contacted. The Commissioner’s staff has been instructed to follow a standard procedure and help in any way they can.

Other Advocacy Options for Advisers

If a student has not received his/her visa after 4 weeks since the day the applications were submitted, the Commissioner’s Office requests that the university official or program representative provide the Commissioner’s office with an Excel spreadsheet (see the template “Spain Student Visa Status Inquiry” posted on the AREA Network document library) including the following information for each affected visa applicant:

Last name
First name
Program name/Host University in Spain
Program start date
Planned date of departure (date of flight to Spain)
Whether the student has already applied for a visa
Consulate General of Spain where the visa application was submitted
Date of application submitted to the Consulate General office

The Commissioner will immediately collect the information from the appropriate sources and will provide updates on the situation of the visas to the official or representative, which can be forwarded to the respective students.

If the applications have been processed by the Consulate General, but have not yet been authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Madrid, the Commissioner’s Office will work with the appropriate departments in the Embassy, in Madrid and in the different Consulates, to push for their immediate authorization and provide updates to the official or representative. The office has already expedited approximately 300 visas from one program in the past few days.

Other FAQ's

FAQ's
Are consulates processing visa applications in order of departure date, or the date that a visa application was received? Consulates enter data in an online computer application and request the provincial government report on a first come first served basis. However, the standard procedure is that they are supposed to wait for approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Madrid before the system can print the visa.
Is it appropriate for a student to contact the consulate office if s/he has not received a visa within a certain period of time after s/he has submitted a visa application? If 4 weeks have passed since the student submitted his/her application, it is appropriate that s/he contact the consulate office. However, the Commissioner recommends that the flow of information would be more effective if communications with the Consular office can be rerouted through a university or institutional representative.
LA and Chicago provide an email/phone number that students can contact if they have not received the visa and are close to departure (e.g. 7 days). Can each consulate provide contact information to verify the status under similar circumstances? Is there an alternative contact at the Embassy that would be appropriate for emergency requests? The Commissioner’s Office has offered to provide direct contact information for all consulates to university officials or institutional representatives that request it by emailing consejeria.usa (at) mec.es. The Commissioner’s Office is also willing to handle any emergency requests if a consular office cannot be contacted. The Commissioner's staff has been instructed to follow a standard procedure and help in any way they can. Please note: Since the Commissioner’s Office is not part of the Consular section, it would be best to concentrate resources on keeping good communication with coordinators and supervisors from universities and institutions, rather than handling individual questions.
May students submit applications at the consulate office where their university and/or permanent residence is located? Students who have not yet applied for a visa can go, at their choice, to the consular jurisdiction of their university or to that of their family residence. The highest load of applications seems to be in New York, Chicago, L.A., Boston and Miami. As of today, Miami, Houston, San Francisco and New Orleans seem to have a substantially lower volume of applications.
Some students report that they have been advised by consular staff to enter Spain on a tourist visa, then return passports to the US for student visas to be processed through an agent (e.g. a parent or adviser). The Commissioner advises against this option.