Visa Support

How to study or work legally

in Spain as a non-EU.
Contents Page

Introduction to the Visa Service 3

Benefits & Support 4

Paperwork Support in Spain 5

Visa options 7-8

General Student Visa Requirements / Who will be helping me

& how do I get in touch? 9

 “For those coming to Spain
to pursue their teaching
career and who do not want
hurdles, Oxford TEFL
is their answer”.
- Juliet Mabutwe,
Zambia
“As an American, I knew that
there would be numerous
obstacles I would face when
applying for a visa. The
school was very attentive
during this stressful
time, and made the visa
application process so easy”.

- Justin McCarty,
USA

“ “
Introduction to the Visa Service
If you are a non-EU citizen or not a member of the Schengen Zone and are looking to The visa service was a lot of She went over my
do your TEFL course in Barcelona, we can help you make sure that you are prepared help, especially considering documents personally
for your move to Spain. Obtaining a visa can vary a bit from person to person de- that I’m from Middle East to make sure I wouldn’t
pending on which country you are from and how long you would like to stay in Spain. and it is not easy to obtain a have any trouble with
We will do our best to make sure you have all the information you need both before
coming to Spain and while you’re in Spain to ensure that you are here legally. visa when you are Middle the visa process”.
Eastern, but they helped
The visa journey will be supported by people who have gone through the process me a lot and here I am in - Vijay Darke,
themselves. They are aware of all aspects of the process from their own experiences. USA
Barcelona”.
These facilitators have helped hundreds of people from many countries to join our
learning community in Barcelona. Graduates include citizens from the United States,
Egypt, Iran, India, Haiti, Trinidad, Tobago, Russia, Zambia, Singapore, South Africa - Amir Honarmandkhaneshan,
and Thailand. Iran

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 Benefits & Support
The moment you make your decision to come study here we will assist you
with your paperwork and help you to understand the Spanish government
requirements, both before coming to Spain and while you’re here. A lot of
the paperwork in Spain will all be in Spanish, so this is a huge help if you’re
not bilingual. The Spanish government also tends to require multiple steps/
documents that aren’t always clear on their websites, so we’re here to make
sure that you have everything in order and can find all the information you
need quickly and easily.

• Step-by-step guidance to applying for Once here you have a couple more steps
a visa. to follow if you are on a long-term stu-
• Priority mailing of all documents re- dent visa. We can help you filling out the
quired at no additional cost (usually €30- forms, making sure you have all of the

Before 50).
• Fast replies and unlimited support Once paperwork required, setting up appoint-
ments and finding information (this is

coming through email or Skype/phone chats.

• Support filling in all forms for the dif-
ferent processes required.
• Putting you in touch with previous
graduates that have completed these
processes.
• Recommendations of health insurance
for U.S. applicants.
in Spain more useful than you might think!). The
key steps are getting your empradonam-
iento (registered housing), NIE, social
security number, and work authoriza-
tion. You can find out more about each
of these things as well as information
about our Developing Teacher Course
with Spanish on the next two pages.

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Paperwork Support in Spain
Empadronamiento
This is your official registered address in Spain. Before you can get any other paper-
work done, you will need to get this filed. If you use our accommodation service, you
may be able to use your host’s address. This can be updated later on.
Your empadronamiento is very important when it comes to health care, receiving
official information and setting up your social security.

NIE
Your número de identificación de extranjero or foreign identification number comes
next. This number is very often automatically assigned to your visa, but it is not
activated until you go to the police station in Spain. You will need to more an ap-
pointment to get this taken care of. We will help you understand the process and can
recommend some different agencies or people that can help you get an appointment
should you have any problems obtaining one. This number will be used for virtually
everything and is absolutely essential for you to get a job legally.

Social Security
Your social security number will be assigned once you have a work contract. Any
questions you or your employer have can be sent to us. This, along with your em-
padrontamiento, will give you access to health care such as your CAP (your local
doctor). Although you will have this service, you will still need to make sure that your
international health care plan covers your entire stay in Spain.

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 Work Authorization
A long-term student visa allows you to work up to 20 hours a week (full-time for a
new teacher). To be able to get this authorization, you will need to make a special
type of appointment and have your employer go with you. Employers don’t always
know what is required to do this, so we help send them the necessary information, so
everything is well prepared for your appointment. We also make sure that our classes
from the Developing Teacher Course with Spanish are organized in a way that allows
you to work in another school full-time and will provide the letter stating that for the
authorization.

Developing Teacher Course with Spanish

This course acts as an additional qualification to put on your CV once you’ve obtained
your TEFL certification and allows you to continue developing your skills as a new
teacher. It is also a great way to improve your Spanish while living in Spain as you’ll
be taking 40 hours a month of classes at our academy. All of the Spanish courses
are officially accredited by Instituto Cervantes. The remaining part of your schedule
includes time for lesson planning, group workshops, observations of experienced
teachers and time for independent study (another 40 hours per month). These
remaining activities have a much more flexible schedule, so you can complete them
freely around your teaching hours. The course costs €300 per month. To find out
more about the course, contact tesol@oxfordtefl.com.

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What types of visas are there?

A tourist visa allows you to travel anywhere in the Schengen Zone for up to 90 days. If you are from certain countries
(please check the link below*), you do not need to do anything prior to arriving in Spain to obtain this visa. Your passport
will be stamped upon arrival and that is sufficient for you to take the course and stay in the Schengen Zone for up to 90
days. If you are not on the first list of countries provided in the weblink reference, you will have to obtain your visa prior
to entering Spain. This will involve you getting in touch with your local Spanish consulate and turning in some paperwork.
You may also consider some of the visa options below.
Tourist Visa (90 days) * http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/LONDRES/en/Consulado/Pages/CheckPassport.aspx

If you would like to stay a bit longer in Spain but do not plan on being here long term, you have the option of a short-
term student visa. This visa requires you to go to your Spanish consulate. If you are American, please be aware that each
group of states has a designated consulate and you cannot simply choose which consulate suits you best. This type of
visa allows you to stay in Spain for up to 180 days + 90 days on a tourist visa afterwards (if you are on the list of countries
from the previous section).
Short-term Student Visa
(up to 180 days)

Looking to stay much longer or indefinitely in Spain? This could be the visa for you. Any school program that lasts for
over 180 days (6 months +) and meets the requirement of 20 hours per week should be enough for you to get your pa-
perwork for this visa. All letters proving that you are studying and have paid will need to come from the school where you
are enrolled. This type of visas allows you to work up to 20 hours per week (this is considered full-time for new teachers)
and you have the possibility of extending it directly from Spain rather than having to return to your home country. Our De-
Long-term Student Visa veloping Teacher Course with Spanish meets all of the requirements necessary and you can be taken for up to 12 months.
(180 + days)

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 Work visas allow you to stay in Spain for the duration of your work contract (typically 1-3 years). You have two options
with a work visa: autónomo (freelance) or being sponsored by a company/school here. Being sponsored is extremely
rare and difficult to do as the employer would have to prove that there was no one here that could perform that type
of job. If you should choose to obtain a work visa as autónomo, it is recommended to contact a Spanish inmigration
lawyer. This process also tends to take between 5-7 months. We do not recommend this type of visa due to the lengthy
paperwork and process. It would only be recommended if you are familiar with the teaching market here and (preferably)
speak some Spanish.
Work Visa

Students coming from New Zealand, Australia and Canada* may qualify for this type of visa. This would allow you to stay
in Spain for up to one year. You would also be able to legally work during this time. Some of the requirements for this
visa are often (but not limited to):

1. Be between 18 and 35 years old

2. Have an international health insurance plan
Youth Mobility Visa / Working
3. Have sufficient funds (for the plane ticket and/or basic expenses)
Holiday Visa 4. Have a certain level of Spanish (not always a requirement- check for your specific country)

*Information for New Zealand: http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/WELLINGTON/es/Noticias/Paginas/Articulos/20150202.aspx

*Information for Australia: http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/MELBOURNE/en/InformacionParaExtranjeros/Paginas/Work-and-Holiday-
Visa.aspx
*Information for Canada: http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/OTTAWA/en/InformacionParaExtranjeros/Pages/Agreement-between-Spain-
and-Canada-on-Youth-Mobility-Programs.aspx

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General Student Visa Requirements
Visa requirements can vary slightly from consulate to consulate. For example, Spanish
consulates in the US tend to be much more relaxed about your accommodation
arrangements whereas consulates in the Middle East will be much stricter. Because
of that, it’s always recommended to double check with your local Spanish consulate.
Below you will find some general requirements:
1. Visa application form
2. Two recent passport photos
3. Passport/Driver’s license
4. Letter of admission from the
school (with proof of full payment)*
5. Proof of economic means
(roughly €540 per month)**
6. Consular fee (not refundable)
7. Health insurance for Spain
For long-term student visas, you
will be also required to have:
8. Medical certificate proving you
are suitable for travel
9. Official background check (FBI if
you are American)
Who will be helping me and
how do I get in touch?
Corinne is our Spanish visa support officer and will be more than happy to an-
swer all of your questions. She is an American that moved to Barcelona in Janu-
ary, 2015. Since then, she’s become a qualified teacher through our courses as
well as completed a master’s degree and other university degrees here in Barce-
lona. Going through the process herself has made her aware of all the different
‘bumps’ you might have moving here and has prepared her to better assist you
in your journey to Spain.
You can get in touch with her at visas@oxfordtefl.com or by Skype at oxfordtefl_
interviews. She’ll be happy to schedule a call with you to clear up any queries
you may have. Once you have made the decision to use our service, there is a
€100 visa fee which includes the cost of sending your documentation through
priority mail (normally €30-50) and any additional help that you will need either
in Spain or before you come. Documents usually arrive within the same week
as the payment confirmation (please allow at least 48 hours from the payment
confirmation for your letters to be sent).
For any questions about making payments, please contact Fran Austin, our Sales
and Marketing Director, at tesol@oxfordtefl.com or by Skype at tesoloxfordteflbcn.

* If you are applying for a long-term student visa through our Developing Teacher with Spanish
course, all fees for the course(s) must be paid before any of your letters can be issued. Example:
CELTA €1400 (early bird discount), visa fee €100, 6 months of Developing Teacher with Spanish
€1800 = €3300 paid in full.
** You can often have your parents give a notarized letter saying they will provide you up to this Corinne Yoder
amount of money per month if you do not have this amount of money yourself, but you will need to
include a copy at their ID and most recent bank statements.
TESOL Careers Advisor
& Spanish Visa Support
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