Studying in Spain as an International Student: The Complete Guide (2026)
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The Complete Guide to Studying in Spain as an International Student 2026 : how to secure a place in a bachelor's or master's program, the student visa, your first 30 days, costs, scholarships, and how to stay after graduation.
Studying in Spain as an International Student: The Complete Guide (2026)
More than 170,000 international students are already studying in the Spanish university system, almost 10% of the total. The path they followed is standardised, and we are going to walk through it in this article step by step. If you want to go deeper, each section expands into its own guide so you don't miss anything.
In essence, to study in Spain you need four things:
A valid academic entry route according to your level and your country of origin
A student visa if you are not an EU citizen
A realistic budget, with or without a scholarship
To complete the arrival paperwork during your first month
None of it is hard, but it is long: you need to start 9 to 12 months in advance.
Verified July 2026.
Context
Spain has 86 universities (50 public and 36 private) with more than 2,000 degree programmes open to students of any nationality, a body dedicated exclusively to international student admissions, and an academic year that runs from September to June with deadlines published a year in advance.
Before getting into paperwork, three decisions shape everything else: public or private (regulated fees and grade-based admission versus free pricing and their own admission criteria), the language of your programme (most teach in Spanish, although there is a growing offer in English) and the city, which as you will see in the costs section weighs more on your budget than the university itself.
One important note: "international student" is defined by where your studies come from, not by your passport! A Spaniard who completed high school in Mexico also enters through the international route.
What you need depending on your background
The whole process splits according to your academic origin. If your high school diploma is from the EU/EEA, you hold the International Baccalaureate (IB) or you come from a country with an agreement with Spain, your path is the short one: no homologación and, in many cases, optional exams.
If you come from the rest of the world, including most of Latin America, you will follow the full itinerary, starting with the official recognition (homologación) of your high school diploma.
And if your destination is a master's or a PhD, forget both: postgraduate studies have their own rules, more agile, whatever your origin.
Let's go step by step.
First: Secure your place
For an undergraduate degree at a public university, admission goes through UNEDasiss, the UNED service that evaluates your foreign academic record and issues the credential universities use to admit you (official calendar).
For degrees with entry cut-off grades, there are the PCE: subject-by-subject exams for international students, from which you obtain your admission grade out of a maximum of 14 points. You can take them in your own country: there are 45 international venues, with sittings in May/June and September.
Those coming from outside the EU without an agreement must first have their high school diploma officially recognised by the Ministry of Education (official site). This is the slowest procedure in the whole process and, for that reason, the first one to start.
To see it all step by step with the 2026 dates, check the Complete Undergraduate Access Guide.
For a master's or PhD, the surprise is a pleasant one: you do not need to homologate your university degree. Admission is decided directly by each university with your degree and transcripts apostilled or legalised (EU documents are exempt), a sworn translation if they are not in Spanish and, when requested, the grade average equivalence declaration, generated through the Ministry's official form. Pre-enrolment periods open between January and June and high-demand programmes close early. For a PhD, the prior backing of a thesis supervisor is worth more than any form.
Check the detailed guide on exactly what you need and what you don't in the Master's and PhD Guide.
And there is a third route that gets far less attention than it deserves: Vocational Training (Formación Profesional). Intermediate and higher-level programmes are two-year, practice-oriented courses with no cut-off grades in most cases. They require studies equivalent to Spanish compulsory secondary education (ESO) or to high school (Bachillerato) respectively, with homologación if you come from outside the EU, and on completion they open a direct pathway into university. It is the entry door for tens of thousands of international students every year. Understand it fully in the Vocational Training Guide.
→ With Uniwords: homologación and the documentation file (apostilles, sworn translations, equivalences) are the most paperwork-heavy part of this stage, and we manage it all for you while guiding you on your choice of university and programme. Book an appointment with us.
Second: Get your student visa
If you are a citizen of the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, you do not need a visa: just register when you arrive. For everyone else, the reference is the Immigration Regulation in force since 20 May 2025 (Royal Decree 1155/2024: official text. Be careful when reading guides online, many are outdated and describe a system that no longer exists!
In short, you need admission to a recognised institution for a full-time programme, proof of €600 a month in financial means (100% of the 2026 IPREM), health insurance with no copayments or waiting periods, and a clean criminal record for the last five years (official procedure page).
As a side note, the current framework improves on the previous one:
The authorisation can be granted for the entire duration of your studies. Goodbye to annual renewals.
It automatically entitles you to work up to 30 hours per week.
What really matters is timing: processing can take between 1 and 3 months. Apply as soon as you have your admission letter!
For the full picture, read the Spanish Student Visa Guide and review the requirements in detail, where to apply and the typical mistakes that cause refusals.
Third: What to do when you arrive in Spain
Your first month in Spain has one critical date and three chained tasks.
The critical one: if your stay exceeds 6 months, you must apply for the TIE, that is, your Foreigner Identity Card, within one month of your entry (offical site).
The chained ones, in this order:
Register at your town hall (empadronamiento, the key to the TIE)
Open a bank account
Activate a SIM card
Done in the right order, the whole month is solved in four mornings. The week-by-week checklist, with documents and appointments, is in the Arrival in Spain Guide.
→ With Uniwords: our Arrival Kit solves this entire block, with TIE appointment and accompaniment, town hall registration, bank account, an active SIM from day one and a transport pass. You start your classes. We handle the queues. Book us here.
Fourth: Costs and Scholarships
The honest picture: most international students spend between €9,000 and €18,000 a year adding tuition and living costs, one of the best value-for-money ratios in Western Europe. At public universities, first-time undergraduate tuition ranges from about €700 to €1,800 a year for EU students, with surcharges for non-EU students depending on the region. Private universities range from €5,000 to €20,000. And the variable that moves the total the most is not the university but the city: the cost of living ranges between €600 and €1,200 a month, with rooms at €250-350 in mid-sized university cities versus €400-600 in Madrid or Barcelona.
Check the full breakdown by city, the hidden costs of the first year and the levers to bring the bill down in the Spain Budget Guide.
As for scholarships, postgraduate is the best-covered level: the Fundación Carolina offered 736 scholarships for Ibero-American students for the 2026-27 academic year, with applications open from January to March, the MAEC-AECID scholarships cover Latin America, Africa and Asia, and to these you can add La Caixa, Erasmus Mundus and grants from the universities themselves.
The golden rule that decides applications: the big calls require you to already hold pre-admission to your programme, so the scholarship is planned before, not in parallel.
Don't miss a single call, requirement or the fine print of the return commitment by reading the Spain Scholarships Guide.
Fifth: Staying in Spain after you graduate
We understand that for many students, knowing whether you can stay and work after finishing your studies is decisive when deciding whether to come. The great news is that the current answer is the most favourable in years! If you have a job offer when you finish, you can switch your student stay permit to a residence permit with the right to work without leaving Spain, and you can even start the job from the moment your application is accepted for processing, without waiting for the final decision. If you don't have an offer yet, university graduates have access to a 12-month residence permit designed precisely for that: looking for a job or launching your own project calmly and in legal status.
A long-term note: nationality. Your years as a student do not count towards applying for it. The clock starts when, upon graduating, you exchange your student permit for a residence permit. From that moment on, the path can indeed be short: nationals of Ibero-American countries can apply after just two years of legal residence (official link). See how to make that switch in detail in the Staying in Spain Guide.
Beyond the paperwork
Where to live is one of the most important questions. Check how to avoid scams in the Scam Avoidance Guide. Students are prime targets for housing scams, and most of them concentrate precisely in the arrival months.
But here is an uncomfortable truth: the difference between a good and a bad experience rarely lies in the paperwork. It lies in arriving in a city where you already know people. That is exactly what we build at Uniwords: the international student community, organised by city and university, where you can solve your doubts with people who already went through your exact process. Visit the community, clear up your questions and prepare your social landing.
The full-year calendar
The previous autumn: choice of university and programme, apostilles and translations, start of homologación if it applies to you.
January to February: master's pre-enrolment and the major scholarship calls, UNEDasiss accreditation application (undergraduate).
March to April: PCE exam registration.
May to June: exams and results.
June to July: pre-enrolment and admission, and with the letter in hand, visa application.
August: verified housing, insurance and tickets.
September: arrival and first 30 days, town hall registration, TIE, bank, SIM. The course begins.
The four most expensive mistakes
Starting late. Homologación and the visa appointment set the pace. In autumn you have months to spare, in spring you run short.
Believing homologación gives you a place. It only entitles you to compete: the place depends on your grade and the pre-enrolment.
Buying insurance with copayments or waiting periods. It is the most common avoidable cause of visa refusal.
Relying on outdated guides. The regulation changed in May 2025. If you read "20 working hours" or "annual visa renewal", close that tab.
Frequently asked questions
Can I study in Spain without speaking Spanish? Yes: there are full undergraduate and master's programmes in English, especially in the big cities. For programmes in Spanish you will need to certify B1-B2 with DELE or SIELE depending on the university.
Do I need to homologate my high school diploma? Only if it comes from outside the EU and from countries without an agreement with Spain. With a European diploma, the IB or a diploma from a country with an agreement, you access directly via UNEDasiss (https://unedasiss.uned.es). The detail by itinerary: https://uniwordstudents.com/blog/acceso-grado-espana-unedasiss-pce
What about my university degree for a master's? Not for admission: your degree legalised or apostilled with a sworn translation is enough. Homologación is only required to practise regulated professions in Spain.
How much money do I need to prove for the visa? 100% of the IPREM: €600 a month, €7,200 a year in 2026 (official amounts: https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/losangeles/en/ServiciosConsulares/Documents/IPREM.pdf), provable with bank statements, family support or a scholarship.
Can I work while I study? Yes: the higher education stay permit automatically allows you to work up to 30 hours per week, as an employee or self-employed (https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/migraciones/w/estancia-por-estudios).
Can I stay in Spain when I finish? Yes, and it is the part of the system that has improved the most: a direct switch to residence and work with a job offer, or 12 months of job-search residence without one. The full itinerary: https://uniwordstudents.com/blog/quedarse-en-espana-despues-de-estudiar
A long process, but not a hard one
Seen all at once, studying in Spain looks like a wall of paperwork. Seen stage by stage, it is an ordered list that thousands of students complete every year. At Uniwords we accompany you through all of it: academic guidance to choose your university and entry route, homologación and paperwork managed from start to finish, visa preparation, the Arrival Kit (TIE, town hall registration, bank, SIM and transport pass) and the international student community where your process stops being a solo journey.