Hi! Need help please?

I am leaving for Madrid on the 27th of June. I am staying for 8 months but the problem is that that the embassy will only give a student visa equivalent to the length of time you plan to study. I would like to study for about 3-6 months, take short management or communications courses and spend the rest of the time travelling but I wanted to pick my course when I get there but I can't since the only thing I was able to get online were pre-enrollment stuff for language courses- I applied for a one in Complutense and am taking it in July but it's only for a month.

I was wondering, would you know which universities offer 3-6 month post grad courses? I've tried searching the web and I can't seem to find any.

Also, the girl in the embassy suggested that since I'm an American citizen (I can stay for three months), I can just go without a visa but I'm worried about the schools- will they let me take a 3 month course without the proper student visa? Also, if I go there for two months and then leave then come back again, will they let me back in?

Hiya Audrey!
I really have no idea on how the U.S visa works (I'm Spanish) but I would come with the regular three month basis thing and then if you find here (much more easy) a course you like then ask for the student visa. Maybe you could check there if this option is possible and then ask for the visa in the U.S embassy here in Madrid....

But I guess an american who has already done something similar will be much more helpful!

besiitos!

From what I've gathered, it's best to get any student visa you can and then keep extending it once you are in Spain. I think it's much harder (if not impossible) to get the visa from a Spanish Embassy in the US once you are in Spain.

The embassy here in DC wouldn't issue any student visa for longer than 6 months. They told me to extend it a month before it expires. If you have time, I would recommend trying to register for the fall course at Complutense. You can use this to get your visa and then change to something else if you need to. You don't have to pay in advance, you just put down a 12 Euro deposit. I wrote up how we managed to do it here:

complutense saga...

Good luck!

Another thing... Check Universidad Antonio de Nebrija

This university has a pretty interesting program for foreign students. It is private, and about twice the price of Complutense (still a steal by American standards).

UNISPAIN can organize the bureaucratic aspects for you at both Nebrija and Complutense. Good luck!

We ran into this Catch 22 when my daughter (from USA) did her Junior year of high school in Caceres.
Once her initial six months visa was about to expire she took it to the local police station; they made copies and sent all the paperwork in for an extension.
By the time the extension papers arrived, (four months later) she'd already come home to the USA!
She went back to Alcala this January, but didn't bother with extending the visa this time...even her advisor at the university said "you're a girl, you don't look Arabic, so don't bother with it."
Go figure!

Okay, I�m very confused because I just came back from applying for my student visa at the Spanish Consulate in Chicago, and I thought that the whole reason why I was applying for this visa was because I was going to be spending longer than three months in Spain, but the woman that I dealt with there said that she could only grant me a three month visa, and then I would have to go to the police station once in Madrid and keep getting extensions. I will be staying in Madrid from end of August till mid-May of next year, so does this mean I will have to keep paying $100 every three months to get an extension??? I will definitely ask the woman at the consulate more about this but unfortunately I cannot contact the office for the next 25 days because they do not accept phone calls from applicants till they have completed the visa, which I guess takes 25 days. So I just wanted some feedback if this is how it always works or is this just a special situation? I even had to get a form from my police stating I had no criminal record because I was going to be staying for longer than six months! What is the deal?

HI there, no, you dont have to keep paying you just pay that once, and then you go wait in a long line in Diego de Leon one morning, with thousands of photocopies of all the stuff you have, the doctor's note the police record, etc, and then they send you a student card, which is the extension of your visa, a while after that. But in between, you have a copy of the paper that you have been there at the police station apllying for the card and that's valid for re-entry, etc, if you go home for xmas, and stuff. That is totally normal, the three month thing and the police record and ALL the otehr weird stuff you need, totally normal, no worries, we've all been through it! Besos, Joy

I just got a six month student visa from the DC Embassy, but they told me to go to the police within 90 days of arrival. Our visa only took one week to process. It might be worth checking back on the status after two weeks, if it doesn't seem like it will tick them off too much...

Okay, that makes me feel a bit better. I wonder though, why I only will get a three month student visa and mariposita you will be getting a six month one? I guess it�s just whatever the consulate feels like giving you, eh?! Joy, like an idiot I didn�t make any photo copies of my papers--doctor�s note, police thingy, etc., do you think the consulate will give me back copies of all of that? Or can I ask them to do that? Yikes! And do I go to the police station as soon as I arrive in Madrid or do I have 90 days to do apply for the extension?

The consolate should give you back your original papers (doctor's note, university registration, police record, etc.) with fancy stamps on them. When I applied, she did the stamping and squigglies right then and there and handed them back and told me to take them to the comisaria with 90 days of arriving. If they don't give you the papers back, I would definitely ask for them, because I'm almost positive that you'll need the originals.

I think different consulates have different policies. But the thing to remember is that even in you have all of your ducks in a row, they have the discretion to NOT give you a visa. So I wouldn't worry about 3 months vs. 6 months, because once you've got the visa, you have cleared a huge hurdle.

Maybe I'll see you in line at the comisaria... I'm going to take a few months off from bureaucracy and then start back up in early September.

If you haven't already, check out this thread:
cheapest way to study thread

Another board member has documented the whole process of getting the student residencia once you are in Madrid.

hey guys!

just wanted to say that i made it and am in madrid now and thank you so much to everyone who took time and effort to reply to my post. i really appreciate it. i decided to take whatever 3 month student visa i could get and just extend once here. i signed up for the fall course in complu and am extending my rsidencia now. thanks again

hi Audrey.

first, congrats and welcoem to madrid!!!

second, thanks a TON for coming back and giving us an update on yourself.

way too many people join the board, ask for advice, are given great info and then never show up again.

we appreciate your sticking around :cheers:

saludos,
jer...

Good luck getting the Spanish Consulate in Chicago to give you the originals! This was there response to me:

"The documentation provided to the Consulate is the basis on which the Visa was issued and its originals must remain at the Consulate.

If you need additional infromation or clarification on this matter, please call bu phone: 1(312)782-4588."

Okay, so I replied to their answer above with some....comments about how ridiculous it is that they keep the originals when it is necessary to turn them in to the Police in Madrid. Here�s their lovely response:
---------------------------------------------
Consulate General follows the policy and norms dictated by the pertinent authorities in Spain. The Consulate receives its directives from and through the Ministry of Foreigns Affairs in Madrid (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y Cooperaci�n: [URL=http://www.maec.es),]www.maec.es),[/URL] where you may inquire about specific requirements.

"Since the Consulate has never received any instructions to the contrary, this Consulate General stands by its previous reply.

Should you need additional information or clarification on this matter, please call by phone: 1(312)782-4588."
-----------------------------------------
The "Consulate" can kiss my ass.

Couldn�t help but make one last reply:

"My fellow Americans and I are going to have to start a psychological
support group, maybe call it the SBSA (Spanish Bureaucracy Survivors
Association). That�s a joke--I hope The Consulate enjoys a joke."