My daughter and I are traveling to Spain October 1 and would like to stay for 8 months. We have income and would not be working just studying Spanish.  Do we need a long term visa and is it too late to get one.

UK national? US citizen? If you’re a non?EU national it’s too late. You can apply abroad and perhaps go in as a tourist and come out to pick up the visa when it’s ready and reenter. But the normal processing time is a little over two months once you submit all your documents. And depending on your country of origin, said documents can take several weeks to acquire.

We are from the US and obviously did not do enough research…you are right it is too late on to plan B!  Thanks for your help.

I was told at the police station that you are allowed to stay an extra month as long as you carry your ticket home with you in case you get stopped.  Otherwise, no one really checks in my experience.  So maximum you can stay is at most 7 months.

I just want to add that my previous post was if you had a 6 month visa.  But if you are there for just the allowed time without a visa, you may be able to apply for an extended stay tourist visa?  Look into it

Plan C - You could enter Spain, leave Spain prior to the date stamp in your passport and go to a non-EU country, like Morocco. Be sure to get your passport stamped upon exit. When you re-enter Spain as a tourist, be sure to get your passport stamped with the new tourist time period granted. You may have to fly from Madrid or Barcelona (non-EU airports; not sure). One trip (cheap flight, or stay for a week with travel agency promotions) might get you the 8 months in Spain you desire.

I haven’t tried this, but it worked for friends in China when we were there in summer of 2005.

Heather