Hello,

I am planning on going to study Spanish in Spain. I want to stay until early May. The problem is that I am not able to talk to a human being for love or money. As much as I adore the Spanish, their customer service is awful (unless you meet people for whom it is not their job to assist you and then of course they rock) and I can hardly ever get a human being on the phone from any consulate.

I finally (10th attempt) got a real live person at the New York consulate, and he told me I would have to apply in the US or talk to the police while I am there to see if I can stay longer. Que? He told me if I want a student visa it will take at least 5 weeks (although Miami says 6 weeks on their website). Well, in 6 weeks (at the minimum) I will be there less than 90 days and I don’t need a visa.

Gun to head, pull trigger, repeat.

Does anyone know of a way to expedite the process? My google searches keep showing similar questions of other Schengen countries?

—Joey

I did the same process in 2005. I made them hurry up and give it to me in a week by showing them my airline ticket and telling them I really had no time. That made them move. Try explaining your circumstances if you have real proof like an itenerary. Give it a try ...

BTW Spain customer service is beyond awful. It is absolute garbage. I dont think in my 3 years of living there I?ve encountered good customer service that is QUICK.

Hi Joe7f,

As an American, you can stay legally in Spain (or in any
European Union country, come to that) for 3 months without
a student visa. If you want to stay longer than 90 days,
you have to apply for, and be issued with, a student visa in
the USA before arriving in Spain. Things have changed since
2005, so if you want to stay longer, don’t come to Spain thinking
you can pop along to the police station and sort it all out. You
have to do it all in New York before you leave.

Paul

joe7f - 10 January 2008 08:50 AM

Hello,

I am planning on going to study Spanish in Spain. I want to stay until early May. The problem is that I am not able to talk to a human being for love or money. As much as I adore the Spanish, their customer service is awful (unless you meet people for whom it is not their job to assist you and then of course they rock) and I can hardly ever get a human being on the phone from any consulate.

I finally (10th attempt) got a real live person at the New York consulate, and he told me I would have to apply in the US or talk to the police while I am there to see if I can stay longer. Que? He told me if I want a student visa it will take at least 5 weeks (although Miami says 6 weeks on their website). Well, in 6 weeks (at the minimum) I will be there less than 90 days and I don’t need a visa.

Gun to head, pull trigger, repeat.

Does anyone know of a way to expedite the process? My google searches keep showing similar questions of other Schengen countries?

—Joey

I forgot to mention that if you want to apply for a student visa, you need to have proof that you have been accepted by a recognized school or college in Spain. Without this, you will not get a student visa.

Paul