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Home › Visas and permits › Short-stay Schengen visa (type C) step by step: the consulate you're assigned to, the 90 euros you won't get back and the 30.000 for insurance
Step by step

Short-stay Schengen visa (type C) step by step: the consulate you're assigned to, the 90 euros you won't get back and the 30.000 for insurance

It is the uniform short-stay visa governed by the European Union Visa Code (Regulation (EC) 810/2009, extensively amended by Regulation (EU) 2019/1155). Spain's official definition: «El visado Schengen se expide a los nacionales de terceros Estados incluidos en el Anexo I del Reglamento (UE) 2018/1806. Este visado permite estancias en el área Schengen de hasta 90 días (en cualquier período de 180 días) por razones de turismo, negocios, visita familiar, tratamiento médico, para realizar estudios, prácticas no laborales o actividades de voluntariado de duración no superior a 90 días, o para otras actividades que no tengan carácter lucrativo. También permite el tránsito territorial y aeroportuario». With a single visa you enter the 29 countries of the area: «Alemania, Austria, Bélgica, Bulgaria, Croacia, República Checa, Dinamarca, Eslovenia, Eslovaquia, España, Estonia, Finlandia, Francia, Grecia, Hungría, Islandia, Italia, Letonia, Liechtenstein, Lituania, Luxemburgo, Malta, Noruega, Países Bajos, Polonia, Portugal, Rumanía, Suecia y Suiza». Cyprus and Ireland are NOT on that list. And what it is NOT: it is not an entry permit. The consulate itself puts it this way: «El visado Schengen permite viajar a cualquiera de los Estados Schengen y transitar por su territorio, pero no implica un derecho automático de entrada en el área Schengen». Nor is it ETIAS, which is something else and does not exist yet today.

⚠️ Sensitive information — always check the official source
Visa requirements, quotas, amounts and dates change often. Every fact in this guide was checked against the official source on 2026-09-23 and we re-check it periodically, but before starting any procedure confirm the details on the official links (embassy, consulate or ministry) shown on this page. viajacongus.com does not process visas and does not replace official information.
💵 How much it costs
CONSULAR FEE, current and verified: 90 EUROS from age 12, 45 EUROS for children aged 6 to 12, FREE for under-6s. The primary source is not a consular information sheet but Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1415 of 14 March 2024, published in the Official Journal on 22/05/2024: «Los solicitantes pagarán una tasa de visado de 90 EUR» and «Las tasas de visado para los niños de entre seis y doce años serán de 45 EUR». It entered into force «a los veinte días de su publicación», that is on 11 June 2024, and the Commission explained it this way: «the fee for a Schengen visa has raised from EUR 80 to EUR 90 for adults and from EUR 40 to EUR 45 for children aged six to below 12 years». Special rates under bilateral agreements: 67,50 euros for Cape Verde and 35 euros for countries with a visa facilitation agreement. There is also a penalty fee of 135 or 180 euros if the Council activates it against a third country that does not cooperate on readmissions (Article 16.2a); it does not apply to children under 12. THE FEE IS NOT REFUNDED if your visa is refused: Article 16.7 says that they «no serán reembolsables, salvo en los casos a que se refieren el artículo 18, apartado 2, y el artículo 19, apartado 3», which are only two: the consulate turning out not to be competent, and the application being inadmissible. A refusal on the merits of the file is not on that list. SEPARATE from that is the EXTERNAL CENTRE FEE (BLS, VFS or another), which is not the consular fee and has its own legal cap in Article 17: «no podrá ser superior a la mitad del importe de la tasa de visado que figura en el artículo 16, apartado 1», that is 45 euros at most; it rises to 80 euros as an exception «en aquellos terceros países en los que el Estado miembro competente no tenga consulado a efectos de la recepción de solicitudes ni esté representado por otro Estado miembro», and up to a maximum of 120 euros in exceptional cases notified to the Commission. All verified on 23/09/2026.
⏳ How long it takes
Legal time limit, Article 23 of the Visa Code as worded by Regulation (EU) 2019/1155: «La decisión sobre las solicitudes se tomará en el plazo de 15 días naturales a partir de la fecha de presentación de una solicitud que sea admisible» and «Este plazo podrá ampliarse a un máximo de cuarenta y cinco días naturales en casos concretos, especialmente cuando sea necesario realizar un examen más detallado de la solicitud». The old 60-day cap was removed. There are two exceptions, in both directions: «En casos individuales urgentes y justificados se tomará una decisión inmediata sobre las solicitudes» (Article 23.2a), and the prior consultation of other Member States under Article 22, which adds up to seven calendar days and which the Spanish consulate in Buenos Aires announces this way: «Las solicitudes de visado presentadas por los nacionales de algunos Estados requieren un trámite de consulta a las autoridades centrales que puede afectar a la duración del procedimiento de visado». On top of that comes the time it takes to get an appointment, which is NOT published as a number: the only thing the rules set is that «La cita tendrá lugar, por regla general, en un plazo de dos semanas a partir de la fecha en que se haya solicitado la cita» (Article 9.2). In practice that deadline is missed in many cities in high season.
📅 How long it's valid
They are three different things and it's best not to mix them up. (1) DAYS OF STAY: up to 90 days within any 180-day period, across the whole Schengen area. That cap is fixed and the visa doesn't change it. (2) VALIDITY PERIOD OF THE VISA STICKER: the consulate decides it case by case, «no será superior a cinco años», and Article 24.1 adds a cushion: «el período de validez del visado para una única entrada incluirá un “período de gracia” de quince días naturales». That grace period is NOT fifteen more days of stay: it's leeway in the sticker's dates. (3) NUMBER OF ENTRIES: one, two or multiple. For long-validity multiple-entry visas, Article 24.2 sets a ladder with rights earned by track record: one year if «el solicitante haya obtenido y utilizado legalmente tres visados en los dos años anteriores»; two years if you've already legally used a one-year multiple-entry visa in the previous two years; five years if you've already legally used a two-year one in the previous three years. Airport transit visas and visas with limited territorial validity don't count towards that ladder. A detail that always gets forgotten, and Spain's visa centre in Argentina says it itself: with a ONE-entry visa you can move freely around the Schengen area, but «si el titular de esta visa abandona el territorio Schengen, no podrá volver a ingresar sin una nueva visa válida».

👤 Who needs it?

SIX OF OUR TWENTY-EIGHT NATIONALITIES NEED IT: BOLIVIA, CUBA, ECUADOR, GUYANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC and SURINAME. THE OTHER TWENTY-TWO DO NOT: Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, United States, Spain, Italy, Germany, Andorra, Denmark and Australia; those enter without a visa for up to 90 days within any 180-day period. If your citizenship is on the second list, you can stop reading this page. If it's on the first, keep going: the rest is your procedure. Where the split comes from: Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, which has two annexes, and we read it entry by entry on 23/09/2026. Annex I is the list of those who need a visa, and that's where Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guyana, Dominican Republic and Suriname are. We underline GUYANA and SURINAME because almost no guide names them and they are the two most surprising cases: half the continent around them is exempt and they are not. Annex II is the list of exempt countries, and that's where Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, United States, Australia and Andorra are, none with a footnote or a biometric passport condition. The other four of our nationalities —Spain, Italy, Germany and Denmark— belong to countries in the Schengen area itself: their citizens move around with an identity card or passport. THE VISA IS OBTAINED ONCE AND WORKS FOR ALL OF THEM: with a single procedure, at a single consulate, you enter the 29 countries of the Schengen area, including the 23 this page covers. You don't apply for one visa per country. ABOUT ETIAS: it's the electronic authorisation that most of those who currently enter without a visa will need, and it is NOT IN FORCE YET. The European Commission puts it this way on 23/09/2026: the system «is currently not in operation and no applications for travel authorisations are collected at this point. The European Union will inform about the specific date for the start of ETIAS several months prior to its launch». The European Union has NOT published a start date, so any date you see circulating is not official, and today there is no ETIAS to apply for or pay for. And if you need a Schengen visa, ETIAS will never apply to you: it's for those exempt from the visa requirement. Outside our list, among many others, Haiti, Jamaica, Belize, India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Turkey need a visa.

🧭 The step by step

1
Step 0: check in Annex I whether you really need a visa (and don't confuse it with ETIAS)
Open Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 and look for your country in the two annexes. Annex I is the «LISTA DE TERCEROS PAÍSES CUYOS NACIONALES ESTÁN SOMETIDOS A LA OBLIGACIÓN DE VISADO»; Annex II is the «LISTA DE TERCEROS PAÍSES CUYOS NACIONALES ESTÁN EXENTOS DE LA OBLIGACIÓN DE VISADO PARA CRUZAR LAS FRONTERAS EXTERIORES DE LOS ESTADOS MIEMBROS PARA ESTANCIAS INFERIORES A 90 DÍAS POR PERÍODO DE 180 DÍAS». Of our nationalities, Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Guyana and Suriname are in Annex I —and need a visa—. The rest are in Annex II, with no footnote.
Go to the official site for this step →
Watch out: If you're Guyanese or Surinamese, this is for you: both countries are in Annex I, even though half the continent around them is exempt. And the other way round: if you're from an Annex II country, you DON'T have to get a Schengen visa, and any website selling you one is charging you for nothing.
2
The step where half of all applications fall through: which consulate is competent
You don't pick the consulate with the fastest appointment. The criterion is in Article 5.1 of the Visa Code, as worded by Regulation (EU) 2019/1155, and it's a three-step ladder applied in order. First: «el Estado miembro cuyo territorio sea el único destino de la visita o visitas». Second, if there are several destinations: «si la visita incluye más de un destino, o si se van a realizar varias visitas diferentes durante un período de dos meses, el Estado miembro cuyo territorio sea, por la duración de la estancia, contabilizada en días, o por su finalidad, el destino principal de la visita o visitas». Third, and only if the previous two don't settle it: «si no puede determinarse un destino principal, el Estado miembro cuya frontera exterior se proponga cruzar el solicitante para entrar en el territorio de los Estados miembros». In plain terms: count the days country by country; the one with the most days is your main destination. If they tie and no purpose breaks the tie, then —and only then— you get the country you enter through first.
Go to the official site for this step →
Watch out: Count the days on a sheet of paper before booking the appointment. «Destino principal», the main destination, isn't the country with the cheapest flight, nor the first one you arrive in, nor the most convenient one: it's where you spend the most days, counted in days. Eight nights in Italy and six in France entering through Paris means the ITALIAN consulate, not the French one. And if the main purpose of the trip is to stay in Gibraltar, the Spanish consulate is explicit: «En caso de que el viaje tenga como motivo principal permanecer en Gibraltar, el visado Schengen será expedido por España».
3
Second filter: besides the country, it has to be the consulate for your area
Once the country is chosen, Article 6 adds territorial competence: «El examen de una solicitud y la decisión al respecto corresponderá al consulado del Estado miembro competente en cuyo ámbito territorial resida legalmente el solicitante». The Spanish consulate in Buenos Aires repeats it with both conditions together: «Esta Oficina Consular es competente para admitir las solicitudes de visado de los nacionales de terceros Estados que viajen a España como destino único o principal y que residan en la demarcación consular». Check the map of consular districts the consulate publishes before booking: in large countries there are two or three offices and each covers different provinces. If you're legally in the area but don't live there, Article 6.2 allows it «si el solicitante ha justificado debidamente la presentación de la solicitud en dicho consulado».
Go to the official site for this step →
Watch out: Showing up at the wrong consulate isn't a procedure that «goes wrong»: they hand it back to you at the counter. Article 18.2 says that «Si el consulado no es competente, devolverá sin demora al solicitante el impreso de solicitud y todos los documentos que haya presentado, reembolsará las tasas de visado e indicará qué consulado es el competente». You get the fee back, but you lose the appointment, the slot and the weeks of waiting, which in high season is what you really can't get back.
4
If you're only passing through: territorial transit and airport transit are two other cases
Article 5 has its own rules. For a uniform visa for transit purposes: «en caso de tránsito a través de un único Estado miembro, el Estado miembro de que se trate» and «en caso de tránsito a través de varios Estados miembros, el Estado miembro cuya frontera exterior se proponga cruzar el solicitante para iniciar el tránsito». For the airport transit visa: «en caso de un único tránsito aeroportuario, el Estado miembro en cuyo territorio esté situado el aeropuerto de tránsito» and «en caso de un tránsito aeroportuario doble o múltiple, el Estado miembro en cuyo territorio esté situado el primer aeropuerto de tránsito». The airport transit visa «será válido para pasar por las zonas internacionales de tránsito de los aeropuertos situados en el territorio de los Estados miembros» and also carries a 15-day grace period.
Go to the official site for this step →
Watch out: For territorial transit the Spanish consulate also expressly requires «visado u otro permiso de entrada en el tercer país de destino y billetes para la continuación del viaje». Without the visa for the country you're really going to, the transit visa isn't granted.
5
Pick your submission date: there's a window, and outside it they won't accept it
Article 9.1, as it stands after Regulation (EU) 2019/1155: «Las solicitudes no se presentarán más de seis meses antes, y para los marinos en el ejercicio de sus funciones, no más de nueve meses antes, del inicio de la visita prevista y, como norma, no menos de quince días naturales antes del comienzo de dicha visita». The Spanish consulate boils it down to one line: «La solicitud se deberá presentar entre 6 meses y 15 días antes de la fecha prevista de viaje. Los marinos pueden solicitar el visado hasta 9 meses antes del viaje». There's an escape valve the consular information sheets don't mention: «En casos individuales urgentes y justificados, los consulados o las autoridades centrales podrán permitir la presentación de solicitudes menos de quince días hábiles antes del comienzo de la visita prevista».
Go to the official site for this step →
Watch out: The 15-day floor is about admissibility, not convenience: Article 19.1 requires checking «si la solicitud se ha presentado dentro del plazo estipulado en el artículo 9, apartado 1» and if not, the application is inadmissible. But even if you meet it, submitting 15 days before travelling is racing against the decision deadline, which is 15 calendar days extendable to 45. Aim for two or three months ahead.
6
Request the appointment: you have a time limit on your side that almost nobody invokes
Article 9.2 says: «Se podrá exigir a los solicitantes que obtengan una cita para la presentación de una solicitud. La cita tendrá lugar, por regla general, en un plazo de dos semanas a partir de la fecha en que se haya solicitado la cita». And 9.3: «En casos de urgencia justificados, el consulado podrá permitir que los solicitantes presenten su solicitud sin cita previa, o bien se concertará una cita inmediatamente». The appointment is booked through the system indicated on the website of the consulate you're assigned to, and in many countries that's the external centre's portal: in Argentina, Spain outsourced it to BLS International and publishes the address and the link on its own information sheet.
Go to the official site for this step →
Watch out: The appointment is free and so is the form. Search engines are full of pages selling «fast appointments» and «visa management» outside the official system: none of them can get you a slot that doesn't exist. If the official portal doesn't offer slots within two weeks, the right thing to do is write to the consulate citing Article 9.2, not pay an intermediary. BLS publishes an anti-fraud mailbox, antifraud@blsinternational.com, to report exactly that.
7
Understand what the external centre is, what it can charge you and what it can't do
BLS, VFS Global and the others are «proveedores de servicios externos» under Article 43. Their list of tasks is closed by law: providing information, receiving the application and the biometrics, «cobrar las tasas de visado», «gestionar las citas» and returning your passport. They decide nothing, and Article 43.5 is categorical: «Los proveedores de servicios externos no tendrán acceso al VIS en ningún caso». Their service fee is capped: the general rule is «no podrá ser superior a la mitad del importe de la tasa de visado que figura en el artículo 16, apartado 1» (today, 45 euros), with two set exceptions —up to 80 euros where the country has no consulate or representation, and up to 120 euros in exceptional cases notified to the Commission—. In Argentina, BLS defines itself this way: «BLS es el socio tercerizado del Consulado General de España en Argentina».
Go to the official site for this step →
Watch out: Anything the centre offers you beyond that is optional, and its own website admits it. The Additional Services page of BLS Argentina says of its insurance: «Este seguro de salud es opcional y se ofrece para la comodidad del solicitante», and clarifies that for the compulsory insurance you «puede obtener su seguro de viaje con cualquier compañía de seguros autorizada». Premium lounge, courier, form filling, photos, SMS: none of that is a requirement. And watch the other side: Article 17.5 no longer guarantees you the consulate counter, it only says the Member State «podrá mantener la posibilidad» of you submitting there. Where the consulate has outsourced everything to the external centre, the external centre is the only way.
8
Download the official form and get your photo taken the way they ask for it
The form is free and downloads from the consulate's website, in Spanish and in English. The photo, verbatim from Spain's information sheet: «Una fotografía reciente, tamaño carné, a color, con fondo claro, tomada de frente, sin gafas oscuras, ni reflejos, ni prendas que oculten el óvalo de la cara. En la fotografía de un menor de edad no deben verse partes del cuerpo del adulto que lo sostiene».
Go to the official site for this step →
Watch out: The sentence about minors is there because it's the most frequent rejection: the baby's photo with the mother's hand holding up their head. Take it with the child lying on a light sheet or against a light wall, from above, with no part of another person showing.
9
Check the passport against all three conditions, not just one
Verbatim from the consular information sheet: the passport «deberá ser válido, como mínimo, hasta 3 meses después de la fecha prevista de salida del territorio Schengen. Deberá tener, al menos, dos páginas en blanco. No se admiten pasaportes expedidos hace más de 10 años». All three go together and are also required at the border: the Entry Conditions for Spain sheet repeats that «El documento deberá ser válido hasta 3 meses después de la fecha prevista de salida del territorio Schengen, y haber sido expedido dentro de los 10 años anteriores a la fecha de entrada». You present the original plus «una fotocopia de la página o páginas con datos biométricos».
Go to the official site for this step →
Watch out: The «expedido dentro de los últimos 10 años» requirement, issued within the last 10 years, knocks out passports that are still valid. Some countries issue booklets with more than ten years of validity or with stamped extensions: for Schengen they're no good. And plan for the passport staying at the consulate: «El pasaporte deberá entregarse al realizar el trámite, quedando bajo custodia del Consulado General hasta la resolución de su solicitud de visado». Don't book another trip in the meantime.
10
Travel insurance: 30.000 euros, repatriation and the WHOLE Schengen area
It is an admissibility requirement and it sits in Article 15 of the Visa Code, not in an insurer's fine print. Article 15.1: applicants «deberán demostrar que poseen un seguro médico de viaje adecuado y válido que cubra aquellos gastos que pudieran ocasionar su repatriación por motivos médicos o por defunción, la asistencia médica de urgencia o la atención hospitalaria de urgencia durante su estancia o estancias en el territorio de los Estados miembros». Article 15.3 sets the figure and the scope: «El seguro deberá ser válido en el territorio de los Estados miembros y cubrir todo el período de estancia o tránsito que la persona haya previsto. La cobertura mínima será de 30 000 EUR». Article 15.4 adds where to buy it: «En principio, los solicitantes contratarán el seguro en su país de residencia». And for multiple entries, Article 15.2 as it stood after 2019: «Los solicitantes de un visado para entradas múltiples deberán demostrar que se encuentran en posesión de un seguro médico de viaje adecuado y válido que cubra el período de la primera visita prevista», with a signed commitment to take it out for the following trips.
Go to the official site for this step →
Watch out: Four traps in a single requirement. One: the plastic card from your travel assistance provider won't do, and neither will the brochure; you need the named policy, in your name, with the dates and the amount written on it. Two: it has to be valid across the WHOLE Schengen area, not just in the destination country. Three: it has to cover repatriation for medical reasons AND in case of death; many cheap policies exclude repatriation of remains. Four: Article 15.5 says that «los consulados verificarán si el pago de las indemnizaciones debidas por la compañía de seguros puede obtenerse en un Estado miembro», so an insurer with no representation in Europe can be rejected even if the certificate says 30.000 euros. The only exemption: «Los titulares de pasaportes diplomáticos estarán exentos del requisito de poseer un seguro médico de viaje».
11
Funds per day: each country sets its own figure, and the fact sheets are often out of date
Here you need to be precise, because this is the figure that circulates wrongly most often. There is no single Schengen amount. Article 6.4 of the Schengen Borders Code (Regulation EU 2016/399) says that «El criterio para calcular los medios de subsistencia estará en función de la duración y del motivo de la estancia y se usarán como referencia los precios medios en el Estado o Estados miembros de que se trate del alojamiento y de la alimentación, en hospedaje económico multiplicado por el número de días de estancia» and closes with: «Los importes de referencia fijados por los Estados miembros se notificarán a la Comisión de conformidad con el artículo 39». And Article 39.1.c) confirms that they are «los importes de referencia requeridos para cruzar sus fronteras exteriores, fijados anualmente por las autoridades nacionales». In other words: twenty-nine countries, twenty-nine figures, revised every year. In Spain the figure is not fixed but a formula, the one in Order PRE/1282/2007: you have to show «una cantidad que represente en euros el 10% del salario mínimo interprofesional bruto o su equivalente legal en moneda extranjera multiplicada por el número de días que pretendan permanecer en España y por el número de personas que viajen a su cargo», with a floor of «un mínimo que represente el 90% del salario mínimo interprofesional bruto vigente en cada momento». The days are counted «desde la fecha de entrada en España hasta la fecha de salida que figure en el billete, ambas fechas incluidas».
Go to the official site for this step →
Watch out: GAP DECLARED AND VERIFIED ON 23/09/2026: the Spanish amount for 2026 in euros is NOT published in the consular fact sheets we were able to read. The «Condiciones de entrada en España» sheet from the Consulate in Buenos Aires and the one from Cuba still say «En 2025, la cantidad mínima exigida es de 118 euros por persona y día. En todo caso, y con independencia del número de días de estancia, se exigirá una cantidad mínima de 1065 euros». The page of the Embassy in Managua is worse: it publishes «€100,00 euros por persona y día» with «un mínimo de €900». And the Embassy in Ottawa did publish its sheet «Medios económicos para el año 2026», dated 9 March 2026, but converted into Canadian dollars: «una cantidad de 197,40 CAN $ por persona y día» and «un mínimo de 1.776,60 CAN $ por persona, con independencia del tiempo de estancia previsto». Three different official figures and none with the 2026 amount in euros. Practical rule: take the highest figure you find in the sheet of the consulate that covers you, add a margin, and don't rely on the figure from another country's sheet.
12
How you prove the money (and which document they won't accept)
Verbatim from the Condiciones de entrada en España sheet: «Los medios económicos se pueden acreditar presentando dinero en efectivo, cheques de viaje, tarjetas de crédito acompañadas de extracto de la cuenta bancaria, libreta bancaria puesta al día o cualquier otro medio que acredite la cantidad disponible como crédito de la tarjeta o cuenta bancaria». For the consular file, the visa sheet asks for «Resúmenes de cuentas bancarias, depósitos a plazo fijo, resúmenes de tarjetas de crédito de los últimos tres meses», plus «Certificado de trabajo y recibos de sueldo de los 3 últimos meses» or, if you are self-employed, «declaración de ganancias del año anterior».
Go to the official site for this step →
Watch out: Two sentences that are worth the whole application. The first, what is NOT accepted: «No se admiten cartas de entidades bancarias ni extractos bancarios por internet». A PDF downloaded from online banking won't do; it has to be an official statement, an up-to-date passbook or cash. The second, how your account is read: «Los recursos económicos presentados y el origen de los mismos deberán resultar acordes con la situación económica general declarada por el solicitante». A large deposit that appears out of nowhere two weeks before the appointment works against you, not in your favour.
13
Build the folder around the only question that matters: are you going to come back?
Article 21.1 defines what the consulate assesses: «se estudiará con la debida atención si el solicitante presenta un riesgo de inmigración ilegal o un riesgo para la seguridad de los Estados miembros, y si el solicitante se propone abandonar el territorio de los Estados miembros antes de la fecha de expiración del visado solicitado». And Article 32.1.b) allows refusal «si existen dudas razonables acerca de la autenticidad de los documentos justificativos presentados por el solicitante o de la veracidad de su contenido, de la fiabilidad de las declaraciones efectuadas por el solicitante o de su intención de abandonar el territorio de los Estados miembros antes de la expiración del visado solicitado». That is why Spain's sheet asks, in addition to the itinerary, for «Reserva del pasaje de ida y vuelta. No se requiere que el pasaje esté pagado», «Reservas hoteleras o carta de invitación», a «Breve escrito o descripción del solicitante que detalle los motivos del viaje» and, optionally, «títulos de propiedad, contratos de alquiler o locación, constancias laborales, vínculos familiares directos, certificaciones de estudios». Specific documents depending on the purpose: business (invitations to meetings, trade fair tickets, commercial relationships), studies (enrolment certificate), visiting relatives (letter of invitation and proof of the relationship), transit (visa for the third country and onward tickets), medical (document from the health institution and proof that you can pay for it).
Go to the official site for this step →
Watch out: The letter of invitation replaces nothing. The official sheet itself makes it clear: «la carta de invitación sólo prueba la disponibilidad de hospedaje y no suple la acreditación del resto de requisitos de entrada». In Spain it is processed by the person inviting you, at the Comisaría de Policía in their place of residence, and the ORIGINAL goes with the application. And don't buy issued tickets: a reservation is enough, and a paid ticket doesn't come back if your visa is refused.
14
Pay the fee knowing when it is refunded and when it isn't
90 euros from age 12, 45 from 6 to 12, free under 6, under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1415. It is paid before your application is accepted for processing: «Ninguna solicitud de visado puede ser admitida a trámite sin haber satisfecho el pago previamente». If you don't pay in euros, Article 16.7 requires conversion «aplicando el tipo de cambio de referencia del euro fijado por el Banco Central Europeo», and the Spanish consulate refers you to its consular fees tab for the amount in local currency. There are full exemptions in Article 16.4: children under 6, «estudiantes de los distintos ciclos, incluido el postgrado, que efectúen estancias con fines educativos o de formación, y profesores acompañantes», researchers travelling for scientific research or to conferences, and «representantes de organizaciones sin ánimo de lucro que no sean mayores de veinticinco años» attending seminars, conferences or sporting, cultural or educational events. Article 16.5 also allows exemptions for children aged 6 to 12 and for holders of diplomatic and service passports.
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Watch out: The fee «no serán reembolsables, salvo en los casos a que se refieren el artículo 18, apartado 2, y el artículo 19, apartado 3»: only if the consulate was not competent or if the application turns out to be inadmissible. If your visa is refused after examination, the money doesn't come back, and the visa centre confirms it in its FAQ: «Los honorarios de Visa, una vez pagados, no son reembolsables independientemente del resultado de su solicitud». And if you fall into one of the exempt categories of Article 16.4, claim the exemption BEFORE paying: afterwards it can't be recovered.
15
Show up in person and give your biometrics
Verbatim: «La solicitud se presentará personalmente. Si el solicitante es menor de edad, la solicitud será presentada por sus representantes legales». At the appointment they take your facial image and fingerprints: «Durante el procedimiento de solicitud de visado, se tomará la imagen facial y las huellas dactilares del solicitante. Están exentos de la toma de huellas los solicitantes menores de 12 años y los solicitantes cuyas huellas hayan sido grabadas en los últimos 59 meses». They hand you a receipt: «La Oficina Consular entregará al interesado un resguardo de solicitud con un código que permite verificar el estado de tramitación del expediente». The consulate can also ask you for missing documents or call you in for an interview.
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Watch out: The 59 months are not an absolute right: «si éstas fueran de mala calidad, la Oficina Consular pedirá al solicitante que comparezca nuevamente para tomar sus huellas». Don't plan the trip assuming you'll skip the in-person appointment because you gave fingerprints four years ago.
16
Wait for the decision: 15 calendar days, up to 45 if they ask for something more
Verbatim from the consular sheet: «El plazo legal para tomar una decisión es de 15 días naturales desde la fecha de presentación de la solicitud, plazo que podrá ampliarse a 45 días naturales cuando se soliciten documentos adicionales o la celebración de una entrevista». The 15 days count from when the application is ADMISSIBLE under the terms of Article 19, not from when you booked the appointment. Track the file with the code on the receipt in the official status portal.
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Watch out: If your nationality is subject to prior consultation under Article 22, the clock stretches without anyone telling you: «Las solicitudes de visado presentadas por los nacionales de algunos Estados requieren un trámite de consulta a las autoridades centrales que puede afectar a la duración del procedimiento de visado». The consulted authorities have «a más tardar en el plazo de siete días naturales» to reply. Factor it in when you work out how far ahead to apply.
17
If they grant it: read the sticker letter by letter before leaving the counter
The sticker shows the validity dates, the number of entries and the days of stay authorised, and all three fields are decided case by case «sobre la base del examen realizado de conformidad con el artículo 21». Check all three. Remember the grace period: «el período de validez del visado para una única entrada incluirá un “período de gracia” de quince días naturales», which is a margin in the dates, not extra stay. And remember that the cap of 90 days in any 180-day period still applies even if the sticker is valid for longer.
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Watch out: The sentence to keep in mind is the consulate's own: «El visado no implica un derecho automático de entrada en el espacio Schengen. El viajero debe cumplir todas las condiciones legales de entrada». And if your itinerary includes leaving the Schengen area and coming back, say a side trip to London, Morocco or Istanbul in the middle, look at the number of entries: with a single entry, once you leave it's used up.
18
If they refuse it: they have to tell you why, and you can appeal
Article 32.2 requires them to notify you «utilizando el impreso normalizado que figura en el anexo VI, la decisión de denegación y las razones en las que se basa», and 32.3 guarantees the appeal: «Los solicitantes a quienes se haya denegado un visado tendrán derecho a recurrir. Los recursos se interpondrán contra el Estado miembro que haya adoptado la decisión final». Spain's sheet brings it down to concrete deadlines: «recurso de reposición ante esta Oficina Consular en el plazo de un mes a partir del día siguiente a la fecha de recepción de la notificación de la denegación» and «recurso contencioso-administrativo ante el Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid en el plazo de dos meses». The exhaustive grounds for refusal are in Article 32.1: a false document, failing to justify the purpose and conditions, failing to prove means of subsistence «para la totalidad de la estancia prevista y para el regreso al país de origen», having used up the days, an alert in the SIS, a threat to public order, or failing to prove medical insurance.
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Watch out: Read the Annex VI box ticked on your notification before redoing everything: each box corresponds to a different ground and the strategy changes depending on which one it is. If the ground was «no aporta pruebas de que dispone de medios de subsistencia suficientes», the problem is the financial folder; if it was 32.1.b), the problem is that they didn't believe you'll come back, and that is tackled with ties to your home country, not with more statements.
19
The EES is now fully up: since 10 April 2026 your passport is no longer stamped
The Entry/Exit System changed the border. The European Commission describes it like this: «The EES is an automated IT system for registering non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay, each time they cross the external borders of 29 European countries using the system. The system registers the person's name, travel document data, biometric data (fingerprints and captured facial images) and the date and place of entry and exit». And the date and the effect, verbatim: «As of 10 April 2026, the EES replaces the stamping of passports allowing the automatic detection of overstayers (travellers who have exceeded the maximum duration of their authorised stay)» and «The system became fully operational on 10 April 2026». The rollout was gradual: the Commission set 12 October 2025 as the start of operations and 10 April 2026 as full operation, under Regulation (EU) 2025/1534.
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Watch out: Practical consequence that is already happening: the trick of counting days by looking at stamps is over, because there are no stamps. The 90/180 calculation is done by the system, automatically and with your exits recorded. The first time you cross they take your fingerprints and facial image, so allow more time at the checkpoint. And if a blurry stamp or an unrecorded exit used to save you, that no longer exists: the EES «also records refusals of entry».
20
At the border they can ask you for everything again, and even cut your days
The entry requirements are those of the Schengen Borders Code and the Spanish sheet lists them: entering through an authorised crossing point, a valid travel document, a visa where applicable, «Probar las condiciones de la estancia prevista y la disponibilidad de medios económicos» and not being subject to any bans. They can ask you for «Billete de vuelta o de circuito turístico, en cualquier caso», an accommodation reservation or letter of invitation, and proof of funds. Refusal of entry «se notifica mediante una resolución motivada, que contiene la información sobre los recursos que se pueden interponer», although «la presentación de un recurso no suspende los efectos de la denegación de entrada». They can also stop you for having used up your days: entry is refused «por haber agotado los 90 días de estancia autorizada en el espacio Schengen en los 180 días».
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Watch out: Little-known and fairly brutal fact: if you arrive with less money than required, the officer can let you in for fewer days. Order PRE/1282/2007 provides for it: «los funcionarios responsables del control de entrada podrán permitir la entrada, reduciendo el tiempo de estancia en proporción a la cuantía de los recursos de que se dispongan», and for that they require you to buy on the spot «un nuevo billete en el que la fecha de salida […] corresponda a la misma fecha en que realmente deben salir». Carry proof of funds even if you already have the visa in your passport.
21
ETIAS: if you are visa-exempt, there is still nothing to apply for
ETIAS is the electronic authorisation that the European Union will require from VISA-EXEMPT travellers, and it is something different from the Schengen visa. Status verified on 23/09/2026 on the Commission's official page: the system «is currently not in operation and no applications for travel authorisations are collected at this point. The European Union will inform about the specific date for the start of ETIAS several months prior to its launch». The fee is already set: «ETIAS fee has been set at EUR 20 instead of the previous EUR 7 […] It will enter into effect as soon as ETIAS is operational». When it launches, «Applicants will be able to apply via an official website and/or app for mobile devices once the system goes live».
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Watch out: ETIAS launch date: NOT PUBLISHED. So today there is no ETIAS to apply for, and any site selling it to you is a scam. And if you need a Schengen visa, ETIAS will never apply to you: it is for visa-exempt travellers.
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain — Short-stay visa (Schengen visa). Each Schengen country processes its own: the competent body is the consulate of the country of main destination

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Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park 12