Question
I plan to apply for a 6 month Spanish student visa at the San Francisco consulate. I have been reading about how slow they are due to staffing shortages. I see that I’m supposed to apply via USPS mail. Does anyone have any idea as to approximately how long this visa might take? I will have to travel back to the US to get it. On another note, are language programs the cheapest and option for getting the student visa? I have to pay $1800 for the program to get the admission letter for the visa.
Answers
These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
“Here’s my experience with the San Francisco consulate, this summer. I got into my master’s program in early July. The FBI background check + apostille took 5+ weeks to get back. Factor that timing in. I mailed my app in in mid-August (with an prepaid return 2 day priority envelope) and at the beginning of week 4 I had to get my passport back and emailed them saying this. They mailed me back a 3 month student visa and told me to go to the police within 30 days of arriving. My university said this is standard – it’s the TIE appointment — which I’m now waiting for.
The consulate did say they would take my materials by email but by the time they told me that I had already mailed them. I had everything ready, minus the FBI apostille, weeks earlier. So maybe you can do that?”
“You can also apply from within Spain. Once you have been approved by a university here you can actually come sooner as a tourist and within the first 60 days here you can apply and get approved much faster than in the US. Make sure you have all of the necessary paperwork and background checks, the required money, etc. before you leave the US”
