Last Updated on March 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
Question about transitioning from Spain student visa to Spain digital nomad visa
Has anyone heard of anyone taking intensive language courses and obtaining a Spain student visa here as a means of staying in Spain before obtaining the Spain Digital nomad visa?
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Start the Moving to Spain Hub →Curious about your thoughts or if anyone heard others do the same, particularly as many others wait out the W2 stuff going on before transitioning to the Digital Nomad Visa.
Answers
These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
”I knew two Chinese students who did obtain the Spain student visa with the official government language schools (Escuela Oficial de Idiomas) that you will find in most cities.
They studied multiple languages per semester in order to accumulate the hours they needed”
”For reference, I’ve been Schengen 90-day hopping and am dating someone and am getting a bit desperate to not have to leave them / the country so often and getting a bit desperate and sad that my permanent move to Spain (despite being what I imagine to be a prime candidate re: no criminal history, educated, high paying US job, fluent in Spanish, etc I just can’t seem to find a way to get into Spain full time”
”Totally possible, but It has to be at an approved School and minimum 20hrs a week. They are notoriously slow at approvals (was still waiting 4 months later last year) but you can stay and start studying while the visa is being processed. Even if it exceeds your 90 days”
”You’re an American? You might want to look at being an auxiliar de conversacion or English language assistant here in Spain. For only 16 hours a week, you will simply have English conversation practices with Spanish students. In exchange, you will get a monthly allowance worth 1,000 euros from the Spanish government (that is, if you choose to do this in Madrid). You’ll be on a student visa and you don’t have to leave Spain if you don’t want to because you can just keep on renewing your visa here in Spain as an auxiliar. I was an auxiliar for a year (while doing all of my remote jobs on the side) and I was able to transition successfully to DNV just last month. All the best”
”You can ask for a permit for studies (estancia por estudios). Can be asked from Spain but you must have at least 30 days from 90 before your Schengen expires”
”I’m doing that right now. It worked better for me than the DNV and you don’t have to prepare as many statements.”
”I did it with Paraninfo at Calle Princesa (Madrid). They’re a Cervantes institute so they can give out the letter for a student visa”
”I am doing that right now. I was also waiting on the DNV, but it took too long so I said F it and I’m here on a student visa! Best decision”
”In order to get a Spain student visa you’d need to enroll in a language program that is a minimum of 20 hours per week of instruction. They are all over Spain, so no matter where you want to live, you can pretty much be guaranteed to find a program you can enrol in. My son did a one-year program called Campus Spain. It was a little on the pricey side, but it’s a very intensive language course, aimed at preparing students to enrol in a Spanish university”
”That’s what I did, student visa for 1y at some language school then now I switched to Spain Digital Nomad Visa”
”I would also love to do that! I tried to check into it from a university perspective, and that did not work because they didn’t have a program for learning Spanish, but I could have done it in English”
”This is my exact plan since I don’t know how long it will take for me to figure out the social security situation and all that. Hopefully, the DNV requirements get sorted out within the next year. The docs gathering is more straightforward compared to the DNV though it’s still not so fun. If you are planning on doing this, I’d suggest working on getting the background check/apostilled first since it can take a couple of months (in the US) All the other docs are easy to get”
”I did this in 2018 in Madrid. But now I am looking where I am in Granada and the cheapest schools are about 7000 euros per year! I paid 2000 in 2018…. Too expensive in my opinion”
In conclusion, according to Spainguru Facebook group members, particularly while waiting for the Spain Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) or exploring long-term options. They mentioned enrolling in government language schools, such as Escuela Oficial de Idiomas, or approved programs like Paraninfo and Campus Spain to accumulate the necessary hours for a student visa. Members discussed the transition from a 90-day Schengen stay to a Spain student visa, allowing them to remain in Spain during the visa application process. Some also highlighted the possibility of shifting from a student visa to a work visa after finding full-time employment. Despite varying opinions on costs and challenges, many shared positive outcomes of using this approach to stay longer in Spain without leaving the country.
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