Immigration Procedures

The process of regulating immigration status is between the student and the Government of Spain, not the University. Therefore, you must:

• Have your high school/secondary school diploma and official grades recognised before arriving in Spain.
• Apply for your TIE (Foreign National Identity Card) or its renewal, within the established period. The TIE must be applied for within the first month of your arrival, and it is essential to renew it annually. It is advisable to start the renewal process as soon as possible. You can initiate the renewal procedures from 60 days prior to its expiration date and up to a maximum of 90 days after.
• Always keep a scanned copy of your immigration documents.

Students with non-EU passports (outside the Schengen area) must apply for a student visa to enter Spain. Remember that the United Kingdom is not part of the Schengen area.

Types of visas you can receive:

• 180-day visa (short stay): for students who will be participating in a semester-long exchange programme.
• 90-day visa (long stay): for students who will be studying for more than 6 months. This visa requires applying for a TIE (Foreign National Identity Card) as soon as you arrive in Spain.
   

You can follow the instructions in this PDF to obtain your visa. 

If you have a non-EU passport (outside the Schengen area), you must apply for the Foreigner Identification Card (TIE) upon arriving in Spain. Remember that the United Kingdom is not part of the Schengen area. This document is essential for stays of more than 90 days for students from outside the European Union (including full academic year exchange students).

• If you arrived in Spain with a 180-day visa, you do not need to obtain the TIE, as you are already covered with your visa.
• If you arrived in Spain with a 90-day visa, you need to obtain the TIE. It must be requested within the first month of your arrival, and it is essential to renew this card annually.

You can follow the instructions in this PDF to obtain TIE.

If you continue studying at the University, you will need to renew your TIE each year within the corresponding period. You can renew it from 60 days before the expiration date of your TIE, and up to a maximum of 90 days after its validity. It is always advisable to start the renewal process as soon as possible.

You can follow the instructions in this PDF  to renew your TIE.

If you have a European Union passport and you will be staying in Spain for more than 90 days, you will need to apply for the residence registration certificate for EU citizens.

You can follow the instructions in this PDF .
 

If you are a general student (will study all courses at UIC Barcelona): 

You can choose between two options regarding health insurance based on your country of origin:

• If you are from the European Union, you must obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). The cards are issued by your National Health Insurance provider.
• If you are not from the European Union, you must obtain your own insurance for the visa and the TIE (Foreign National Identity Card).

If you are a mobility student: 

It is mandatory for all mobility students (both incoming and outgoing) to have insurance coverage, of at least the following areas throughout their mobility period: travel, civil liability, accidents, and medical assistance.

• Incoming mobilities: we recommend contracting the OnCampus insurance that covers travel, civil liability, accidents, and medical assistance, among others. For more information, see here. 
• Outgoing mobilities: it is mandatory to contract the OnCampus insurance that covers travel, civil liability, accidents, and medical assistance, among others. For more information, consult the International Relations Department. 

If you are in the process of obtaining or renewing your TIE and/or have not yet received the physical card at home and plan to travel outside the Schengen area, you must apply for a Re-entry Permit to be able to return to Spain.

The Re-entry Permit can be used for all exits and entries that are necessary during the validity of the permit (maximum 90 days).

You can request it at a National Police station. Make sure to do it with enough time, as at certain times of the year, such as during Christmas, it is more difficult to get an appointment to process it.

You can follow the instructions in this PDF to obtain your re-entry permit.

Starting from January 1, 2024, according to the new legislation, all students who undertake training internships in companies, institutions, or entities included in training programmes and external academic internships must be registered with Social Security. Therefore, they will need to have a Social Security affiliation number.

You can refer to these documents to obtain the number according to your nationality:

• Spanish national students: You must have a valid ID card (DNI).
• Students with a European Union passport: You can obtain your Social Security affiliation number with your passport.
• Students with a non-EU passport (outside the Schengen area: including the United Kingdom). 
  • If you have a valid study visa when starting the internships, you can obtain your Social Security affiliation number with your passport .
  • If you have a TIE , you can obtain your Social Security affiliation number with it.

If you have questions about these procedures, you can request free advice from Ida Quintián, a lawyer specialising in immigration.
If you need to hire additional services, keep in mind that any specific procedure completed by Ms Quintián is subject to payment.

• Appointments for obtaining a TIE: (cost of €50 including VAT for students).
• Procedures and advice on issues related to the renewal of their residence card (cost of €250 including VAT for students). 
• Procedures and advice on issues related to residence and work permits during or after their studies (cost of €350 including VAT for students).

Contact Ida at iquintian.extern@uic.es