10 mistakes students commit when applying for a student visa/NIE card/NIE renewal

The student visa is one of the most popular visa options for foreigners that want to enter Spain. Usually, this visa is easy to get if you follow all the rules. But student visa applications or renewals can be turned down if you are not careful enough.

Here we will list 10 typical mistakes we spotted in the visa application, residence permit application, and visa renewal stages.

Contents

1. Applying for the Spain student visa with insufficient documents

2. Applying to the student NIE/TIE for the first time

3. Renewing your student residence permit

1. Applying for the Spain student visa with insufficient documents

Check here to see the full list of the documents you need for a student visa in Spain. Some mistakes that many people make during this process are:

• Mistake 1: Forget to fill in the visa application form
• Mistake 2: Do not present sufficient economical means: at least 100% IPREM/month*number of months(stated in your admission letter) together with the receipt that states you have paid all tuition fees. Remember that the more, the better.
  • If you haven't paid all your tuition fees, make sure to show this extra amount of money in your economical means. That's to say, you need to at least include 100% IPREM/month*number of months(stated in your admission letter)+tuition fees.
  • If you have any tuition waivers or scholarships, you can also show these supporting documents. Scholarships can be tricky if you want to later develop your career in Spain.
  • If you are going to study in a big city, considering the living standard, you need to prepare more money in your bank account or prepare more supporting economical means. Check here for living expenses.  
• Mistake 3: Do not gather all the criminal records from all the countries that you have resided in the past five years.
• Mistake 4: Do not have a correct private medical insurance coverage:
  • This also happens a lot to new applicants for student visas. To apply for a student visa in Spain, getting travel insurance is not enough. You need to contract insurance that satisfies all the requirements here. Our expat insurance is a 100% visa-friendly option. Since the creation of this visa option, it’s trusted already by 100,000+ international students or expats.

2. Applying to the student NIE/TIE for the first time

When you arrive in Spain, getting an NIE card is pretty important because it not only guarantees your free mobility within the EU, but you will need it on many occasions, such as opening a bank account. Here the typical mistakes are:

• Mistake 5: Do not get an empadronamiento before going to take the fingerprint
• Mistake 6: Take the admission letter to take your fingerprint instead of the enrollment letter: Note that the enrollment letter is the one that you need to take to your appointment office. An admission letter is not enough.

3. Renewing your student residence permit

When your student residence permit expires, you need to renew it for another year. Remember that a student residence permit is only valid for a year. So, if you apply to a 4-year-program, you need to renew it every year.

When renewing your student residence permit, the typical mistakes are:

• Mistake 7: Forget about the renewal period: You can only initiate the renewal process 60 days before the expiration date of the TIE or 90 days after the expiration date.
• Mistake 8: Do not renew your medical insurance policy: As an international student without making sufficient contributions to the social security system, you still need to buy into the private medical insurance system. Check out our Health Insurance Offer.
• Mistake 9: Do not submit the scores or do not pass at least half of the courses: You need to submit your official scores and transcripts when renewing the residence permit. And you need to pass more than 50% of all the courses of the past year.
• Mistake 10: Applying to another study program without great excuses: Sometimes, a student might want to stay longer in Spain with a student visa. They might wish to find cheaper options than the ones that they have chosen. Be careful that in the following example cases, your application might be turned down unless you have reasonable excuses:
  • Finish a master's in Spanish and then apply to a Spanish language course to renew the student visa
  • Finish an official master's from a good university and then apply for an unofficial master's degree in an academy
  • Finish a master's degree and then apply for a bachelor's degree
  • Finish the studies and apply to another program in a completely different area

Being an international student is never easy. So make sure you have all the documents and do not make any mistakes before going to apply for your student visa/ NIE card/residency renewal. We wish you great luck and success in your studies and future careers!

Check out another one of our blogs to learn more about this topic:

• How to apply for a spanish student visa
• How to choose a school in Spain: Spanish vs international schools
• Spanish higher education: why choose Spain as the destination?
• How to apply for the student NIE/TIE in Spain for the first time?
• Guide to the Spanish education system

Our content will be updated according to the most recent legislation.