Spanish Schengen visa

By Lucia Lagunas Reyes | Published on 1 January 2024

What Everyone Ought to Know About Spanish Schengen Visa

Spain is a wonderful country, no doubt. Many people move out of their home country to enter Spain and explore the beach-filled country’s amazing nature with amazing cities and countryside. Staying in Spain is proving to be cheaper than in most areas around the world. However, it would be best to travel to Spain to meet some basic requirements and get the correct documents to say in the country.

The Spanish Schengen Visa allows tourists to visit Spain with ease and every area surrounding the Schengen area. The period of a visit that the visa to travel provides is about 90 days. Suppose the traveler has Spain as their final destination in their journey as tourists. In that case, they will apply for a Schengen to travel at any local Spanish embassy or Spanish consulate in their home country.

The Importance of the Spanish Schengen Visa

Spain is put with other 25 countries in Schengen. The countries share a common external border. Therefore, it is legal to go through one country in the region and move freely to other countries without legal requirements. There are no borders within the area that require passport controls. Therefore, the borderless region attracts many people since it is easy to maneuver through several countries without the regular paperwork involved with getting visas and passes.

It is in no sense that travelers will issue their tourist visas to non-existing border controls. The Schengen Visa authorizes you to move freely and enter all the 26 countries in the zone. You need to complete the embassy application process or consulate the main country you will visit as your final destination to get the Spanish visa.

Some countries need the Schengen Visa to get into Spain from any country. There is a list of the countries in all embassies where you will apply for the visa to offer you all the details you need to know about getting into Spain.

Who Needs the Spanish Schengen Visa?

Traveling into Spain will need you to get a visa to access the other 25 countries in the Schengen region easily. There have been changes in the way people apply for visas to get into the region due to visa liberation policies that affect non-EU countries.

Citizens from other countries who plan to visit Spain have to have their EU citizen residence permit valid at the time of the application. The application should be when the permit is dated three months beyond the date you wish to leave Spain or the Schengen area.

There is an eligibility checker for the Spanish Schengen Visa where you will feed your details to see if you are eligible to apply for the visa.

An excellent example to help you understand how someone can enter the region is explained here. If you reside in the UK and have a valid residence permit, you can get the visa upon application and provision of all the required documents. You must have a three-month valid visa that surpasses the date you will leave Spain. Otherwise, you can extend the period for another three more months to help you get the visa application go through.

Ensure you apply for an extension while still in your mother country to be approved before moving into the region. It will not be possible to process it and have the three-month extension you may require to stay within Spain.

You can effortlessly apply for a Spanish Schengen visa at the embassy of Spain or consulate when:

• You want to get to Spain as your leading destination in the Schengen region. The main destination country is the country you will stay longer in.
• Spain is the only country of interest that you are planning to visit in the area.
• Spain is the first country you will visit in the region, and then you can spend an equal amount of time in another county within the region.

Anyone who wants to visit Spain for a period that exceeds 90 days will not apply for the Spain Schengen visa. Here, you will need a residency permit that you can also get from the embassy. The application is made in the embassy, and they will provide you with all the information you need to visit the country and the region. The visa fees are changing, but you can get the current fees from the local embassy.

The Documents You Need to Apply for the Spanish Schengen Visa

You will need the following documents to present to the officers at the Spanish embassy for you to start the process of getting your visa. Ensure all the documents are updated and usable at the time of use.

A valid passport or travel document: the passport you present must be valid and active for the past ten years. The passport must also be valid at least three months after the period you exit Spain. Also, ensure your passport has total blank spaces to get the visa stamp and additional spare page.

• Home country residency permit or any other identity card you use in your country. Most EU countries offer the new biometric card that you can use as your identity card.
• A biometric fingerprint data with a digital passport photograph: The requirement is special for older people. Only children below 12 are exempted from the biometric fingerprint.
• A filled application form to be availed during the day of the application. You need to sign it and answer correctly to every mentioned information on the form.
• Ensure the passport photo provided has a light background and brightly colored to effectively show all your facial features. Glue the photo on the space provided on the application form. The photo should not be more than three months old. Only glued photos are accepted, therefore don’t stamp them.
• Give evidence of your travel plans and arrangement: it would help provide details of your journey if you travel by vehicle or air. Also, give a copy of your driving license, car insurance, and registration of the car.
• Get travel insurance and attach it with the application form: the insurance should cover any medical emergency that may happen along the way all over to your stay in the Schengen area.
• Provide evidence of accommodation in Spain: the evidence can be provided from the hotel you will stay in or an official invitation letter issued by the police in Spain. The letter should also have a copy of the passport holders who you are visiting.
• Evidence of financial subsistence: provide a statement of your bank account dating back three months to show the funds you have in your account. You should have at least 500 £.
• Invitation letter: the letter comes from an individual or the company you will visit in Spain.

Getting Your Bank Account in Spain

As an ex-pat who is just getting into Spain for a long-term stay, you will need to open a Spanish bank account. The high staggering number of ex-pats in Spain has led to the banks’ great revolutions in Spain to offer support and fast services for everyone who wants to open a bank account. It is effortless to open a bank account even though the financial crisis of 2008 led to renewed regulations that are a bit tight.

The banks in Spain are internationalized to offer services that cut across several states. It has 141 private banks and many other cooperative and savings banks. The national bank that also acts as the regulator of all other financial institutions is the Banco de España. All the banks have to adhere to the regulations set by this bank to operate and offer their clients the best services.

However, having a bank account is not a legal requirement to let you stay in Spain. You can still manage your finances with an overseas account. The process can be very costly when you operate your funds daily. It makes the need for a Spanish bank account inevitable for those operating in businesses where they have to transact daily. While in Spain, you will be paying for Spanish utility bills, and you need a bank account to acquire a Spanish mortgage with ease.

You can easily access yours mainly through several ways such as visa, MasterCard, and American express in Spain. Most people don’t use these avenues due to the costs they incur. There are several non-resident bank accounts in Spain that you can use for the time you will be in the country. You can also set up a bank account before you make a move to go and stay in the country.

Several bank accounts in the region serve different purposes with a sense of uniqueness. Before you settle for one, go around shopping to see the one that fits you well. The account should be able to address your needs and within your timeline effectively. The main types of bank accounts are:

• Current accounts: these accounts are used mainly for everyday banking and fulfilling financial requirements that you need to have in Spain. Almost all banks offer this type of account to target groups such as customers, students, and young people residing in the country.
• Savings account: the savings accounts differ from one bank to another. These accounts link to the investments in funds that an individual has with their shares. There are also regional banks in Spain that offer savings accounts to ex-pats.
• Digital accounts: online banking is now an effective way to transact while in Spain. It is a convenient, fast, reliable, and easy way to get and send money. All banks in Spain offer online services to their clients. You will need to get their banking apps to get these services.
• Non-resident accounts: the main Spanish banks offer non-resident accounts to foreign residents. The accounts are primarily Euro-based hence apply to countries in the European Union, but help get you going and funding yourself effectively in the country.

Other ex-pats in Spain opt for offshore bank accounts, which is a better way to manage their finances effectively. The accounts are helpful when working abroad, and you need to travel from one country to another from time to time.

The offshore accounts are located outside the country of residence. They offer various advantages when it comes to cross-border services and low taxation of the transacted funds.

Spain has several banks that operate these accounts and offer them to ex-pats. They are:

BBVA

It is one of the tops and most significant banks in the whole of Spain. It offers various commission-free accounts that have unique benefits for people who want to get Spanish accounts. The current primary account and young blue account for people aged 18-29 are the bank’s most sought accounts. The bank also provides a payroll account to help in managing income effectively.

They provide all their clients with a global banking app compatible with every mobile device you may be using. You can use the app with apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay. It also works easily with a range of debit cards, prepaid cards, and credit cards. You can use the one you have for easy transactions.

Banco Sabadell

The bank offers a critical account that will provide you with free translation services for all foreign and temporary residents. The expansion account offers free unlimited deposits and withdrawals that you can use more effectively when you are a pensioner. The Primera account is ideal for young people, and the higher sterling savings account helps to save cash from investments.

Help to Choosing a Bank in Spain

The bank accounts to open are several, and you need to have a way you can choose the right one to use. Consider the following things when you want to open a Spanish bank account:

• Costs: not all banks offer free accounts. Look for those that offer accounts with low cost to ensure you get what is suitable for you.
• Range of services: when you open a bank account, it is not only to save money but also to access more services such as Spanish insurance, Spanish pension plan, and Spanish mortgages.
• Ease of access: it would be best to get a bank that offers 24/7 customer care and transaction services. You may want to transact with international communities.

Conclusion for the Spanish Schengen Visa

Are you ready to experience the fantastic lifestyle and incredible weather of Spain? Schengen visa applicants have several avenues to get their visa approved and live in Spain easily. Visit the Spanish embassy today and get your Spanish Schengen visa ready to enjoy visiting the Schengen countries.

From 2024 many people will need an Etias Spain to travel to Spain.