Studying in Vigo: the papers for a term, a year or a whole degree

No visa is needed. Past three months in Vigo, you register on form EX-18 as a student, with proof of your enrolment, health cover (a European Health Insurance Card, or private insurance) and your signed statement that your means are sufficient.

From outside the EU, a stay for studies begins abroad, at whichever Spanish consulate serves your home: the letter of admission, proof of means, health insurance and whatever else it lists. The visa comes back in your passport, usually with a NIE already assigned. If the stay is longer than six months, you then book the TIE prints soon after landing.

Students from outside the EU may take paid work compatible with their studies, within the limits the rules set. Check with us, or with the university, before signing a contract.

At the Universidade de Vigo, the Oficina de Relacións Internacionais, in the Edificio Miralles on the Marcosende campus, handles incoming exchange students and sends them information on visas, accommodation and enrolment. Its Centro de Linguas, in the Facultade de Filoloxía e Tradución, teaches Spanish as a foreign language from beginner to advanced levels and is a DELE exam centre. Outside the university, the Escola Oficial de Idiomas de Vigo, on Martínez Garrido, has a Spanish department for foreigners, which asks foreign students to hold a NIE.

Start with the padrón: the Concello de Vigo registers students on a passport and proof of where they live.

• Register on the padrón at the Concello de Vigo
• Book the green certificate or the TIE fingerprints
• Open a bank account with your NIE
• Keep copies of everything the consulate saw

Students at the Universidade de Vigo find their papers split: stays for studies sit on the Oficina de Extranjería’s list at Rúa Teófilo Llorente 4, while the police list for students, extensions and TIE issue points to the Brigada in Pontevedra and the units in Tui, Vilagarcía de Arousa and Salvaterra de Miño.