Visas for students’ family members
Family members may apply for visas or long-term residence permits alongside students themselves.
You will find all the information you need about permits for family members on the Immigration Ministry’s website (Sheet 1). We also recommend that you read the criteria and exemptions published in 2025.
It is important to plan the duration of your member’s stay, as there is a Type D visa that is only valid for 180 days (D Estudios hasta 180 días). This is a limited visa and, once in Spain on this visa, your family member will not be able to renew it or apply for a Study Permit. If your family member plans to stay for more than 6 months, they will need to obtain an open Type D Study visa in their country of origin.
For stays of over 180 days, once your family member has entered Spain on an open Type D visa, they will need to obtain a Foreign ID Card (TIE) from the National Police within the first 30 days of entering the country.
INSTRUCTIONS on how to make an appointment and what documents to submit (PDF, 1,7 Mb)
Entry stamp or entry declaration
Upon entering Spain, your family member should try to obtain an ‘Entry stamp’ in their passport at the airport Police Station. Alternatively, they can go to one of the National Police offices in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Bilbao or Donostia/San Sebastián within 3 days of their arrival to make a Declaration of Entry into Spanish Territory.
If they do not obtain the stamp or make the declaration, we recommend that they keep proof of their journey to Spain (boarding passes, bus and train tickets, etc.), as they may be required to produce them by the Spanish immigration authorities.
Extending their visa
If you extend your study permit, then you will also need to extend your family member’s residence permit online over the MERCURIO platform. To do this, you must first have obtained a digital certificate from the National Mint and Stamp Factory.
INSTRUCTIONS for obtaining a digital FNMT certificate (PDF, 1,3 Mb).
Once your family member has been notified that their extension request has been granted, they must renew their Foreign ID Card (TIE) at one of the National Police offices.