Spain forms part of the European Union; in other words, it is a member of the “Schengen Convention.” Any legal resident from a Schengen country, plus citizens of the UK, Ireland, Iceland & Norway, do not need a visa to enter the country. The pre-2004 Schengen members are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
The countries integrated in 2004 – Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia – do not need tourist or residence visas to enter the country but will not have the full rights of other EU citizens for the next 7 years or so.
Citizens of many other countries do not need a visa to enter for a stay of less than 90 days: Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand and the US are among them. If you are planning on staying for longer than 90 days, you must check with the Spanish consulate nearest you.
Student visas are not that difficult to obtain, provided that your program provides the necessary paperwork. Even in this case, however, you can plan on the process taking at least a month. (Spanish bureaucracy can be frustrating, to say the least). In order to work in Spain it is necessary to have an official offer from a company in Spain. These types of visas are not easy to get for non-EU citizens.
Any member of a country not mentioned above should check their local consulate for visa requirements.
Most countries’ Spanish embassies are located in Madrid which, for visitors in Salamanca, is quite convenient; if you need to physically go to the embassy, there are constant buses and trains that run the short route between the two cities. Below is a list of some of the embassies in Madrid. If yours isn't listed, don't panic- chances are that your embassy is in fact in Madrid but we just haven't listed it.
| Country | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina | c/ Pedro Valdivia, 21 | 917 71 05 19 |
| Australia | Plaza Descubridor Diego de , 3 | 914 41 93 00 |
| Belgium | c/ Velázquez, 26- 3º | 915 78 08 35 |
| Canada | c/ Núñez de Balboa, 35 | 914 23 32 50 |
| Chile | c/ Lagasca, 88 | 914 31 91 60 |
| Colombia | Paseo General Martínez Campos, 48 | 913 10 38 00 |
| Costa Rica | c/ Claudio Coello, 78-2º | 915 77 68 81 |
| Denmark | c/ Claudio Coello, 91 - 4º | 914 31 84 45 |
| Finland | Paseo de la Castellana, 15 | 913 19 61 72 |
| France | c/ Salustiano Olozaga, 9 | 914 23 89 00 |
| Greece | Avda. Doctor Arce, 24 | 915 64 46 53 |
| India | Avda. Pio XII, 30-32 | 911 31 51 00 |
| Mexico | Carrera de San Jerónimo, 46 | 914 20 27 17 |
| Netherlands | Avda. Comandante Franco, 32 | 913 53 75 00 |
| Phillipines | c/ Eresma, 2 | 917 82 38 30 |
| Poland | c/ Guisando, 23 | 913 73 66 05 |
| Portugal | c/ Pinar, 1 | 917 82 49 60 |
| Romania | Avda. de Alfonso XIII, 157 | 913 50 18 81 |
| Russia | c/ Velázquez, 155 | 914 11 25 24 |
| South Africa | c/ Claudio Coello, 91 | 914 35 37 80 |
| Turkey | c/ Rafael Calvo, 18 | 913 19 80 64 |
| United Kingdom | c/ Fernando el Santo, 16 | 917 00 82 00 |
| United States | c/ Serrano, 75 | 915 87 22 00 |
