Spain is one of the most popular destinations for our tourists. To visit the country, Russian citizens need to apply for a Schengen visa. Given the large number of people who want to relax in the resorts of the Costa Dorada, Costa Brava and Mallorca, the issuance of entry documents has long been put on stream – visa centers (the link between the applicant and the embassy) operate in 28 cities of the Russian Federation. The process of filing papers is simplified and standardized as much as possible, so anyone can get the coveted stamp on their own, without the services of intermediaries, by paying service and consular fees. According to COUNTRYAAH, Spain is a country that starts with letter S.

Tourist visa to Spain: general information

Do they give multivisa?	A “clean” passport puts a visa for 3 months, if you have at least one Schengen – at least six months
Term of receipt	5-10 working days
Validity limit	At least 3 months from the end of the trip

• The cost of a regular visa: 80€

• Express visa: 100-110€

• Visa fees: ~2400-2600R

Types of visas

Most Russians come to Spain as tourists. Someone goes to visit, on a business trip, to study or work. All these cases involve the issuance of different types of visas.

• Tourist Schengen visa type C gives the right to stay in the country for no more than 90 days and is suitable not only for tourists. It is also issued for the purposes of transit, short-term business travel, visiting friends/relatives, attending training courses, conferences, sporting events, participation in exchange programs. The difference is only in the list of documents.
• National category D – for Russians who have more serious goals for traveling to Spain: work, study at a local university, marriage to a citizen of the country. It is authorized to issue it only at the embassy or consulate general.

Applying for a visa yourself

Before visiting the visa center with a pre-assembled package of documents, you need to sign up through the website and print out a confirmation letter. Waiting in line, receiving and checking papers by employees last no more than 30 minutes, if everything is in order and nothing needs to be corrected. Additional time is taken by the procedure for taking biometric data: fingerprinting and digital photography. After the applicant is given a registration number, by which on the site you can track the readiness of the visa. Usually after 3-5 days the result is known, sometimes you have to wait up to 10 days.

If another person picks up a passport with a ready visa, he must have a notarized power of attorney from the owner of the document. Also, the courier can deliver the passport to the desired address (paid service).

The Consulate General of Spain also accepts documents for Schengen by appointment through the website of the visa center. In this case, you will not need to pay a service fee, but you will have to wait a couple of weeks for a visa. Usually, they act through the consulate when re-submitting after a refusal.

The number of refusals to citizens of the Russian Federation in the issuance of the Spanish Schengen does not exceed 5-6%.

Spain visa documents

Required documents for obtaining Schengen category C:

1. Questionnaire

Filled in in English or Spanish, and signed personally by the applicant (the sample is on the official website of the visa center);

2. international passport

Must be valid for at least 3 months after the end of the trip, with at least two blank pages;

3. Two photos

Colored, 3.5 x 4.5 cm (see photo requirements below);

4. Photocopy of the passport

All pages of internal and foreign passports (even empty ones) two spreads per page, total 4 spreads per sheet;

5. Photocopy of second or old passport

Photocopies of all pages of the second or old passport, where there are marks, stamps or visas of any countries;

6. Help from the place of work

With an indication of the position, length of service in the company, income and the fact that the trip coincides with the next paid vacation; those working in IP / PBOYuL need to attach a copy of the certificate of registration of the enterprise and its tax registration;

7. Confirmation of financial solvency

For the duration of the trip (based on a minimum of 90 EUR per day per person, but not less than 810 EUR per person for the entire duration of the trip): traveler’s checks, bank statement or certificate of purchase of foreign currency;

8. Health insurance policy

Valid throughout the Schengen area and for the duration of your stay. Insurance coverage must be at least 30,000 EUR;

9. Additionally

For persons who did not have Schengen visas in their passport before, it is advisable to provide additional documents on financial well-being: a copy of the certificate of ownership of real estate, car, etc.;

10. Copy of ticket

In both directions or confirmation of the reservation of air tickets;

11. Hotel reservation

Confirmation of accommodation in Spain: hotel reservation – original or fax with a seal and signature of the responsible person or a printout from the Internet indicating the reservation number and the fact of payment for the order; rental agreement for a villa/house or apartment;

In the case of a private visit, you must provide the original of a notarized invitation from a private person with the personal data of the inviting and invited, the dates and purposes of the trip, and the address in Spain. As well as originals or copies of documents confirming kinship, a certificate of registration of the inviting person and a copy of his passport or residence permit.

In addition to the listed documents, students – a certificate from the educational institution, a copy of the student card. Pensioners – a copy of the pension certificate. And also to all of them and to those who are not working – a statement of sponsorship, a certificate from the sponsor’s work, a copy of his internal passport and a document confirming the degree of kinship.

For a visa officer, one of the main points is the financial viability of a tourist, documented. The unemployed can provide a letter from the bank with a signature and a seal, indicating the presence of a deposit through which the movement of funds takes place.

Traveling with children

Persons under 18 years of age will need to provide: a copy of the birth certificate, two photographs, a notarized permission to leave the child from the second parent (if the child is traveling with one of them). If a minor child travels without parents, accompanied by a third party, it is necessary to provide copies of all pages of the Russian passport of the parent / parents, a notarized power of attorney (with an apostille!) to export the child and its copy. In the absence of parents (parent), photocopies of the death certificate and the book of a single mother are provided.

Important: the power of attorney must be completely filled out in Russian (even the name of the hotel).

Children included in the parent’s passport also fit into his visa. In this case, next to the name of the parent, the designation “+ 1X” is placed (the number indicates the number of children entered in the passport and traveling during the validity of this visa).

The surname in the tourist’s passport must strictly correspond to the surname in the general passport. Marriage certificates and other documents on the change of surname are not valid in this case.

Fingerprinting

Persons applying for Schengen for the first time, as well as those who have not previously undergone the fingerprinting procedure, are required to personally arrive at the visa application center to submit biometric data. The information remains up-to-date and stored in a single database for 59 months, during which there is no need to repeat fingerprinting when applying for the next Schengen visa. Also, children under 12 years of age and people with a damaged pattern of papillary lines due to physical injuries are exempted from it.

Photo Requirements

The photo must be in color, on a white background, and include only the face, neck, and upper shoulders. Photographs taken no earlier than 6 months at the time of submission of documents are accepted. Processing in computer programs is not allowed. It is also important that there are no shadows, glare, stripes, foreign objects in the photo.

If a person wears a headdress due to religious beliefs, then the latter should not cover the forehead, mouth, chin, cheeks, eyes. The same goes for glasses. It is important that they do not change their appearance due to too fanciful frame or shape (only transparent glasses are allowed).

The picture is taken full face, a slight smile is acceptable. Dimensions: 3.5×4.5 cm, the head should occupy 70-80% of the image (approximately 3 cm).

Consular fee – 2400-2600 R

The consular fee is 930 RUB, paid directly at the visa center when submitting documents. Children who are inscribed in the passport of their parents, close relatives of citizens of the Russian Federation legally residing in Spain are exempt from payment.

When submitting documents to the visa center, an additional fee is charged for its services in the amount of 2400-2600 RUB for each (including those who are exempt from the consular fee).

Visa validity period

For the whole of Europe, the same requirements apply – according to Schengen type C, it is allowed to stay in the country for no more than 90 days in six months. If the passport is “clean”, then the first visa is issued for 3 months. Spain is distinguished by loyalty towards tourists from Russia who visit the country many times. If the passport already has a Spanish Schengen, then the next one will be given for 6 months, the third – for a year, the 4th – for 2 years. In the presence of Schengen other European countries, they can approve a visa for six months or a year. But even with a long-term multivisa, a foreigner has the right to spend no more than 90 days in Spain in six months, but the number of border crossings is not limited.

If you already have one Spanish Schengen, the next one will be given for 6 months, the third – for a year, the 4th – for 2 years.

Refusal

It is believed that getting a Spanish visa is easy, but there are also refusals. The reasons are trivial: an incorrectly completed application form, an incomplete list of papers, inconsistency of information about the applicant, violation of the terms of stay in the country on a previous visa (applies to the entire Schengen area), any suspicious data that may alert the visa officer. In any case, the documents can be re-submitted directly to the embassy.