Schengen visa to Spain on your own - 2020: how I got a multi for 2 years

I'm talking about my personal experience: a tourist visa on your own is easy and cheaper.

Let's get acquainted?

✓ I am Irina, editor of HowTrip blog

✓ In the summer of 2019, a third Schengen visa to Spain appeared in my country

✓ Therefore, I know all the nuances and important little things by heart

✓ This time I served in the region (Kazan) and received in Moscow

In general, of all the Schengen variety, the visa to Spain is my favorite. It takes a day to collect documents, the submission is civil - by appointment - and not in the chaos of the general queue, and there are legends about the loyalty of the Spaniards ... no, real and numerous reviews.

How to get a visa to Spain on your own? Registration for Russians in 2020

Sample Spanish Schengen visa (mine, of course). They gave it for a year and 9 months (count two :)), under the expiration date of the passport

• So, the Spanish consulate is very loyal.

It willingly puts long-term (six months to a year) and multiple-entry visas in passports that have not yet had Schengen or even stamps to leave Russia. Plus, it takes into account past visas and practices a "cumulative effect".

My experience. 2016 - visa for six months with a blank passport; 2018 - annual; 2019 - for 2 years! I registered all three Schengens from the Spaniards, flew to Spain every time, but through other European countries, i.e. there are no entry / exit stamps.

But exceptions do happen, and this is confirmed by the story of my young man. He received the 5th Spanish Schengen, and they were distributed as follows: for travel dates / month / six months / year / year. Moreover, since the third visa, we have always traveled together, and our passports expire in the same way.

And this is us against the backdrop of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

• In 2018, Spain issued 480,000 Schengen. More than any other country.

This explains the wild queues in Moscow (even more or less in the regions) and the eternal problems with signing up for a visa.

• A visa to Spain for Russians promises the lowest refusal rate - 1.3%.

I do not know of a single person whom the Spaniards would refuse. If this situation has happened to you, please share in the comments!

• The cost of registration of the Schengen is the lowest. If you compare the receipt at the visa center, not at the consulate.

What exactly is the price for a visa to Spain - literally in one section.

A short algorithm on how to get a visa to Spain:

1) Sign up. And only online, on the BLS Spain website. In the season, catching windows is a long matter.

2) Collect documents, depending on what kind of visa (there is tourism, business, and sports).

3) Simultaneously print the confirmation of the entry, as well as the 4-page questionnaire form and fill it out.

4) Come to the visa center / consulate, hand over all papers, fingerprints (fingerprints) and money.

5) Wait 3-14 days, tracking the application number on the website. By the way, I do not recommend connecting SMS alerts. It is paid, but the status on the site is still updated earlier.

What kind of visa do you need to go to Spain?

For tourism / visiting relatives / business / treatment - you need a type C visa, which allows you to stay in the Schengen territories for up to 90 days within six months (the same multivisa).

For long-term study / work / family life - visa type D (national) is required.

Cost of a visa to Spain in 2020

How much does a Schengen visa to Spain cost in 2020:

✓ Need urgently, 5 days or less? Firstly, there must be a reason from the category of business / competition / death of a relative, and secondly, then the cost of a visa to Spain will be 70 euros.

✓ Get Schengen for free children under 6 years old - they are exempt from all fees.

✓ Buying a package tour, and the travel agency offers to make a visa for you? You can agree, but be prepared to shell out 6000-8000 rubles per person for help.

And in resort Spain - to the sea - tourists often fly on a voucher. We love to live in large cities like Madrid or Barcelona, ​​but we also took a tour to the Costa Brava. They searched, as usual, on aggregators - they compare prices for all tour operators at once: Travelata Level.Travel Onlinetours

Document requirements for a Schengen visa to Spain in 2020

Considerthat it is allowed to apply for a visa to Spain not earlier than 3 months before the trip. You can sign up for the consulate and any EC through the official website - blsspain-russia.com.

List of documents for a visa to Spain:

1. A printed confirmation of your entry.
2. Consent to data processing (issued locally).
3. Filled in English Spain visa application form.
   My sample of filling out the questionnaire will be below.
4. 2 fresh photos.
   At least not more than 6 months old. Dimensions 3.5x4.5, in photo centers they know about the requirements, suffice it to say that for such and such a visa.
5. Hotel / apartment reservation.
6. Insurance for travel dates.
   In the next section, I will tell you where to get it profitably for 300-600 rubles.
7. Flight booking.
8. Help from the place of work.
9. Bank statement or sponsorship letter.
10. Original passport.
11. Copy of ALL pages of the foreigner.
    Even if they are all empty - xerim.
12. Do you have a second active foreign country? Be sure to attach it along with copies of its pages.
13. Copy of RF passport (only pages with marks).

* yes, and spread out before serving in the same order - from confirmation to 13 points.
** Whether to provide a canceled foreigner is at your discretion.
*** as you can see, the documents are typical. TRANSLATIONS ARE NOT NEEDED.

Well, now a step-by-step instruction-explanation?

Spain visa insurance

Just as a trip to Spain is unthinkable without a visa, so Schengen is impossible without insurance. Of course, everyone understands that this document is for show, but a basic policy is better than nothing.

Required points for compliance:

• Action on the territory of all Schengen countries (ie we choose not “Spain”, but “All Schengen countries”).
• Insurance coverage - at least 30,000 euros.

If you do not want to be insured "somehow", the best now in all respects are insurance from ERV (900 rubles per week of rest) and Sberbank (500 rubles). By the way, the tour operator draws up a policy with minimal options.

The cheapest insurance for a visa to Spain and, in principle, for any trip is online. On average, it comes out in 300-400 rubles. Compare prices for:

• Сherehapa
• Compare.ru
• Strahovkaru.ru

In the case of an annual policy, it is enough to print a page with data and the amount of coverage.

Hotel reservation

Booked an Airbnb experience and a Tripster tour, we loved it

If you are driving on your own, 2 scenarios are possible with the place of residence - "mine, I book!" and "there is nothing normal yet." But for each of them, you still need to go to the sites for finding housing and select the option:

• RoomGuru is an aggregator of everything that hotels and hostels can find (including Booking).
• Booking is the most famous search engine.
• Airbnb is about private accommodation (apartments, rooms, guest houses). My favorite service. Follow the link - a discount of up to 4000 rubles for the first booking. And yes, the consulate accepts prints from Airbnb.

You are not sure about the hotel, but should you apply for Schengen tomorrow or the day after tomorrow? Book a hotel on Booking with free cancellation, attach your reservation, and cancel after obtaining a visa. For the Spaniards, you can make fake reservations (do not pay, and then cancel), but for other countries I recommend checking it out. Germany, for example, oh-oh-very much does not like this.

Financial guarantees must be combined with desires. A hotel for 90 thousand per week with a salary of 30 thousand rubles? Oh, I do not advise for the first Schengen! Sometimes consuls call tourists to check: you must know where you will be located and how to get to the airport. I have never been called or written, but the possibility cannot be ruled out.

Flights

Reliable flight search engines are the good old ones:

• Aviasales
• Skyscanner

If flying via other countries, please provide all tickets to and from Spain.Once I had a trip with the route Moscow-Brussels-Oslo-Paris-Barcelona-Moscow.

What if you want a visa, but it's not very good to be tied to specific dates with purchased air tickets? Alternatively, take return tickets. Which you can return and not lose anything in money. For example, Aeroflot. Or…

Now I will say one thing, just between us. Some interpret the requirement for "flight reservations" literally. And they attach a printout of temporary reservation - such a service "reserve and pay in 3 days" is available from major airlines like Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Aeroflot. They say it rolls. But remember that the reservation flies after the expiration of the term, and the consulate can meticulously check the tickets.

But to contact services like "we will extend the reservation up to a week for * 00 rubles!" no need. Seriously, if the airline itself holds 3 days, how will the intermediary extend it? It's just money for the air.

Help from work for a visa to Spain

A certificate from work along with a bank statement are the most important documents for a visa to Spain. Both must be no older than 1 month and in Russian.

Get original, with a blue seal and signature, indicating the address, phone number, organization name, title of your position, salary, vacation period.

• For individual entrepreneurs, copies of TIN and OGRN are required.
• For students, it is replaced by a certificate from the place of study from the dean's office.
• For a pensioner - a copy of the pension certificate.
• Freelancer and nothing to do? And okay, serve up with a good account balance.

In fact, being unemployed is not equal to being denied a visa to Spain. Well, can't people enjoy life? But it is necessary to supply the package of documents with a "bold" account statement. And be sure to be served with real air tickets and accommodation.

Bank reference

Officially, the Spaniards insist that the account / card / deposit be at least 90 euros multiplied by the number of days during a trip. That is, on vacation for a week, one tourist is supposed to have 630 euros. But recently there was a strange minimum for a trip - 810 euros.

I still recommend showing a certificate from 100,000 rubles. Lacks? Borrowed → put on the card → fixed on paper → removed → given away. You can meet in 1 day.

For what I love the Spanish Schengen. The bank statement is allowed to be replaced with a check from an ATM with the balance on the card + a photocopy of this card. But the validity period is only 3 days! How to get a check if you have Tinkoff? Request the balance at any ATM.

Sponsorship letter for a Spanish visa

The sponsorship letter can be from any person... Relationship is not necessary. The only conditions are:

• In printed form.
• Attach along with the sponsor's financial guarantees (bank statement).

A sample of a sponsorship letter to Spain is standard, you can study and download it in our separate article >>

Application form for Schengen to Spain

Application form for a visa to Spain

Visa to Spain in 2020 still requires filling out an application form by hand and in English... Although some Schengen countries have already moved towards entering data online.

Here I will mention the main points in the questionnaire on which questions arise.

• 6. Country of birth - if USSR, write USSR (USSR).
• 17. Address - we transliterate. For example, Mira 33-3, Novokuznetsk.
• 19. Professional activity - freelancers write Freelancer, web design (as an example). Section 20. - own address and telephone number.
• 22. Countries of destination - Spain ONLY. It doesn't matter if you are directly to Spain or with a stopover in Germany, France, etc.
• 31. We indicate all names and addresses of places of residence, incl. and in other Schengen countries if you have such a trip. Accommodation with Airbnb is designated as "Private apartment (airbnb.com)", we write the number of the mobile host.

The previous 2 times I took the application form free of charge at the visa application center. This time they asked me 15 rubles for each sheet. So download and print in advance from here: blsspain-russia.com/moscow/short_term_visa.php

Registration of a Schengen visa to Spain

How much does a visa to Spain take? First of all, it depends on the season of filing. Summer is a high time, and more than a thousand applications arrive at the consulate every day. Terms of consideration usually make up 5-10 working days... They manage to process someone in 2 days. All three of my visa applications were processed within a standard 5 days.

How much do they give - not exactly answer. But based on the reviews and my experience, I will say that for the first time, most likely, there will be a visa to Spain for 1 year... Also multi (with multiple entries). And for clean passports, and for those affixed by the Schengen countries of other countries. But if you have already contacted the Spaniards, then there is a high probability of grabbing a two-year one.

By the way, it is not uncommon for a child under one year old to be issued a visa for the dates of the trip, despite the fact that other family members have annual visas.

Self-filing of documents

The evolution of my Spanish visas

Applying for a visa to Spain is a major headache if you decide to visit the visa center in May-September. Now the code does not come, the site freezes, then there are no places. You come to a consultant, and you are completely frightened that the next window is in 2 weeks. The situation with the consulate is even worse.

My advice: take the site blsspain-russia.com starvation. Poke and poke. Try and try. So in June I signed up at the Spain Visa Application Center the next day after trying for an hour.

• Recheck all documents and printouts - you will have to pay for any gesture at the VC.
• Formally, the deadline for filing is no earlier than 90 and no later than 14 days before the trip.
  The last time I applied in Kazan was 9 days before departure. They took my consent that I was aware of all the risks, and sent me to receive a passport in Moscow.
• Your fingerprints (biometric data) will be taken even if you have already gone through the procedure.
• You can track your passport on the same website where you signed up. SMS notification is not really necessary.
• Employees, it turns out, are capable of making mistakes in entering tourist data.
  My foreign country was not tracked, a frightening phrase came out - the application was not found. I wrote to BLS mail, a few days later they replied that they had confused the date of birth.

So, a visa to Spain on your own is not difficult, but requires a fair amount of patience. Especially when the site is buggy 🙁

Visa to Spain for a child (minors)

Schengen visa for a child, in addition to the above documents, assumes the following:

• Original and copy of birth certificate
• Passport if available
• Certificate from studies
• Sponsorship letter and sponsor's financial guarantees (bank statement)

If a child rides with one parent - necessarily notarized consent to leave from the second parent. If without parents - n. h. consent to leave from both. Well, if the Schengen is issued only for a childsince Mom and Dad already have it, you need to attach copies of visas and air ticket reservations.

✓ Until the age of 18, all signatures for children are put by parents.

✓ Registration of a Schengen visa for a child under one year old follows the same structure.

✓ Does a child, entered in the parent's passport, need a visa? Sure.

✓ Children under 6 years old do not pay the consular fee, under 12 years old they do not take biometrics. Therefore, presence is not required.

Oh yes, the "children's" visa application form for Spain raises frequent questions:

- Item 9: to be filled in.

- Item 10: only in the name of the person who signs the questionnaire.

- Item 17: parent or child mail, if available.

- Item 19: skip for kindergartners, for schoolchildren - schoolboy / schoolgirl.

Spanish Embassy Address

There are no places where you can get a visa yourself in a couple of days. You must register at the Spanish Visa Application Center or Consulate General (not the Spanish Embassy). But there, if you're lucky, they can see it in a day.

Anyone can submit documents to the Spanish Consulate, but an appointment must be made 2 weeks in advance. There is an opinion that they get Schengen here faster, but this is not an urgent visa, but simply because the documents do not need to cover the distance from and to the regions. True, the queue here is longer.

Consulate General address: Stremyanny lane, 31/1.

Spain Visa Application Center Addresses

Registration of a Spanish visa in the regions takes place at BLS visa centers at the following addresses:

... and 16 more cities of the Russian Federation.
Unified information telephone number: +7 499-504-28-07.

Basic questions about a visa to Spain

So, here are the top 10 typical tourist questions. For those who do not want to read long texts.

1. How long is a work certificate, bank statement valid?
1 month. If served with a check from an ATM, then 3 days.

2. Help for the student - is it from the place of study?
If he studies - yes, if he works in parallel, then from there too, especially if he is his own sponsor.

3. How much money should be on the card?
Calculation - 90 euros for each day of stay. And not only in Spain, but throughout the Schengen area (if you have a multi-part trip). Are mom-dad-son flying for a week, and dad is a sponsor? This means that it is desirable to have at least 1890 euros on the card.

4. What if you need to get a visa urgently? For example, departure in 5 days.
Is there a good reason? Competition, business, relative in trouble? An application for an urgent visa is accepted by the Spain Visa Application Center in Moscow. Regular tourism, alas, will not work.

5. How long does a visa to Spain take?
5-10 business days.

6. In what language do you need help?
Everything is in Russian. And the notarized consent for the child's departure is also in Russian. You will need English or Spanish to fill out the questionnaire.

7. If insurance is required, how can you save money?
Buy insurance online instead of onsite from a consultant. On Cherehapa or Compare a bunch of policies for 300-500 rubles. Do not forget to select “All Schengen countries” in the “Countries” column.

8. How to make a booking of air tickets without payment?
And you are an entertainer! I will help as much as I can: do not trust the help sites "I will extend for as long as I want for your money." Book your tickets on the Turkish Airlines or Aeroflot website (it will last 3 days).

9. About the rule of first entry. How to apply for a visa if I am flying to several countries?
The visa of the country in which you are staying longer. In case of equal terms, the one you enter first is better.

10. If I am a freelancer, what documents do I need for a visa to Spain?
All the same list from section 3 of this text, but without reference from work. And with a good bank / card balance. Or with a sponsorship letter.

Conclusion.
I will assure you again. A visa to Spain for Russians is the easiest in both registration and obtaining. There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of, to be nervous too. Carefully prepare a package of documents - and may you have a multivisa for six months or a year!