Study in Spain as an international student

If you want to study in Spain as an international student, the route depends on the level. For a bachelor’s degree (grado) at a public university, most students educated outside the EU need three things: homologación of their school studies, a UNEDasiss accreditation and, usually, the PCE subject exams. For an official master’s, you can usually apply with your foreign degree. If you are not an EU citizen, you also need a study stay authorisation. Below are the steps, the costs (with Madrid as an example) and links to the official sources.

How Spanish higher education works

A bachelor’s degree in Spain is called a grado and has 240 ECTS credits, which normally takes 4 years; some degrees regulated by specific rules have more credits. An official master’s degree (máster universitario) has from 60 to 120 ECTS credits and ends with a master’s thesis.

Language of instruction. Each university decides the language of its programmes, and in regions with a co-official language some classes may be taught in that language. Some universities also offer degrees in English. Example: Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (public) lists bachelor's degrees taught in English, such as the Bachelor in International Studies. Check the language of every programme you consider. If it is taught in Spanish and you are not a native speaker, find out which level the university expects. DELE diplomas are official certificates of Spanish proficiency awarded by the Instituto Cervantes on behalf of Spain's Ministry of Education. Universities that require a Spanish level may accept them; check the level each university asks for.

Bachelor’s admission: UNEDasiss, PCE and homologación

UNEDasiss accreditation

Which steps you need depends on where you finished school, not on your nationality:

• EU and agreement systems. UNEDasiss treats EU and EHEA education systems, the International Baccalaureate, the European Schools, China and Colombia as one group: these students apply with their own school results and do not need homologación if they meet university entry requirements in their own system.
• Other systems. Students from outside the EU, or from countries without a specific access agreement with Spain, must have their school studies homologated to the Spanish Bachillerato. It is a required step for UNEDasiss accreditation.

For students from these other systems, the accreditation is valid for 2 years.

Homologación of your school studies

Homologación of foreign school studies to the Spanish Bachillerato is handled by Spain's Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (for some countries, applications can also go through the Education Offices of Spanish embassies). If your address in the application is in Catalonia, Galicia or the Basque Country, the regional education authority handles it. A Ministry fee (tasa 079) applies, and it can be paid from abroad by bank transfer; the current amount is on the Ministry’s fee page. The legal time limit for a decision is 3 months from the date your file is complete. You do not have to wait for the decision to move on. While the homologación is pending, the volante de inscripción condicional (generated with the application and stamped on registration) lets you enrol in exams and centres conditionally. If homologación is later refused, the conditional enrolment and the exam results lose effect.

Prepare your documents early, because they usually need formal steps before you can use them:

• Academic documents from countries that signed the 1961 Hague Convention need only the apostille issued in that country. Documents from other countries must be legalised through the diplomatic route. Documents from EU/EEA countries and Switzerland need no legalisation. All Latin American countries except Cuba and Haiti are parties to the Apostille Convention.
• Documents not in Spanish must have an official translation into Spanish: by a sworn translator authorised in Spain, by a Spanish consulate or embassy, by the consulate in Spain of your country, or by an official translator abroad whose signature is legalised.

PCE subject exams

The PCE (Pruebas de Competencias Específicas) are subject exams organised by UNED for international students applying to bachelor's degrees in Spain. They test the knowledge expected in the final year of Spanish secondary school (2º de Bachillerato) and raise the admission grade. UNEDasiss recommends that students from outside the EU take at least 4 subjects, chosen according to the university’s admission requirements, and that students from EU or agreement systems take 2 subjects that earn extra points. You can take up to 6 subjects. PCE exam papers are given in Spanish and English, but answers must always be written in Spanish (except the foreign-language exam).

In 2026, the exams in Spain ran from 25 May 2026 to 29 May 2026 and from 2 September 2026 to 8 September 2026.

How your admission grade is calculated

UNEDasiss converts your results into a Spanish admission grade between 5 and 10. For students who homologate their studies, the UNEDasiss admission grade is at most 60% school average and 40% PCE results: (0.2 x school average + 4) + 0.1 x each of up to four PCE subjects passed with at least 5 in the same calendar year. On top of that grade, the university can add up to 4 extra points under its own criteria, which is why the PCE subjects you choose matter.

UNEDasiss fees and dates

The fees are those UNEDasiss published when we checked. UNEDasiss says its online application window opens on 4 February and closes on 1 December each year. UNEDasiss recommends applying well before the university’s deadline. The other dates on this page are from the 2026 cycle, for courses that started in 2026/27; the calendar for 2027/28 entry was not yet published, so check the UNEDasiss key dates page for the current cycle.

Applying to the university (preinscripción)

With your accreditation, you apply to each university within its own application period (preinscripción). For the 2026/27 intake, international students had to apply to public universities by 7 July 2026, and could add pending documents until 31 July 2026. Each university sets its own period, so confirm it on the university’s website. Our application deadlines guide puts the Spanish dates next to those of the UK, the Netherlands and Germany.

Applying for a master’s degree

With a degree from outside the European Higher Education Area you can apply for an official master's (máster universitario) in Spain without homologación: the university checks that your degree is equivalent in level to a Spanish grado and gives access to postgraduate study in the issuing country. Admission this way does not homologate your degree for any other purpose. Each university sets its own admission requirements, deadlines and documents for its master’s programmes, so start from the programme page.

Recognition of a foreign degree is a separate question, and it matters mainly if you later want to work in Spain. Spain recognises foreign university degrees through three procedures (Real Decreto 889/2022). The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities handles homologación, needed to practise a regulated profession in Spain, and declaración de equivalencia, which certifies the academic level (grado or máster). Convalidación of subjects, to continue a degree at a Spanish university, is decided by that university.

What it costs to study in Spain

Tuition for official degrees at Spanish public universities is a public price per ECTS credit set by each autonomous community, so it differs between regions. Your nationality and residence can change the price as well.

Madrid as an example. At public universities in the Comunidad de Madrid, the price of a credit depends on the degree’s cost level and on how many times you have enrolled in the subject. In Madrid, public universities charge foreign students aged over 18 who are not residents the fourth-enrolment price for bachelor's degrees (and the third-enrolment price for most master's). The rule does not apply to EU nationals or to people covered by the EU rules (régimen comunitario), and international agreements take precedence. A student stay authorisation does not count as residence for this rule. For 2026/27, these are the prices per credit when you enrol in a subject for the first time:

To estimate a year, multiply the credit price by the credits you enrol in. Some international agreements change these rules for certain nationalities, and other regions set different prices, so check the fees page of your university.

Living costs. We did not find an official national estimate of student living costs. The official figure you can plan around is the minimum the study stay rules ask you to show: 100% of the IPREM each month, which in 2026 is €600 per month. This is a legal minimum, not an estimate of what you will spend.

The study stay authorisation (student visa)

This section is a general overview. The official rules are in the Ministry of Inclusion’s information sheet on study stays, and the documents your consulate asks for are on its own page at exteriores.gob.es.

Who needs it. Non-EU students coming to Spain for more than 90 days for a full-time higher education programme need a long-stay authorisation for studies (autorización de estancia de larga duración por estudios). It is not needed by EU, EEA or Swiss citizens.

Where and when to apply. You can apply at the Spanish consulate for your place of residence before travelling (the study visa then includes the authorisation), or, for higher education only, from inside Spain at the immigration office of the province where you will study, if you are an adult, legally in Spain, and apply at least two months before your studies start and at least two months before your current legal stay ends. Recognised universities can also file it electronically for students legally in Spain. If you apply at a consulate, apply at least 2 months before your studies start, unless you can justify a later date.

Main requirements.

• Money. 100% of the IPREM for each month of your stay (€600 per month in 2026), unless your accommodation is already paid for the whole stay. Money set aside for tuition does not count.
• Health insurance. You need health insurance from an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, with cover similar to the Spanish National Health System, valid for the whole stay. The conditions are in article 35 of the immigration regulation, and your consulate’s checklist says which policies it accepts.
• Other documents. Other requirements include: admission to a recognised higher education institution for a full-time programme with enrolment fees paid, a passport valid for at least one year, a criminal record certificate if the stay exceeds six months, a medical certificate (when applying at a consulate) and the processing fee.

How long it lasts. For higher education, the authorisation lasts for the official length of the studies; it starts up to one month before classes and ends 15 days after they finish. If granted for more than a year, you must show proof of enrolment at the start of each academic year.

After arrival. If your stay is longer than six months, you apply in person for the foreigner identity card (TIE) at the police within 1 month of entering Spain.

EU and EEA citizens. Citizens of other EU or EEA countries who will stay in Spain for more than three months must apply in person, within three months of entering Spain, to be entered in the Central Register of Foreigners. They apply at the foreigners' office (oficina de extranjeros) of the province or, failing that, at the police, and receive a registration certificate (certificado de registro) straight away.

The decision on the authorisation and the visa is made only by the Spanish authorities.

Working during your studies

The study stay authorisation for higher education allows you to work as an employee or self-employed automatically, with no separate work permit, if the work is compatible with your studies. The permission is limited to the autonomous community where it was granted (and neighbouring localities). The limit is 30 hours per week, and going over it can lead to losing the authorisation. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens do not need a study stay authorisation in the first place.

How Wisemore can help

The Spanish route has several separate steps: homologación, UNEDasiss, PCE, preinscripción at each university, then the study stay. We help international students shortlist Spanish universities and programmes that match their requirements and expectations, prepare and check their university applications, and gather the documents for the study stay, with a completeness check against the official checklist of their consulate. We confirm the timeline before you pay, based on your university deadlines. Admission decisions are made by the universities and visa decisions by the Spanish authorities, so we cannot guarantee an outcome.

Prepared by the Wisemore editorial team · Last checked: 13 Oct 2026