Short-stay visa requests should be made by submitting a printed copy of the correctly completed official application (original and copy), which can be downloaded from this web page or obtained from the Diplomatic Missions or the Consular Offices of Spain abroad.
 
The visa should be requested in-person at the Diplomatic Mission or Spanish Consular Office in the place where the applicant legally resides. If there is no Diplomatic Mission or Spanish Consular Office in a specific country, applications can be made at the Diplomatic Mission or Consular Office that represents Spain in said country. 
 
The established fee must be paid when presenting the visa application. This will not be returned if the application is unsuccessful. The necessary requirements, as well as cases of reduction or waiver of the fee, should be checked at the Diplomatic Mission or Consular Office where the visa is requested, as these may vary depending on the applicant's reason for travel and country of origin.
 
The maximum period to process a short-stay visa request is 15 calendar days from the date the application was made. This period may be extended to a maximum of 30 calendar days in certain circumstances. Exceptionally, in those specific cases where additional documentation is needed, this period can be extended to 60 calendar days. 
 
The visa issued must be collected in-person from the corresponding Diplomatic Mission or Consular Office within a period of one month after the notification of its issuance.
 
If the visa is denied, the applicant will be notified by means of a standardised form which will state the reason for which the visa request was unsuccessful. In this situation, a Contentious-Administrative appeal can be lodged to the High Court of Justice (Tribunal Superior de Justicia) of Madrid within a term of two months from the date of notification. Appeals for reversal may be lodged with the Diplomatic Mission or Consular Office within a term of one month from the date of notification of the denial of visa.

Visas for relatives of citizens of the European Union, States that are part of the European Economic Area and Switzerland

The procedure and conditions regarding the issuing of European entry visas is stated in Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 and in Royal Decree 240/2007, of 16 February on entry, free movement and residence in Spain of citizens of EU member States and other States that are part of the European Economic Area.

European beneficiaries are those nationals from non-member countries that are related to European citizens, providing that said relation is stated in section 2 and 2 bis of Royal Decree 240/2007 and that they are accompanied by the European citizen or will meet with them.

The processing of these visas will have preferential status. Visas will be issued free of charge.

In those consular demarcations in which there is a provider of external services, the applicant can choose to present their application directly at the Diplomatic Mission or Consular Office of Spain, or in the offices of said provider. In such case they should pay the fee for said service.