Barcelona Visa Support Service

Maybe. Visa requirements depend on your passport. We recommend checking your country’s requirements in this page:  Who Needs a Schengen Visa.

If you are a Canadian, Australian, or New Zealand citizen, you may be eligible to apply for one-year Youth Mobility Visa/Working Holiday visa. Spain has an agreement with these countries that allows people under 35 to live and work in Spain for up to one year.

The requirements for this type of visa will change a bit depending on which country you’re from, but this visa is generally easy to acquire.

There are three main ways to come to Barcelona and study with us — and the best choice depends on your goals and how long you want to immerse yourself in life in Spain. No matter which option you choose, exciting opportunities await!

1. No visa required (up to 90 days)

If you’re a citizen of countries such as Australia, Brazil, Singapore, the UK, or the USA, you can visit Spain for up to 90 days without a visa (see Who Needs a Schengen Visa for the full list).

This is perfect if you want to take your 4-week Cambridge CELTA course in Barcelona while still having plenty of time to explore the city, travel across Spain, or visit other European destinations before or after your course.

While you won’t be able to work legally on this visa, it’s a fantastic way to jump-start your teaching adventure and enjoy a taste of Barcelona life. Your passport will usually be stamped upon arrival in Spain — and then you’re ready to begin!

2. Schengen Visa (1 month)

For some countries, a visa is required for stays of up to one month (see Who Needs a Schengen Visa for details).

This is enough time to complete your 4-week Cambridge CELTA course in Barcelona, giving you a focused, intensive experience in Barcelona. You would need to leave Spain immediately after the course, but this is a great option if you’re looking for a short, transformative teaching experience

The application process typically takes around 4–6 weeks (2 weeks to gather your documents + 2–4 weeks for processing), so planning ahead will make everything smooth and stress-free.

3. Long-term student Visa (7-12 months)

If your dream is to fully immerse yourself in Barcelona life, this is the ideal choice. With this visa, you can take your 4-week Cambridge CELTA course and then continue with our Super Intensive Spanish course (20 hours per week).

This means you’ll not only gain your teaching qualification but also rapidly improve your Spanish, and you’ll have the freedom to work legally up to 30 hours per week with employer work authorisation sponsorship.

The application process usually takes around 4 months (2 months to gather documents + 2 months for your consulate appointment and visa processing), but every step is worth it — this is your chance to live the dream, teach English, speak Spanish, and immerse yourself completely.

Highly unlikely. Finding an employer to sponsor a work visa as a non-EU citizen without residency through birth, ancestry, or marriage is unlikely due to EU hiring laws.

Employers would need to prove that no suitably qualified EU citizen could do the job before hiring a non-EU citizen. This work visa is more feasible in areas of labour shortage (e.g. the nautical and maritime sector) but highly unlikely in foreign language education.

This is why we recommend applying for the long-term student visa instead. On this visa, you can work legally for up to 30 hours per week.

If you are able to find an employer to sponsor your work authorisation, you will need to wait for the approval to be processed before you can start working. Once approved, you will be able to work legally for up to 30 hours per week.

However, remember that on the long-term student visa, you will be studying with us for 20 hours per week. So, most likely, you will be able to work between 15 – 25 hours per week which allows enough time for your studies as well.

In order to be able to do most things in Spain, you will need to register for your foreign identity card (TIE). To make the application, you will need to physically go to a local council office. So, upon arrival in Spain, we recommend making an appointment for this.

Ideally, the appointment would be within the first month of your arrival (your appointment day / time must be outside of your CELTA course schedule). This is because it may take time to find an appointment. 

Once you have your TIE card you will be able to do things such as open a bank account, join the gym, and most other things.

If you have trouble making an appointment for your TIE card, we work closely with a partner who can assist you with this (there will be an extra fee for this service but due to the high demand for these appointments, we highly recommend using the service to help ensure there are no delays).

Some schools in Barcelona are willing to hire you by doing one of the following:

1. Sponsoring your Work Authorisation (once you have been offered a job with them)

This means they fill out a request with Spanish immigration to allow you to work up to 30 hours per week while you study. Oxford TEFL provides a guide and support to our partner schools in Barcelona so that it’s as easy as possible for them to hire our graduates. This work authorisation application is simple and can be done online in 1-2 hours. 

2. Hiring you on a Convenio de Prácticas contract (Internship Agreement)

Many schools we work with prefer this contract as it’s much easier for them to hire our graduates fast, seeing as you don’t need a separate work authorisation. Oxford TEFL provides a guide and support to our partner schools who opt for this contract and many of our graduates who are staying long-term with us in Spain have been hired in this way.

How we can help you: We will offer you a lot of support, including advising your employer on how to employ you in one of the above ways, but we cannot guarantee that you will be hired immediately after graduation from your CELTA course. As one of our graduates, you will be able to take advantage of our lifelong comprehensive careers service to help you find teaching work.

A recommendation: If your student visa is for a longer period (12 months as opposed to 7 months, for example), employers will feel more reassured that you will be able to work throughout your contract.

Note: applying for work authorisation while on a student visa (quite common) is not the same as applying for a work visa (near impossible). 

The cost of living in Barcelona can vary considerably depending on your lifestyle and living arrangements. Accommodation tends to be the most costly thing to consider when budgeting for your time in Barcelona. We recommend reading this blog post for a general idea: How much does it cost to live in Barcelona?

English teachers in Barcelona are not high earners. For this reason, we recommend coming with plenty of savings.

The average salary for full-time (20-25 hours per week) teachers is around €1400 – €1500 gross per month, if you are working for a reputable company and teaching some private classes (which pay fairly).

Since 1998, we have been helping aspiring teachers from outside the EU come to Barcelona gain their CELTA qualification and live, study and work. This is how we would help you:

Before arriving in Spain:

• Support from our Visa Support Officer with replies in one business day.
• Step-by-step guidance applying for your visa.
• Fast delivery of your enrolment letter.
• Providing bilingual templates to help you save time and reduce translation costs.
• Special discount on health insurance exclusively for Oxford TEFL trainees.

After arriving in Spain:

• Support from our Visa Support Officer with replies in one business day.
• Step-by-step guidance applying for legally required documentation. (registering your address, getting your foreigners ID card (TIE) and social security number).
• Liaising with potential TEFL employers to help them sponsor your student work authorisation (we cannot guarantee that they will agree to do so).
• Helping you find the best possible position teaching English via our comprehensive careers service.

Before your visa expires:

• Step-by-step guidance renewing your student visa (if you are taking another course with us). You can extend your student visa for up to 18 months in total with us.

To make your long-term student visa application, the following documentation will need to be provided to the Spanish Consulate (this may vary slightly from country to country):

• Passport (valid for at least 6 months beyond your stay in Spain).
• Student visa application form.
• 2 x passport photos.
• Enrolment letter from Oxford TEFL (we will provide this once you have secured your place on the program).
• Criminal background check.
• Receipt to prove the full payment of the program.
• Proof of accommodation in Spain (we can provide an accommodation service for up to 3 months, if you need it).
• Medical certificate.
• Health insurance.
• Proof of sufficient funds to support yourself during your stay (at least €600 for each month you will be in Spain).
• Proof of address in your home country.

Since 2024, all student visa applications must be made from your home country, at the embassy or consulate closest to you. We will advise you of where your closest embassy is located.

Yes. If you are enrolled in the program with us and you would like to extend your visa with us, we will provide the letter and guidance you need to do so. The visa extension can be applied for from Spain (you do not need to return to your home country to do so).

The maximum length of time you can study with us on the long-term student visa is 18 months. The fee for providing the documentation needed for your visa extension is €60.

It is a requirement of the Spanish consulate that all course fees (CELTA + Super Intensive Spanish Course in this case) must be paid in advance of providing any documentation needed for your visa application.

If you prefer to reduce the initial fees, you could reduce the number of months on your visa application (to 7 months minimum) and extend while you are in Spain (in which case, the full fees for this extension would be needed before providing the documentation for your visa extension).

If your previous course was related to teaching or Spanish, we will be able to renew your visa. In this case, your previous school will need to provide a certificate of completion (certificado de aprovechamiento).

Yes, but you would need to leave the EU for a minimum of 3 months to be able to obtain a new tourist visa. This visa will be stamped on your passport on arrival back in Spain.

The total fees will depend on the type if visa you apply for and the length of stay in Barcelona. Take a look at this table for a full summary.