How to Apply for a Spanish Visa in Korea
Let’s say you’re like me and you want to teach English in Spain with the NALCAP program—that is, the North American Language and Culture Assistants Program, also known as the Auxiliares de Conversación or similar.
This is a government program similar to EPIK where you’re placed in public schools and work with coteachers—except this time, you’re living in Spain.
Is it possible to apply for a Spanish student visa if you’re abroad?
The Spanish Consulate in Seoul does issue student visas, including SSU, SLU and the Auxiliares’ version of SLU. Meaning yes!
This is my guide for applying for the SLU Auxiliares visa at the consulate in Seoul, South Korea. I’m from the US so this guide will be for other Americans. If you’re from a different country, especially one that doesn’t follow the Hague convention for apostilles, you will need to research your specific certification requirements.
BIG disclaimer: I’m NOT an authority on this by any means and if any of this information directly contradicts the embassy, listen to them, not me! I am simply just a very determined gal who did this and watched a few friends do it too. Always keep in mind things change, especially in COVID/post-COVID-y times.
What you need
In order to apply for the student visa in Seoul, you will need:
Your passport
Your valid Korean Alien Registration Card
One passport sized color photograph, taken within the last 6 months.
Original acceptance letter by the Regional Education Authorities. AKA your carta from your school. This will cover your proof of financial means and insurance. More on that below.
Police Criminal Record Certificate: from the country of origin AND place of residence for the last five years with an Apostille.
For example, I’m from the US and I’ve lived in Korea for the past three years. So I need a US background check and a Korean one. More on that below.
Medical certificate from their approved list of doctors
Visa fee: as an American, 190,350₩
Check the required list of documents for more information.
Note: Use the Auxiliares list of required documents, not the standard student list. There are some slight differences.
Getting Started
When you apply for the program through Profex, you will get an inscrita number. This number determines what order you’ll receive your admission into the program and eventual placement.
This program is first come, first serve, so no matter what qualifications you have, it really comes down to applying fast. That is, unless you’re Indian, Australian, or really any nationality other than American—they tend to get pushed ahead of the line because there’s much fewer applicants.
Around February-March, you’ll get an email saying you are now admitada. Admitada just means that someone has reviewed your application, everything is in order, and you are eligible to receive a placement. You don’t need to do anything yet.
After a few more months of waiting, you will finally receive another email with your placement (plaza aceptada). This is your official acceptance into the program! Yay! You will be assigned a region (e.g. my region was just “Madrid”). You will have 5 days to accept your placement through Profex.
Then you wait even more. During this time, this is when you want to start working on the documents required for your visa, such as the background checks and apostilles. More info below on that.
As early as June or as late as August, you will receive your carta. This is your official letter with your school placement. It also includes insurance, stipend and duration of stay information for the visa office. Once you have this, you can apply for your visa.
You can only apply for the visa 90 days before the start of the program, which is October 1. Meaning you can only apply for the visa starting July 1.
If you experience visa delays, you can arrive later than October 1. Be sure to email your school to let them know so they don’t think you’re a no-show.
This visa is only good for the first 90 days. You will need to apply for your Spanish TIE, which is your actual residence card, within 30 days of arriving in Spain.
Here’s a breakdown of what you need!
How to get your documents
Passport, ARC, passport photos
These are simple as you should already have them! Make copies of everything. Just make sure your passport and ARC are valid by time of application.
As for passport photos, you can find booths in subway stations or you can try searching for a 사진관 near you.
Korean Police Record
If you’’ve lived in South Korea within the past 5 years, you need a Korean background check to apply.
If you are applying for your visa within the US, you might be able to apply without a Korean background check…if your passport does not have a Korean visa within it and you have a permanent US address. They wouldn’t know. I’m not recommending this, but technically you could do it if you have a second passport.
Getting a Korean background check is not too difficult.
Go to a big police station near you with your ARC, passport and a passport sized photo. A small or rural one will probably not be able to do this.
Be sure to get the right kind - 범죄경력회보서. The background check will be free, and should take around 1 week to process. If they try to give it to you immediately, it’s not the right one.
The application should look like this. The final background check will look like this.
That’s it! It’s valid for 90 days from date of issue. Because it’s issued by a government body and it’s also in English, it does not need to be translated and notarized.
Now you need to get it apostilled.
The Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs does offer e-apostille services, meaning you can get it done online. One of my friends was able to do it. However, despite having an English website with a foreigner option, it would not let me register.
Instead, I mailed it in. This page gives you the address and instructions. You can also apply in person.
You need:
Your original background check
Apostille application form: here is a handy guide I found with translations.
Copy of your ID (I sent copies of both sides of my ARC and my passport)
Electronic revenue stamp: KRW 1,000 per request.
This was confusing and I had my coteacher help me. She used this blog to figure it out.
A return envelop with your name address and a stamp.
After 7-10 days, they’ll mail it back with the apostille, which is just a sticker on the back. Yay! That’s done.
I got mine done in May, which was way earlier than necessary. If I did it again, I would probably apply in June or even July. However, it’s also free so if you run out of time, you can get it redone quite easily.
US Background Check
You need a federal-level FBI background check, also known as an Identity History Summary Check or Criminal Background Check. You probably had to get this done if you applied to teach in Korea.
Go to your local police station with your passport and two printed fingerprint cards (you can use standard printer paper). Get your fingerprints taken by an official. I got this done the same time I got my Korean background check.
Send fingerprints to either the FBI or an FBI-approved channeler, like Accurate Biometrics. Check their websites for instructions.
I chose to use a channeler because a) it’s faster and b) they would upload the background check for me instead of mailing. FBI costs $18, the channeler costs $50. You can decide what’s more worth it for you!
It cost about 20,000 won to send my documents through EMS. It arrived after 12 days.
After all that, now you’ve got your US check! It’s now valid for 90 days since the check was issued. Yay!
Some people say they did not translate their US check to Spanish. However, I emailed the consulate and they said: “We always recommend the applicant to translate it to Spanish and get notarized the translation.” Better safe than sorry, I guess.
However, this will also need to be apostilled. You can either send it to directly to the Secretary of State or use another channeler, like Monument Visa.
Before COVID, using an apostille channeler would take about a week. Due to COVID, the drop-off desk is closed and apostille services are very slow. They were telling me it would take 5-9 weeks to get an apostille no matter if you use a channeler or send it directly.
I still chose to use a channeler because they would handle apostille, the notarized translation to Spanish AND the shipping back to Korea using FedEx (much faster). Was it expensive? Yes. About $145. Again, your choice how to handle this.
Your options:
Upload your FBI check to a channeler (I used Monument Visa). Costs $55 for apostille, $40 for notarized translation to Spanish, and $50 shipping to Korea (took 2-3 days). So $145 total for apostille and translation.
Mail it directly. You can mail it to the Secretary of State. Costs $8. They should be able to mail it back using UPS, then you will need to get it translated to Spanish and notarized.
Once it’s mailed back to you, that’s it! Mine arrived in four weeks, so they had sped up a little.
Medical Check
The medical check is only valid for one month before application, so I recommend getting it about two weeks beforehand. I got mine on July 14th, about ten days before my visa appointment.
Use the website’s list of approved doctors. They have options all over Korea. Be sure to tell them you want a medical check for the Spanish visa (not the Korean E-2 as they might assume).
The check itself is a thorough medical check, like the kind we get for our Korean visas. According to Facebook groups, some people have reported being required to give stool samples. I wasn’t required to provide one, but I did get blood taken, an x-ray, urine test, and standard hearing and eyesight check. They’ll provide their own form in Korean and Spanish for the embassy.
It cost me 120,000 won at Daejeon Seon Hospital.
Acceptance Letter
This is your carta, which will come from either the region you’re assigned (e.g. Madrid, Andalucia, etc.) or the ministry of Education itself. It’s usually sent online through email. Madrid, however, sends it over AuxMadrid, their online portal. You usually get sent a link to register at least one week before the carta is uploaded.
When you receive it, be sure to check your name is correct . You will then print it out for your visa appt. Because it’s sent online, there’s no “original” copy.
This will cover your duration of stay, insurance and stipend information. It’s just one page.
Madrid often sends these out later because they wait until the school year ends first (end of June). Many don’t receive these until July or August.
Applying for your visa
Make an appointment with the Spain embassy in Seoul on their website. They only take appointments every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until noon.
I originally booked mine for August 9th, when I knew I’d be on vacation and when I’d likely have my carta by then. As we got closer to, I realized I’d have my paperwork much earlier and rescheduled for July 23rd.
You must apply and pick-up in person. Check with your school to see when you can take a paid day off.
Bring originals and copies of everything! Also bring your visa fee in cash.
I arrived to the consulate early and they asked I wait outside until five minutes before. Then I was allowed in the security gate, passed through temp checks and gave the Spanish worker my papers. He looked at everything for about ten minutes. I don’t think the Spanish translation of my US background check was necessary because he looked at it strangely for a minute, but he took it anyway. Then he handed me back my ARC.
He took my passport. He also gave me a receipt with a number, and told me to check the website to see when my visa would be done.
A little less than two weeks later, on August 5th, my number came up on the page for approved visas. Yay!! Now I was able to schedule a pick-up appointment. I entered my number in the comments and it was approved.
On August 9th, I went and picked up my visa. YAYAYYAYAY. Finally! The lady explained I would need to get my actual resident card within 90 days from arriving in Spain. She also said if I’m arriving from the US, I will probably need to get a PCR test. The visa has my NIE (Spain resident number) on it. She also gave me back all my original documents.
And that was it! I officially had my visa.
My Timeline
This is how my timeline went. Keep in mind yours might look differently depending on your inscrita number, where you’re from (non-US applicants will go much faster), how or if COVID is impacting your docs, and just pure luck.
January 30 - NALCAP app opened and I applied. Website crashed but I ended up with inscrita #425. It will stay open until April, but I recommend applying ASAP.
February 22 - Status changed to admitida! Yay!
April 19 - Received my placement in Madrid!! When I applied in 2020, I received mine on April 30th, but ultimately did not accept it due to the pandemic. It seems 2021 was much faster than 2020, perhaps due to the much higher amount of applicants.
May 14 - Went to my police station and applied for a Korean background check. I also got two fingerprint sheets done by an official.
May 20 - Sent off my fingerprints to my FBI channeler, Accurate Biometrics. I also picked up my Korean background check.
May 21 - Sent off my Korean background check for apostille.
May 27 - Received my apostilled Korean background check.
June 2 - My fingerprints arrived at Accurate Biometrics.
June 3 - I received my FBI background check through email. Uploaded it to Monument Visa to be apostilled.
June 25 - Received my link to AuxMadrid through email. Signed up and checked off both boxes.
July 3 - My apostilled and translated background check arrived in the mail thru FedEx.
July 5 - My carta was uploaded to AuxMadrid!!! This means I know my school and have the final paperwork for my visa. I emailed my school in Spanish to introduce myself.
July 12 - Took an afternoon off to get my medical test done. Took about 2 hours (hospital was very busy).
July 14 - Picked up my medical test results.
July 23 - Visa appointment!
August 5 - Visa was approved
August 9 - Picked up my visa!!!
August 28 - Flew home to the US. Some people left straight from Korea to Spain, but I chose to go home for three weeks because I needed to see my family. Also, many people left for Spain around Sept 1, the earliest our visa allows but many also arrived around September 15th.
September 10 - Finally heard from my school! The coordinator asked if I was officially coming and I said yes. We agreed that I could come a few days early to tour the school and introduce myself.
September 19 - Flew to Madrid!
Recap
This process requires a LOT of patience. You will not hear anything for months at a time. Just stay cool and calm.
General rules:
We can apply for the visa 3 months from the start of our program. So July 1st on.
Background checks are only valid within 3 months of their being issued. (e.g. issued on May 15th? Valid for your application until August 15th).
Once you get your placement, apply for the US background check ASAP. They take the longest due to the apostille process.
Before COVID, using an expedited apostille service took a week. They now take the same time as sending directly, about 4 to 9 weeks. Mine took about 4 weeks. My friend’s only took 2 weeks.
It was suggested that once we get our school placement, we should make our embassy appointment. The Seoul consulate allows for booking much earlier, though. You need two appointments for application and pick-up, but pick-up appointments require a registration number you get at your first appointment.
Medical check must be valid within 1 month of its being issued.
The visa will take a minimum of 15 days to process. Not business days, just days.
If you experience visa delays, you CAN arrive later than October 1. You need to email your school and let them know. This happens all the time.
You will still need to apply for your TIE, which is your actual residence card, once you get to Spain within 30 days. The visa is only good for 90 days.
You must get your original background checks and medical check back. You will need to show these in Spain.
The visa will probably come with an NIE, your residence number. This would be printed on your visa. If you do not have it, don’t panic, but you’ll need to apply for one when you get to Spain before you can get your TIE.
Language of documents:
Spanish: FBI background check (notarized), proof of living arrangements (comes with your carta), medical check, visa application
English: Korean background check, proof of income (comes with your carta), travel insurance (comes with your carta)
Costs:
Korean passport photos - 5,000 won
Korean background check - Free
Korean background check apostille - 1,000 for e-revenue, 5,000 for express mail
US background check (expedited) - $50, plus 20,000 won to mail it.
US background check apostille (expedited) - $145 ($50 of that was the Spanish translation)
Medical check - 120,000 won
Visa fee - 190,000 won (the website must be outdated information b/c I paid 175,000 won).
Total (converted to USD):
$442
Advice and extra tips
I know this seems really daunting. Split your tasks up into chunks and it will feel a lot more manageable! Fear not, people have done and will continue to do this. You just have to take it step by step.
I recommend joining the Facebook groups.
Auxiliares de Conversación in España - the big, big group with lots of people also applying. You might find others also applying from Korea like I did.
Regional/Local Auxiliares de Conversación groups - I recommend joining the regional groups. Madrid’s is massive and full of people already in Spain, but you’ll also find tips and other people applying.
Auxiliares Coming From Korea - this group is completely abandoned, so you can’t even join. However many of the posts are still public, so you can find good info here.
But keep in mind: what the consulate says comes first. It’s always better to email and ask than trust a 5+ year old Facebook post.
Some more resources:
Remember, you can do it! And you’ll be teaching in Spain!
If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to comment or send a message. I know how overwhelming this can seem, but again, IT IS DOABLE. Just breathe, drink some water and stay diligent. :)