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7x money on Spanish Student Visa

Unboxing MBA | An Asian Girl in Spain for an MBA!

Hong Kong, 2021-08

Spanish Student Visa | Detail Process

Authentic personal experience sharing! Can you find the devil in the details? Check it out before you apply for the Spanish Student Visa, I couldn’t save my money but I wish you could!

Time to know more about me, I’m a Hong Konger (An Asian, in case you missed About Me), don’t worry if you are from other countries, if you need a Spanish Student Visa, keep watching, see if you find your unknown unknowns.

Fair is fair, I applied for Tourist Visa / Passport from US, UK, Hong Kong, Taiwan before, I would say the official information on how to apply for Spanish Student Visa is presented in a very…. artistic way.

Looking at the guidance is just like looking at the young girl – old woman illusion, I could not say the instruction is not clear, but I really couldn’t get it at the beginning. Once I tasted the failure, and looked back to the guidance, I had that “Aha!” reaction (Paradigm shift – MBA wording) like I finally found the old woman in the picture!

So now, sit back and enjoy this “Aha!” experience. We will go straight to the timeline of my story, then we will go into the plots one by one. I skipped those general topics like who needs a student visa, visa type, why? Because this is an unboxing post!

Let the pictures tell the story:

Like the acceptance speech Lady Gaga made on 2019 “It’s not about winning. What it is about is not giving up.” I was very frustrated, I thought it would only cost me around 70€, ended up I spent around 520€, I felt like a pinball jumping around without a clear path. But thanks to this challenge, I have the chance to share my experience with you here and earn some tips (Yeah… I feel better to think that 520€ as an investment).

So, let me do my job, I am writing down my application journey in chronological order. Time to catch the devils!

Day-0 | Read Every Official Guidance and Plan with a Calculator

After digesting the artistic guidance, I pinpointed some items I need to work on:

Certificate of No Criminal Conviction ("CNCC") : The CNCC must be issued within the last 2 months + The processing time of the Police is about 3-4 calendar weeks + The earliest appointment I can make to apply for the CNCC is around 1.5 months later
Financial Proof : E-statement is NOT acceptable, I need to order paper statement with bank's chop
Medical Insurance : Which insurance should I choose? The price ranges from 200€ to 500€ (a big difference)
Medical Certificate : Can my family doctor do that?

Easy-peasy? Okay, your turn, tell me when is the best time to start this V-project (V for Visa), bear in mind that to apply for Student Visa is not the only task on my To-Do List to get myself ready for an MBA.

I couldn’t think of the best timing, as Spain is known for its easy living lifestyle, so I walked into the uncertainty right away. I started this V-project on 28 March, 5 months ahead of my course, exaggerating? (Umhhh… maybe a bit!) I got my Visa on 9 June, spent 74 days in total. Yes, I could save the Notary Fee if I was patient enough, but I couldn’t find a blog like this one at that time, I didn’t know how long it would take me there, I believe you will do a lot better than me, trust me, this is a post worth reading.

28 March | Email the Embassy for the Letter of Request to apply for the Certificate of No Criminal Conviction (“CNCC”)

First I wrote a simple email to the Embassy, you can see what you need to attach with the email for the “Letter of Request“:

Dear Sir / Madam,
I would like to ask for a letter of request for the application of the Certificate of No Criminal Conviction for my long-term student visa application.
Attached kindly find –
1. Filled and Signed Application Form
2. Passport Copy
3. HKID Copy
4. School Acceptance Letter
Thanks & Regards,

Doc 1 – Download the one page Application Form from the official guidance. Where to find the guidance? Search “Spanish Student Visa” in google, it will show the version suitable for your country. [ # ] A little tip here is I used the “Fill & Sign” function in PDF to fill and sign the form, I didn’t have a printer at home, and they accepted it.

Doc 2 & 3 – Copies of ID and Passport (the page with your info, no need to copy the whole Passport)

Doc 4 – School Acceptance Letter, which you’ll receive from your school, usually with curriculum

P.S. I paid $0 on this request

Let’s see when they sent me the Letter of Request, 29 March! Woah! Just took 1 day! Who doubted their efficiency?!

Behind Scene

Actually, it was my 2nd time to apply for this Letter of Request, I deferred my study because of Covid-19, last year I needed to pick up the original letter from the Embassy, this year they just sent me the softcopy. But lucky me, they didn’t charge me even though I applied twice.

On the day I picked up my visa, I made a new friend at the Embassy. He went there to pick up his Letter of Request and he paid ~10€ for that! I couldn’t control myself to ask him why, I couldn’t recall this “handling fee”. He said it’s on the Email notice which asked him to pick up the original letter. Well.. I guess.. Maybe there are peak season and non-peak season prices.

30 March | Book on the Police website for the CNCC

I made a mistake here but I fixed it with a little trick. I thought in a naïve way : ⓵ Go get the Letter of Request > ⓶ Fix the appointment with the Police > ⓷ Get the CNCC. I didn’t expect I could get the Letter of Request in 1 day, and I didn’t expect the earliest appointment I could make on the Police Website was 20 May (i.e. 1.5 months later). So, maybe you want to check the earliest appointment for the CNCC now and make your time more flexible? I bet you will.

Don’t panic if you realize it’s too late (like my situation), I don’t have a time machine but I have a trick worth trying – go into the booking system on :00 / :30 to see if there is any cancelled place released. When Mandy told me she used this “technique” on public clinic booking system, I couldn’t help laughing, but when I successfully used it to move my appointment from 20 May to 26 April , I felt like I unlocked something important, I couldn’t stop trying on every :00 / :30. At 10:30 p.m. on 31 March, I got my best deal ever – I fixed my appointment to 19 hours later (i.e. 1 April), saved 1.5 months waiting time!

1 April | Apply for the CNCC

The procedure of this part vary between countries / cities, or between police offices, better to search early where and how you can apply (google helps), even though you are from other countries instead of Hong Kong, here are some items you may want to pay attention to: –

– Check if they accept walk-in : before the Covid-19, we could go in the super early morning and get a same-day ticket, it’s a good option when you are running out of time, but this year, we must book online in advance;

– Check which payment method they accept : In my case, the best option is to pay by Octopus Card (kind of a Stored Value Card) at the counter, most of the government departments they don’t accept credit card, and if I pay by cash, I need to pay in the Account Department (in different floor, you know, “Account Department” = “Long Queue”) and head back to the counter.

– Check if they accepted printed copy of Letter of Request : I didn’t have the original Letter of Request, I read the procedure, they require to see the email correspondence. So I also printed the email out, but in the end they didn’t check.

They will send the CNCC to the Embassy directly, finger cross they will not make any mistake on your record …

As a Hong Konger, the whole paperwork is kind of simple, the greatest concern you have may be is which travelling document you should fill in (if you are a Hong Konger who was born before 1997, the historical timeline, you’ll know what I mean), how did I fill the information? Go $$ to unlock the scenes behind.

19 April | Book Apartment in Madrid

The Embassy said I can fill in the address of the school first, then update them once I have a more stable address. This allowed me to have more time to look for an apartment. There are just too many options, shared houses / halls / studios / student inns … Long story short, I was lucky I found a studio just 10 mins walk from the school at 577€ a month plus utilities, and the platform I used only charged 132€ agent fee and the required deposit is only equal to 1 month rental.

Wait for my further post on how I look for a perfect student accommodation! Can’t wait? Buy me a coffee and tell me you are interested in this topic! I’ll write those with most votes first!

Honeymoon

I felt good even though I was not a couch potato, I applied for scholarships, got vaccinated, searched for student insurance, read MBA related books, outlined my pre-study plan… etc., I thought things were on track. On 22 April, the Embassy told me my CNCC was ready for pick up (Oh yeah!), I even ate a small pack of potato chips to reward my effort. Here, the Embassy ONLY asked me to go pick up the CNCC, without saying anything else.

26 April | Apply for Paper Bank Statements

I made another mistake here, it took me almost 1 month to receive my paper bank statements. The cut-off date of my statement is the 7th of the month, so I need Feb, Mar, Apr statements if I submit my student visa application within May. I ordered it from Citibank online platform, it said the statements will be sent by post in a few days, cool! I forgot to screenshot the confirmation, usually they will send one to my email but they didn’t this time.

I waited till 13 May, it’s not happening, not even deducting the charge. I called their hotline, but they were not able to check because I ordered online (seriously?). I went to the bank in person and they said the same, the only option I had was to apply again through the teller and they charged more. Anyhow, I reminded them, I needed Feb, Mar, Apr statements which covering the period from 8 Feb to 7 May with bank’s chop on every page. They said OK La, No Problem la.

On 22 May, I received Jan, Feb, Mar statements covering the period from 8 Jan to 7 Apr with a small round bank’s chop but without Citibank heading. I submitted my visa application with it on 28 May, lucky they didn’t require me to re-apply the bank statement.

1 May | Apply for Sanitas Student Insurance

Why Sanitas while other insurers offer as low as 200€ / year? I once attended the Department of Accident & Emergency of the public hospital in Madrid, I still remember vividly the feeling of insecurity. I needed someone to talk to me in the Languages I understand and tell me how much it costs.

You know, in Spain they like to adopt natural sunlight in the building, it’s not as bright as Hong Kong (or your country, it’s not common to find a dim corner in general buildings, but it’s normal in Spain). I was moved on a chair from one place to another, I pictured many negative events in my mind…

So, is Sanitas a perfect insurer? No, it costs me 575€ / year, and they said the application can only be made within 2 months prior to the effective day (but I cannot submit my visa application without it, so what now? I should submit my visa application in July?). I was thinking of choosing another insurer. Few days later, they contacted me and said they were just pending my payment. I had 1000x question marks in my head. Moreover, they asked me to message my card info via WhatsApp. You really need an open mind in dealing with cultural differences.

Wrote too much on this part, end up I still chose Sanitas. Keep an eye on my further posts on how I visited doctors and got the medicines in Spain, details of applying Sanitas Student Insurance online ( & how I paid), and How I use the benefit of the plan in Spain. You know what to do to speed up my writing fuel. (btw, Sanitas is belonged to Bupa, in case you never heard about Sanitas)

Submit Spanish Student Visa Application

24 May | Submit Student Visa Application in Person

Den Den! Finally I could go to the Embassy and submit my Application (got Paper Bank Statements just 2 days ago). I made an appointment online, in my case they only release booking for the coming week, and this year is a special year, not that many people study abroad, so, same as the CNCC, you better check it in advance (it’s free!).

I was in a rush that morning, didn’t put on much makeup, anyhow I brought one of my best passport size photos. BUT, they used my beautiful photos for internal purposes only! They took a photo of me with a low resolution digital camera, maybe I was wrong, maybe it’s the resolution of the printer. My visa photo is so UGLY that I almost ask “who is this?”. It’s not a good sign, and nightmare indeed came after.

They didn’t say no to my paper bank statements, but I was then told, the processing fee will be HK$ 1,809 instead of HK$ 550 – 650 if I’m not using a HK passport .. Almost 3x different! Wanna know my final choice? Go $$ to unlock the scenes behind.

What’s worse, I was told I need to legalize my CNCC. I was totally shocked! I am a very detailed person, I get very uncomfortable when things go unexpectedly. In that 0.01 second I reflected with sadness, which part I missed?

Here is the answer I dug out : The guidance I googled was in pdf format, so I downloaded it and followed it without a second thought, the last updated date was 14 August 2019, it’s printed on the top right corner. They released an updated version on 22 April 2021, the day they told me my CNCC was ready for pickup! They hadn’t said a word about it. Nobody gave a damn about me ( T_T ) … I blamed myself for a thousand times why I didn’t check again before the appointment, why I was not curious to know if they changed something? Why why why, I paid the cost of my negligence.

I was directed to a QR code, linked to a pdf they called “guidance”. Here I turned into a maze runner, no joke.

The Guidance, in the hyperlink it’s a list of 10 interrupters:

Me : So I just need to bring my CNCC to the interrupter?
Officer : No, you need to legalize it first
Me : Huh? Where should I bring the CNCC to legalize?
Officer : The High Court
Me : So I just bring my document to the High Court?
Officer : No, you need to do ..affirmation … notary … (the best I can catch), you better call the High Court (so nice they gave me the phone number of the High Court)
(To avoid misunderstanding, I made the call in the Embassy)
High Court : (a well-trained script) Come to x floor at the High Court with notarized CNCC, need to be signed by an international notary, our charge is $ xx and will be completed in x working days
Me : what about the affirmation? Sounds like I also need to do it
High Court : Affirmation is an alternative of notarization
(I returned to the Officer to double check necessary of an affirmation)
Office : Oh, just follow with the Court’s instruction
(Perfect! At least I got some hints to open the next door!)

The Embassy is located at a building which has a sky lobby at 46/F, in there you can enjoy a 360° Hong Kong city view for free. I occupied one glass wall, searched crazily and made a dozen calls. The challenge was, I don’t really know the exact name of that process. It’s like googling without a keyword. Not many law firms and consultant companies answered my calls, little by little I patched up my missing knowledge.

Let’s unveil the maze, it’s called “Apostille”, I need to (1) first go to an international notary to certify my CNCC is a true and complete original document, or go to make an affirmation in the Home Affairs Department as an alternative, what’s the difference? One costs a fortune and One is free!! (2) go to High Court with this certified true CNCC for “Apostille”, (3) go to the designed interrupter to translate the whole document, (4) bring the document back to legalize

Level 1: Lucky enough to find one international notary service, I had a direct conversation with the notary (wooo!), there were many advertisements of other law firms / consultant companies that said they offer as low as ~98€ per document, what's the meaning if they never answer your calls? Yes, this notary service costed me ~175€, but they answered my questions even though it sounded trivial! For instance, the CNCC was a double page document, would they sign on it, or give me a separate document proof, it would affect the costs of translation and legalization, they charge by the number of pages. More, they could do it right away, their office was situated near the High Court, I went there, waited 15 minutes, kiss goodbye to my money, done! Headed to level 2, the Court!
Level 2: I worked in an arbitration court before, I'm not surprised with their tedious process. I guess that's why I had that instinctive reaction to go for notary service instead of making an affirmation at the Home Affairs Department for free. Basically, I visited the same counter 2-3 times, in between I travelled to a different floor to make the payment (it's much faster if you walk the staircase). It took 2 working days, so time to break into the next level!
Level 3: Opened the list of 10 designed interrupters, I made a call to an office number, they said "Sorry we don't know this person". Alright, I was ready for the new challenge! I reached out to 6 interrupters via email (using the bcc function), one said too busy, fine, some never replied, no problem, some quoted different prices and asked for a payment in advance. I patched up the cues in their replies, understood the process more. I discovered a reliable one that I could pay for by cash (~65€) when I picked up the original, which they completed the next morning.
Level 4 : Thanks to this interrupter, I could pick up the documents in the morning and go to the Embassy on the same day before they close (you know, they only open half day). I paid another ~65€ at the Embassy, I was exhausted, and used 4 days in total to get out of this maze.

In the $$ scenes behind, you will find valuable information like the name of the above-mentioned international notary service and interrupter, don’t miss out if you are a Hong Konger. Even though you are not from Hong Kong, I wish my 3,600 words post did help you to get out of the maze. Your generous tip is my motivation ( and essential ) for the next unboxing sharing.

6 June | Buy one-way flight ticket

Got email from the Embassy, they also needed my flight ticket, it was not on the guidance and I was thinking of flying at the beginning of August, to visit some friends, to adjust myself for the school, to stay in quarantine (if needed). LUCKY I didn’t book the ticket! The Embassy said I couldn’t enter Spain more than 15 days before my course! Imagine if I was attracted by those flash offers of low cost airlines, I would pay more than I could get.

9 June | Pick up Student Visa in person

Instead of waiting the contact from the Embassy, I checked my status online.
Enter the year of birth and the “Identificador / ID”, which was printed on my HK$1,809 application receipt, I don’t know how much time it will cost if you throw away the receipt, better keep it neat or use the scanner function on iPhone to store it

It showed “Pending” on 7 June

On 8 June it showed, means I could go pick up on the next day

What caught my attention when I first looked at my VISA? My ugly photo, second, the valid day, it’s a 90 days multi entry VISA. I didn’t understand, people posted in forums, they had visas that covered their stay, why mine is only for 90 days. After a back and forth communication, once I enter Spain, I need to go for a TIE, similar to an ID card. If I need to travel around, for example, back to HK for holiday, I will need to use TIE to come back into Spain instead of this VISA. I’ll update with detail on this part once I complete my move. Subscribe now to ensure you won’t miss any incredible posts!

#MBA #studyabroad #spanishstudentvisa #studentvisa