● Visa
What visa do you need to train in Spain?
What visa do you need to train in Spain?
Only two things determine the answer: the nationality of your passport and how many days you stay. Neither your country of residence nor the program you choose.
Information based on Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 and the Schengen Borders Code. Updated in July 2026.
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Entrar en el club empieza por entrar en el país. Selecciona la nacionalidad de tu pasaporte y la duración prevista de tu estancia.
The rule that governs everything
90 days within any 180-day period.
90 / 180
Third-country nationals can stay in the Schengen Area for a maximum of 90 days within any 180-day period. The limit applies to all 29 Schengen countries as a whole, not to each one separately: Two weeks in France and a month in Spain count towards the same total.
Below that threshold, the short-stay regime applies. Above it, a study visa—or a long-term visa—is required, regardless of nationality. Even citizens exempt from the short-stay visa must apply for it to stay more than 90 days.
What matters is the passport, not the residency
It's the most common mistake. An Indian citizen living in the UK needs a Schengen visa. An American citizen living in India does not. A third-country residence card does not exempt you from the requirement.
Training is not working
The short-stay regime allows travel to attend sports and cultural events, exchanges, and short-term studies. A player coming to train fits into that situation. What it doesn’t allow is doing paid work: working requires a visa and a work permit, even for stays of less than 90 days.
The three scenarios
| Your situation | Short stay (<90 days) | Long stay (>90 days) |
|---|---|---|
| European Union, EEA, or Switzerland | No visa. Free movement. | No visa. Just residence registration. |
| Exempt country EE. UU., Canadá, México, Colombia, Argentina, Brasil, Reino Unido… | No visa. Valid passport and proof of the reason for travel. | Student visa. Mandatory despite the exemption. |
| No exempt country India, Marruecos, Egipto, Nigeria, Senegal, China… | Short-stay Schengen visa, even for a week. | Study visa. |
The second threshold: six months
For stays over 90 days, you need a student visa. But within that visa, there are two different regimes, and the dividing line is 6 months.
If your stay is 6 months or less, the visa itself allows you to stay in Spain for the whole program. There’s no extra procedure when you arrive.
If your stay is over 6 months, you must apply for the Foreigner Identity Card (TIE) within one month of entering Spain, at the corresponding Immigration Office or Police Station. For these longer stays, you also need a certified criminal record that’s been apostilled and a medical certificate.
There’s one detail worth knowing before applying. For stays under 6 months, some consulates issue the visa with the note “STUDIES, TOTAL 180 DAYS.” That visa can’t be extended in Spain: once the 180 days are up, you have to leave the country. If there’s a chance you might want to extend your program, consider that before submitting your application.
ETIAS: what's coming
ETIAS is expected to start operating in the last quarter of 2026. It's an electronic travel authorization for travelers who don’t need a visa, similar to the US ESTA: an online form with a fee of 20 euros and approval, in most cases, within minutes. It’s not a visa and doesn’t change the 90/180 rule. If you’re coming from a visa-exempt country and traveling from that date, you’ll need to get it before flying.
There will be an initial transition period during which entry won’t be denied to anyone who doesn’t have it, as long as they meet the other requirements. Minors under 18 and people over 70 are exempt from the fee, but they still need to apply.
What they’re going to ask you at the border
Being exempt from a visa does not grant an unconditional right to enter. The officer may ask for your passport—which must be valid for at least three months after your planned departure date—your return ticket, accommodation reservation, proof of the reason for your trip, such as the academy's admission letter, and evidence of sufficient funds.
Frequently Asked Questions
About VISAS AND STAYS.
It depends on the country: there isn’t a single procedure. In some consulates, you request an appointment by email directly to the consulate. In other countries, applications are submitted through BLS International, a company authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. BLS receives the documents and forwards them to the consulate, but they don’t decide on your visa or advise on which type you need. Check the website of the Spanish consulate in your country before starting any process: it’s the only source that confirms which channel applies to you.
Appointments are always booked on the official BLS website or the consulate. There are no paid appointments, fast-track processes, or authorized intermediaries to get an earlier appointment. Anyone who offers this to you for money is committing fraud.
You have two to three months from when you submit the application, and you should request it at least two months before the program starts. The timeline doesn’t depend solely on the consulate: when you apply for a student visa, a residence permit for studies is also processed in parallel at the Foreigners’ Office of the province where you’ll be studying. That permit can take up to two months, and then the consulate has another month to issue the visa. Don’t buy your plane tickets until your visa is approved.
They count. The 180 days aren't a calendar block and they don't reset on January 1st: it's a rolling window. Every day you want to enter Spain, the authorities look back at the previous 180 days and add up all the days you've spent in the Schengen Area. If the total reaches 90, you can't enter. Leaving the Schengen Area doesn't reset the counter. The days of entry and exit count as full days: if you arrive on a Monday and leave on a Wednesday, that's 3 days, not 2. The European Commission publishes an official calculator that does this calculation.
It depends on the length of your stay. Up to 90 days, no: your passport, and the Schengen visa if your nationality requires it, are enough. Between 90 days and 6 months, also no: the study visa itself lets you stay for the entire program. More than 6 months, yes: you must apply for the Foreigner Identity Card (TIE) within a month of your arrival, with an appointment at the Foreigners Office or Police Station corresponding to your address in Madrid.
It’s not the recommended route. The student visa is applied for at the Spanish consulate in your home country or country of legal residence. Applying from Spain is only considered in specific cases, requires being in legal status, and submitting the application within strict deadlines. Applying from your country is the proper way and avoids denials and problems for future entries.
With a student visa and a stay longer than 6 months, the rules allow you to combine studying with work for a limited number of hours, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your studies. For stays of 90 days or less, no: the short-stay rules don’t allow paid work, no matter your nationality. In any case, the academy programs are full-time and designed so that football and training are your main focus.
This guide is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal or immigration advice. The lists of countries and requirements may change. Always check the website of the Spanish Consulate in your country before traveling. C.D. Leganés supports its players in the process and provides the admission documentation, but the granting of the visa is up to the consular authorities.
And now, the program
You already know what your passport needs.
The length of your stay determines the visa, and also the program that suits you. Here are the three.
LESS THAN 90 DAYS
With or without a Schengen visa, depending on your passport. The short stay fits with Elite Intensive, from one week.
FROM 6 TO 12 MONTHS, ONLY FOOTBALL
Student visa with enrollment in formal education. It's Performance Year: a season that's measured.
FROM 6 TO 12 MONTHS, WITH TITLE
If the enrollment is at a school or university, the program is Academic Year.
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