Coming to Spain on Erasmus step by step

Terms used

• Relaciones Internacionales — Relaciones Internacionales is the international relations office of a Spanish university, which handles incoming exchange students.
• Learning Agreement — The Learning Agreement is the signed list of courses you will take abroad and how they count at home.
• Certificate of Arrival — The Certificate of Arrival is the host's proof of the date you actually started your exchange.
• Certificate of Stay — The Certificate of Stay is the host's proof of your start and end dates, issued near the end of your stay.

Key rules

• Nomination: Your home university must nominate you before you can apply to the Spanish host.
• Length: Erasmus study mobility lasts 2 to 12 months, and you can do up to 12 months in each study cycle.
• Signatures: The Learning Agreement needs your signature, then your home coordinator's, then the host coordinator's.
• Non-EU students: If you are not an EU national, you need a Spanish student visa or residence authorisation.

Check you can go

You can come on Erasmus if your home university holds an Erasmus Charter and has an agreement with the Spanish university for your subject and level. For a bachelor's you are usually in at least your second year. Master's and doctoral students can go too. Your home university nominates you, so you cannot apply on your own.

Study mobility lasts 2 to 12 months, and you can do up to 12 months in each study cycle. If you are not an EU national, you also need a Spanish student visa or residence authorisation. Ask the host about its level limits, and about the rules if your home country is outside the Erasmus programme countries.

Step 1: Get nominated

Your home international office sends your name to the Spanish university. Its deadline comes earlier than the host's, so check both dates.

Step 2: Apply to the host

After nomination, the Spanish international office (often called Relaciones Internacionales) sends instructions. You then fill in the online application and attach your documents. The documents list below shows what is usually needed. Lists differ by university and faculty.

Host deadlines are usually about 1 June to 15 July for the autumn term or full year. For the spring term they are about 1 November to 15 December. Some universities set earlier dates, such as May. Dates change every year, so confirm them on the host's website.

To find the right office, search the host's website for "International", "Incoming students" or "Movilidad". You can also use the contact in your nomination or acceptance email. The faculty's Erasmus academic coordinator approves your courses.

Step 3: Agree your courses

You complete the Online Learning Agreement before you travel. Put the Spanish courses in Table A and what they will count as at home in Table B. You sign it digitally, then your home coordinator, then the host coordinator. Hosts set a deadline after nomination, often before or soon after you arrive.

Spanish universities can limit which courses you may choose, so ask the faculty early.

Step 4: Get the acceptance letter and prepare

When the host accepts you, it sends an acceptance letter. Use it to arrange housing and insurance, and a visa if you need one. The checklist below covers the practical details.

Step 5: Arrive and register

Go to the international office soon after you arrive. Register, ask for your Certificate of Arrival and complete any local registration the office asks for. This certificate confirms your real start date. Your home university uses it to fix your grant period.

Step 6: Change courses if needed

If your courses change after you arrive, update the agreement in the "Changes to LA" section. You need a final version to confirm your course list.

Step 7: Finish and collect your papers

Near the end of your stay, usually after exams, ask for your Certificate of Stay. It confirms your start and end dates. Your Transcript of Records follows later, often some weeks after the results.

Timeline and deadlines

• Get nominated by your home university: Before the host deadline; home nomination deadlines come earlier than the host's, so check both

• Send the host application for the spring term: Usually between 1 November and 15 December

• Complete and sign the Learning Agreement: Before mobility, usually within a deadline the host sets after nomination, often before or soon after arrival

• Receive the acceptance letter, then arrange housing, insurance and any visa: After the host accepts you and before you travel

• Register at the international office and get your Certificate of Arrival: On or after arrival

• Change your courses in the Changes to LA section: Within about 4 to 5 weeks after each term starts, and before you sit exams

• Collect your Certificate of Stay: At or near the end of your stay, usually after exams. Your stay lasts 2 to 12 months

Documents you need

• Online application form for the host university, completed on its website once your home university nominates you.

• Learning Agreement, often as a draft at application stage, with host courses in Table A and recognition at home in Table B. Your home coordinator and the host coordinator sign it digitally.

• Transcript of records from your home university.

• Proof of language level: a certificate from your home university or a recognised test.

• Copy of your passport or national ID.

• Passport-style photo.

• CV, motivation letter, or European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) with proof of private insurance, if the host asks for them.

• If you are a non-EU student, the visa documents: health insurance, proof of financial means and others the consulate asks for.

• Certificate of Arrival, issued by the host's international office on or after arrival, confirming your start date.

• Certificate of Stay, issued by the host's international office at or near the end of your stay, usually after exams, confirming your start and end dates.

Erasmus learning agreement and arrival checklist

Learning agreement and arrival checklist

• Send the host's online application form once your home university nominates you.

• Gather a transcript of records, proof of language level, a copy of your passport or national ID, and a passport-style photo.

• Add a CV, a motivation letter or your European Health Insurance Card if the host asks for them.

• Propose your host courses in Table A and the recognition at home in Table B of the Online Learning Agreement.

• Bring a valid European Health Insurance Card if you are from the EU or EEA, and check whether the host also wants private or accident insurance.

• Get private health insurance valid in Spain with no co-payments or waiting periods if you are a non-EU student who needs a student visa.

• Book temporary lodging first, then start looking for a room two to four months before arrival, and view it in person before paying a deposit.

• Ask the host international office for your Certificate of Arrival on or after the day you arrive.

• Ask for your Certificate of Stay when your exams end, so your home university can fix the grant period.

• Ask your home university for the final version of your learning agreement to confirm the course list.

What if your courses change after you arrive?

Change your learning agreement before the deadline, and get both universities to sign it. Recognition of your credits depends on it. A course you take without an approved change may not count when you go home.

If you want to swap a course

1. Find the replacement courses in the visiting-student offer at your Spanish university.
2. Ask your home coordinator if they agree to the new choice.
3. Open the "Changes to Learning Agreement" section of the Online Learning Agreement (or use the paper form if your university still does that). Propose the replacement courses there.
4. Wait for the home coordinator and the host coordinator to approve and sign.

If you delete a course, replace it. If you can't, your coordinators need to accept the lower credit total.

If a class is cancelled or clashes with another

Tell the faculty's Erasmus coordinator and the international office straight away. Give them the course code and the reason: cancelled, or a timetable clash.

Then ask about these options, in this order:

• The same course in another group or at a different time, if one exists.
• A different course from the visiting-student offer.

Once you have picked one, ask your home coordinator to agree.

If the clash is only partial, some teachers will agree to a different arrangement. Get that in writing, such as an email.

Deadlines

Changes usually need approval within 4 to 5 weeks after each term starts, and before you sit exams. Each university sets its own deadline, and your home university's may be earlier. Ask both coordinators for the exact date in your first week.

Procedures and contacts differ by university. Your host international office can tell you who handles changes for your faculty.

Quick answers about exchange study in Spain

How freely can I choose courses at a Spanish university?

Your choice is limited, because you mostly take courses in the faculty or area of your agreement and your home coordinator must approve them. Courses from other faculties are often allowed up to a limit, with the host coordinator's approval. Places, prerequisites, timetable clashes and restricted degrees such as medicine can also block a course, and you should fit about 30 ECTS credits per semester.

What language level do I need for courses in Spain?

You usually need B1 to B2 Spanish for courses taught in Spanish, and B2 English for English-taught courses. You can prove it with a language certificate, a letter from your home language teacher, or your online language assessment result. English-taught courses are limited, with more in business, engineering and some humanities, and many universities offer Spanish courses to exchange students.

Can I extend my Erasmus from one semester to a full year?

Yes, you can generally extend to a full year if both your host and home universities agree. Ask the host international office before the end of the first semester, often by December or January, with home approval and a revised learning agreement. Funding for the extra months is not guaranteed, the total cannot pass 12 months, and non-EU students must also extend their visa or residence permit.