Files for working holiday, youth mobility and language-assistant stays

Key rules

• Country agreement: A working holiday or youth mobility visa is only open to nationals of countries with an agreement with Spain.
• Placement letter: Language assistants cannot apply for the visa until the regional education authority has issued the placement letter.
• Translation: Foreign documents need translation into Spanish for both kinds of file, except documents issued in an EU country.
• Consulate list: The consulate sets the exact document list, so confirm it before you apply.

Two kinds of file, different people involved

Working holiday and youth mobility stays are handled between you and the Spanish consulate. Language-assistant stays (auxiliar de conversación) add a second actor: the education authority that gives you a placement. Work out which one you are before you collect anything.

Working holiday or youth mobility

Your country must have an agreement with Spain. Spain has arrangements with Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Uruguay. Andorra and Peru also have arrangements with Spain. The usual terms are an age of 18 to 30 (18 to 35 for Canada and Argentina) and a stay of up to 12 months. Each agreement also caps the number of visas a year, and the cap differs by country.

Your consulate is the only office you deal with. The file is short:

• the national visa application form, a valid passport and a passport photo
• a criminal record certificate from your country of residence, covering the past five years and apostilled where required
• a medical certificate
• proof of sufficient funds and proof of health insurance valid in Spain
• proof of travel, meaning a return ticket or the means to buy one
• the visa fee

Some agreements also ask for a letter of purpose or proof of age.

Language assistant (auxiliar de conversación)

Your placement decides your file. The regional education authority (Consejería de Educación) of the region that assigns your placement issues the placement letter (carta de nombramiento). The Ministry of Education's programme office coordinates the process.

You usually get the letter electronically, in your online account on the programme platform, after you accept your placement. Timing and delivery differ between regions. You then take it to the Spanish consulate with the rest of your file:

• the common documents: the form, your passport and a photo
• the placement letter
• an apostilled criminal record certificate and a medical certificate
• proof of health insurance
• proof of your university degree or enrolment
• the visa fee

Some consulates also ask for proof of funds for your first period. For both kinds of file the criminal record and medical certificates are valid for 3 months from issue.

If you travel with a spouse, partner or children

The programme visa covers you only. Nobody joins under it, so each family member needs their own route.

• Spouse: needs their own route.
• Registered partner: needs their own route.
• Unmarried partner: needs their own route, decided case by case with proof of your relationship.
• Children of any age: need their own route.

If you are still abroad, or already live in Spain

• Still abroad: apply at the consulate before you travel. The visa fee is €80, paid at the consulate. Without the visa you cannot enter to start the stay, and a late language-assistant application can mean missing the placement start date and losing the placement.
• Already in Spain: you cannot apply from inside Spain. Get the visa from the consulate before you enter.
• UK citizens: if you have Withdrawal Agreement rights and live in Spain, you follow the Withdrawal Agreement rules, not this programme visa. Without those rights you are a non-EU applicant and follow the programme rules.
• EU citizens: you need no visa and do not use this file; you register your residence in Spain instead.

If the consulate refuses your visa, you receive a written decision and can appeal it or reapply with a corrected file.

Timeline and deadlines

• Check that your country has a working holiday or youth mobility agreement with Spain and note its age limit and quota: before you start gathering documents
• Stay in Spain under a working holiday or youth mobility agreement: up to 12 months
• Present the placement letter with the rest of your language-assistant file at the Spanish consulate: as soon as you receive the letter; a late application can lose the placement

Foreign documents

A document issued in an EU country needs no apostille, and multilingual standard forms replace a translation. A document from a non-EU country that is a Hague Convention member needs an apostille and a sworn translation into Spanish. A document from a non-EU country that is not a Hague member needs full legalisation through its foreign ministry and the Spanish consulate, plus a sworn translation into Spanish.