Working holiday, language assistant or student route, which fits a young person?

Key rules

• Nationality first: Each route is open only to certain nationalities, so check your country before comparing anything else.
• Working holiday: Work is secondary to travel, and the stay cannot be extended.
• Student work: 30 hours a week, with no extra permit.
• Applying to stay on: File for a change of status before the current permit ends.

Your nationality decides most of this. Each route is open only to certain countries, so check that first, then compare work rights and length.

Working holiday

Choose this if you want to travel and work a bit to fund it. It is open only to nationals of countries that have an agreement with Spain, listed in the eligibility page. EU citizens cannot use this route.

A working holiday lasts up to 12 months with no extension. Work is secondary: temporary or occasional jobs, for no more than 6 months with the same employer. You cannot treat work as the main reason for your stay. Details are in working holiday rights and limits.

Language assistant

Choose this if you want a steady, structured year with a school placement. The programme is open to citizens of countries whose languages are taught in Spanish schools, such as the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand; the full list is set in each year's call (Becoming a language assistant). You work 12 hours a week in most regions and 16 in Madrid, for a monthly stipend; the amounts are in visa, pay and placement.

Student route

Choose this if you want to study in Spain and can also work part-time. With a student authorisation, you can work up to 30 hours a week alongside your studies. The work must fit with your studies. You do not need a separate work authorisation, and the job can be employment or self-employment. Full-time work falls outside this limit.

This route is for non-EU nationals, and it is open to more nationalities than the other two. It is the fallback if your country is on neither list. The student rules are in who qualifies for student residence and working while you study.

Staying on afterwards

Whatever route you pick, apply for any change of status before your authorisation expires. Book an appointment (cita previa) at the Oficina de Extranjería or the immigration office of your province's Government Delegation. For example, a language assistant can move to a student authorisation, and a student can move to work after finishing studies. Language assistants can also approach the regional programme coordinator.

If you already live in Spain

Working holiday and language assistant visas are applied for at the consulate before you travel, so you cannot apply from inside Spain. Students, au pairs, volunteers and trainees can apply from inside Spain only if they entered legally.

If you are a non-EU citizen

EU citizens need no visa for any route but cannot use the working holiday route. UK citizens with Withdrawal Agreement rights follow their own rules; other UK citizens are treated as non-EU.

If you bring family

Only the student route lets family come with you, and only if you show enough funds for each person. The working holiday visa, the language assistant visa and the au pair, volunteering and traineeship stays do not cover family: each relative needs their own visa or permit.

• Spouse: may join a student; no right on the other routes. A student's spouse needs their own work authorisation; a spouse with their own working holiday visa works under its limits (6 months per employer); a spouse who enters as a tourist cannot work.
• Registered partner (a partnership entered in a public register, pareja de hecho inscrita or equivalent): the same position as a spouse.
• Unregistered partner: no automatic right; Spain decides case by case, and recognises the partner only if you prove 1 year living together or a child in common. A recognised partner has the same work rights as a spouse; without that proof there is no right.
• Child: may join a student; no right on the other routes. A child under 16 cannot work; from 16 they need their own work authorisation.
• Parent or other dependant: no route here lets them come with you. They use their own route, and they have no work rights on yours.