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All necessary tips you should know very well before coming to study in Barcelona

The decision to come to study in Barcelona is a very important step for many young people.

If you are one of them and you have planned to move in Barcelona because could be a perfect place for the academic season abroad, it’s necessary you know all details before you start your academic adventure in the town. All steps to follow for your plans..

At Xior The Lofttown we want to be more than a student residence for you. And we don’t just offer you the best student accommodation in Barcelona with all the essential comfort, but we also want to help you with all information needed before your arrival.

For that reason, today we show you a complete article where we inform you, in detail, the 7 most important tips you need to know well before coming to study here.

Do you want to join us? Welcome to a new post from our #theLoftowner blog!

What does it mean to study in Barcelona?

For many foreign students, studying in Barcelona become one of the most stimulating and enriching opportunities to complement their university studies. In this case, Barcelona offers a lot of different academic studies, covering all professional areas for all preferences and budgets.

That means, coming to study in Barcelona, is one of the best alternatives for many young people who are looking for a new great experience in their lives.

Formality procedures…

Depending on the country you come from, the steps will change significantly. For example, if you come from a country outside Europe, it will be necessary to take various bureaucratic procedures in advance with a collection of different kind of documents. The most common certificates are: applying for a corresponding study visa, obtaining a residence card and even looking for a part-time job.

Bureaucratic procedures are mandatory to study a period in the Catalan capital and there are different steps to know in advance for all people come to study in Barcelona and we would like to explain below in 7 important points. Take note!

Tip 1: University degrees:

When you decide to study in Barcelona, you must take in consideration, it is not necessary to approve the degree you have completed in your country. Remember that these studies can be from the baccalaureate to study a degree, the bachelor’s degree to do a postgraduate or master’s degree and, finally, the master’s degree for doctoral studies.

After this, the Catalan university you have chosen will be responsible for validating the studies you have completed in your country at the time of applying for your admission to the study center.

Tip 2: Study time

Academic periods can be very flexible and depend exclusively on the possibilities of the student. In this sense, the duration of the studies will determine the procedures that you must previously carry out in your country of origin. In general, studies between zero up to three months, it won’t be necessary to apply for any type of student visa, since you can come to Barcelona as a tourist.

However, if the studies are more than three months, especially for those students coming from countries outside the European Union, they have to apply for a student visa at the Spanish Consulate in their respective country. In the following link you will find all the Spanish consulates around the world.

http://www.exteriores.gob.es/portal/es/serviciosalciudadano/paginas/embajadasconsulados.aspx

Tip 3: Academic admission

A fundamental step before thinking about of apply for a student visa is to be admitted to a Catalan university. Therefore, you must send all your academic documents, for their respective validation, preferably several months in advance so that you do not have problems when you want to do your visa formalities in the Spanish Consulate of your country.
Remember that it usually takes long time for admission offices in Catalan universities to reply for the large number of applications they receive each year from all part of the world.

Tip 4: How to apply for your visa

Once you have already decided to come to study in Barcelona you will have to go to the Spanish Consulate to make your application for a student’s visa with the following documents to check that:

You have already been admitted to a Catalan university and have also made the payment of the tuition for the studies you have planned to do.

Prove that you have financial means for your maintenance in Barcelona without the need to work, during the duration of your university studies, which are usually around 600 Euros per month.

Have private health insurance and show that you do not have a contagious disease.
No criminal record whatsoever.

Tip 5: Foreigner’s Identity Card

If you are sure that your university studies will last more than 6 months, you will have to process the TIE (Foreigner’s Identity Card) being already in Spain. For that, you will have to go to Foreigner’s Office or Police Station in Barcelona. Our suggest is to make an appointment several weeks in advance because these institutions usually have a lot of workloads and, in general, are collapsed due to the big number of Foreign students who come to Barcelona.

 Tip 6 : Tip 6: Study and not work

Many students want to combine their academic stays with some work for an extra income. However, we regret to inform you that once you get the TIE, the authorities will not allow you to work as a full-time or full-time employee, since the idea of your stay in Barcelona is basically due to your studies.

However, if you found a part-time job that does not more than 20 hours per week and is linked to your professional experience and training, the employer could make you a contract of work but for this you will have to submit a lot of documentation beforehand. If you want to know more about these updated conditions, we recommend you to visit the website of the General Secretariat of Immigration, Employment and Social Security so that you are up to date with the latest changes.

http://www.seg-social.es/wps/portal/wss/internet/Inicio

Tip 7: Practice time

Apart of having a paid work during your studies in Barcelona, our recommendation is that you chose a professional practice in companies and institutions that are connected to your profession. In this way, the first requirement to enter in an internship offered in Barcelona, is to be a student registered in a Catalan university.

Secondly, you must have more than 150 approved academic credits and check that there is a validation of the professional training. So, we advise you that by doing a professional practice in Barcelona, you will improve your experience in every way and more than you can imagine.

In short…

With this post we hope that you have learned much more about all the previous steps you need to do before coming to study in Barcelona. And remember that if you have decided to move to the Catalan capital, you can always take into account our student residence in order to transform your stay in Barcelona in a wonderful experience which you will never forget.

We hope to see you soon in Barcelona and become a new #TheLoftowner member!

We also invite you to follow us on Facebook and Instagram, so you are always in update with the latest promotions and news in our residence.

Have a nice day!