Spain student visa from Bolivia and Ecuador: consulates, appointments and documents

You apply at the consular office of the area where you live, and each one has its own appointment channel.

Office	Area it covers	How to submit
Embassy of Spain in La Paz	Departments of La Paz, Oruro, Potosí, Chuquisaca and Cochabamba	Appointment by email to the Embassy and in-person submission at the Consular Section 2
Consulate General in Santa Cruz de la Sierra	Departments of Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija	At the Consulate or at the BLS International centre in Santa Cruz, with an additional service fee 4
Consulate General in Quito	Its consular district	Appointment through BLS, requested by email 5
Consulate General in Guayaquil	Its consular district	Appointment by email to BLS and submission at the BLS centre in Guayaquil 6 7

The split of departments in Bolivia is published by the Embassy in La Paz ². For Ecuador, the consular pages do not list the provinces of each district: confirm with the consulate before booking. In Quito, the Consulate asks for your cédula and voting card as proof of residence in the district ⁵.

In Bolivia, use the Embassy's information sheet updated on 06/06/2025 and the consular services page ^{2 3}.

La Paz. Write to oc.lapaz.vis@maec.es with your admission letter attached. The letter must show the exact course dates, the class calendar and schedule, the amount and the proof of payment ². The Embassy warns that July, August and September are high-demand months, so have your enrolment ready in good time ².

Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The Consulate accepts the application in person or through a representative, and also through BLS International (Torre Equipetrol, 10th floor), which charges a separate service fee ⁴.

Quito. The appointment is requested by writing to nacionales.uio@blsinternational.net ⁵. The BLS page for national visa appointments gives the same email and asks you to state the type of long-stay visa in the subject line ⁹.

Guayaquil. Write to nacionales.gye@blsinternational.net with the subject "Visado de Estudios Largos, Nombre y Apellidos", attaching the signed checklist and a copy of your admission. Submission is at BLS, Parque Empresarial Colón, Edificio Empresarial 2, local 3, ground floor ⁷.

In every case the application must be submitted at least two months before studies start, unless there is a justified reason ¹. Requesting the visa includes requesting the study stay authorisation, which is decided by the Immigration Office of the province where you will live; the consulate does not continue with the visa until it has that answer ².

The rule sets the means at 100% of the IPREM for each month of stay. If you have already paid for accommodation for the whole period, the amount can be reduced. For each dependent family member you add 75% of the IPREM for the first and 50% for each one after that. What you pay in tuition does not count towards that figure ¹. The IPREM amount is updated by law: check the current figure on the day you prepare your statements.

Each office details how to prove it:

• La Paz: original statements for the last three months, signed and stamped by the bank. They do not accept statements downloaded from the internet or count cash. If you depend on your parents or another relative, add their six-month statements, a notarised letter of commitment and the certificate proving the family relationship ².
• Quito: bank certificate with a secure verification code ⁵.
• Guayaquil: depending on your case, a scholarship, a bank certificate with six months of stamped account statements, an education loan or a financial guarantee with a notarised and apostilled letter ⁷.

The insurance must come from an insurer authorised in Spain, with benefits similar to the common portfolio of the National Health System, valid for the whole stay ¹. La Paz does not accept travel insurance or monthly payments: the insurance must be paid for the whole period, up to a maximum of one year ². Quito asks for insurance with 100% cover, with no limits or co-payments ⁵; Santa Cruz, with no waiting period, co-payment or cover limit ⁴.

If you are of criminal age and your stay exceeds six months, you need a criminal record certificate from the countries where you lived in the last five years ¹. The consular pages of Quito and La Paz state the threshold as stays of more than 180 days ^{5 3}. The regulation also asks for a medical certificate showing that you do not suffer from diseases with serious public health repercussions under the International Health Regulations of 2005, and does not limit it to long stays ¹; the La Paz sheet asks for it only for studies of more than six months ².

Bolivia. The certificate is issued by the Unidad Nacional del Registro Judicial de Antecedentes Penales (REJAP) of the Consejo de la Magistratura, less than three months after issue and apostilled. Police good conduct certificates are not accepted ². The medical certificate must also be less than three months old and apostilled ^{2 4}.

Ecuador. The criminal record certificate is issued online by the Ministry of the Interior, free of charge, valid for 3 months ⁸. For the visa it must be apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The medical certificate is legalised at the Ministry of Public Health and then apostilled at the Foreign Ministry ⁷.

As a general rule, every foreign document must be submitted legalised or apostilled ⁵.

The rule requires a passport valid for at least one year ¹. The Embassy in La Paz asks for a minimum of one year and three months ²; Santa Cruz also asks for two blank pages and a passport issued no more than 10 years ago ⁴.

The consular fee is paid in cash on the day of the appointment in La Paz ² and in bolivianos in Santa Cruz ⁴. In Quito, BLS publishes a visa fee of 106 USD for adults plus a 20 USD service charge, cash only ¹⁰. Fees change: check them on your office's page on the day you go.

If the stay exceeds six months, on arriving in Spain you must apply for the foreigner identity card at the Police Station within one month of your entry ¹. The consular pages express this as stays of more than 180 days ⁵. With the authorisation for higher education you can work as an employee or self-employed without further procedure, as long as it is compatible with your studies and does not exceed 30 hours a week ¹.