If you have a visa for 90 days, you must start the process to obtain a residency card (TIE) in the first 30 days of your arrival. To do so, you will be required to obtain the following documents:

• Form EX-17 (PDF): This document will ask the police to convert your 90-day visa into a residency card that will last for a year. Fill out box number 1 with your data. Remember, the address has to be the one you will use in Spain. In box number 4, select "tarjeta inicial."
• Form MOD 790 012: This document contains the fee you must pay before the appointment. This can be paid at any bank in Spain. You just need to fill out your information and select "TIE que documenta la primera concesión de la autorización de residencia temporal, de estancia o para trabajadores transfronterizos." Then go to the front desk of any bank with cash to pay the fee amount, and they will take care of the rest. 
• Certificate for the residency card: This document proves that you are enrolled in the university and pursuing the number of credits required to obtain a residency card. Our registrar's office will issue this document here at SLU-Madrid (registrar-madrid@slu.edu). 
• Originals and copy of passport.
• Originals and copy of the visa.
• Originals and copy of Sanitas card (health insurance card).
• Passport-style photo.

Contact Carlos to obtain an appointment to retrieve your card.

Important Note: Once you have the residency card, always carry it on your person. Although the police won't fine you if they ask you to identify yourself and you don't have the card with you, they can order you to present yourself at any police station of their choice with the card within 24 hours.

If you plan to stay in Spain for more than a year, your residency card must be renewed yearly. The period for renewal starts 60 days before the expiration date and lasts up to 90 days after the expiration date. If that is not possible, avoid being outside Spain during this period. If not possible, start the process before you leave and obtain the autorización de regreso. Be very mindful of the dates.

For this process, you will need to present the following documents:

• Form EX-00 (PDF): This document will start your renewal process and helps Spanish authorities check that you meet the criteria for renewal. Fill out box number 1 with your personal data, box number 3 with your name - but the university address so we receive the notification - and in box number 4 check "prórroga" and "titular de autorización estancia por estudios, intercambio de alumnos, investigación/formación, prácticas no laborales o voluntariado (art. 40)".
• Form MOD 790 052: This document contains the fee you must pay at any Spanish bank before the appointment. You just need to fill out your information and select 1.3 "prórroga de la autorización de estancia por estudios, movilidad de alumnos, prácticas no laborales o servicios de voluntariado (titular principal y sus familiares)". Then go to the front desk of any bank with cash to pay the fee amount, and they will take care of the rest. 
• Certificate for the residency card: This document proves that you are enrolled in the university and pursuing the number of credits required to obtain a residency card. Our registrar's office at SLU-Madrid (registrar-madrid@slu.edu) will provide this document.
• Bank statement: This should prove that you have enough resources to live in Spain without being a burden for the state (minimum income from the last 6 to 12 months of 570 euros/month or a total amount of 6,840 euros). If the bank account is not from Spain, the document must be translated by an official judicial translator here in Spain.
• Original and copy of passport.
• Original and copy of TIE. 
• Originals and copy of Sanitas card (health insurance card).

Afterward, the Spanish authorities will send you a letter with the result of your application. No matter what the results are, see Carlos or email him at carlos.villar@slu.edu. He can translate the document for you and explain the next steps you need to take.

If approved, you will be required to get your fingerprints retaken, as you did when you first applied. The only difference is you will be required to present new documents, such as the padrón. See below for information about this process.

As the renewal process will take several months, you may be required to leave Spain and re-enter with an expired visa. If that is the case, you must obtain an autorización de regreso.

This document will allow you to travel outside and re-enter Spain while your residency card is renewed. The autorización de regreso only lasts for 90 days, starting when it is issued, so be mindful of those dates. You will be required to present the following documents:

• Form EX-13 (PDF): This is the document that will provide an autorización de regreso. Fill out box 1 and box 4. If you are renewing your card, select the first option, "Titular de autorización de residencia en período de renovación o prórroga (art. 5)". If you are in the process of obtaining your first residency card, select the fourth option, "Titular de autorización de residencia inicial en trámite de expedición de Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, concurriendo razones excepcionales (art. 5)".
• Form MOD 790 012: This document contains the fee you must pay at any bank in Spain before the appointment. Just go to the front desk and pay in cash. You will need to fill out your information and select a copy of the document proving that you have started the renewal process autorización de regreso.
• The copy of the document that proves your residency card or TIE is being renewed and the original of said document.
• Original and copy of passport.
• Original and copy of Residency Card/TIE.
• Flight ticket.

Once you receive the TIE renewal approval, you must get fingerprints taken. The process is more or less the same as on the first application. The only things that change are the boxes you have to tick in the form and the fee, and you also need to add an extra document called padrón. Here is a list of the documents required for the renewal process to continue:

• Form EX-17 (PDF): Fill out box number 1 with your information. Remember the address has to be the one you will be using in Spain. In box number 4, you need to select "renovación de tarjeta" and "estancia por estudios, investigación-formación, intercambio, prácticas o voluntariado".
• Form MOD 790 012: This document contains the fee you need to pay, at any bank in Spain, before going to the appointment. Just go to the front desk of the bank and pay it in cash. You will need to fill out your information and select "TIE que documenta la renovación de la autorización de residencia temporal o la prórroga de la estancia o de la autorización para trabajadores transfronterizos."
• Certificate for the residency card: This document proves that you are enrolled in our university, pursuing the number of credits required to obtain a residency card. Our registrar's office at SLU-Madrid (registrar-madrid@slu.edu) will provide this document.
• Originals and copy of passport.
• Original and copy of TIE.
• Originals and copy of Sanitas card (health insurance).
• Certificate from the padrón.
• Document showing that your renewal has been accepted. 
• Passport-style photo.

Once all the documents are submitted, you must retrieve your card 30 to 45 days later. Contact Carlos to obtain an appointment to retrieve your card.

Important Note: Once you have the residency card, always carry it on your person. Although the police may not fine you if they ask you to identify yourself and you don't have the card with you, they can order you to present yourself at any police station of their choice with the card within 24 hours.

The padrón is the document that proves that you live in a regulated apartment/flat/house. You may also know it as the census. To obtain this, you need to get an appointment at any padrón office in Madrid and bring the following documents:

• Form Hoja padronal (PDF): This document will provide the public servant with all the information required for the process, your personal information and your new address. 
• Your house contract from your landlord, renting agency or dorm.
• Original and copy of passport.

The padrón is given on the spot. Save a scanned copy on your computer as it usually lasts for more than a year.

The SLU-Madrid Family Partnership Program enables international students to begin university studies at SLU-Madrid before turning 18. In addition to addressing the legal issues related to the guardianship of a minor, the program supports these new students as they adapt to a new culture and way of life.

Regardless of whether a student will turn 18 within days of arriving in Madrid or later during the first year of study, he/she will require a legal guardian in Spain until turning 18 in order to live in a colegio mayor or student residence and study at SLU-Madrid.

The relationship between students and their legal guardians can be as close as both parties desire. Students, for their part, share their home cultures and world views with their guardians and their families. In turn, the students — and their families in their home countries — have the benefit of knowing that there is someone to support them as they transition to life as SLU-Madrid students. While the legal relationship may last only a few weeks, many of these student-guardian relationships last for a lifetime.

If you serve as a legal guardian for an international student, you are also permitting him/her to benefit from the unique Jesuit, liberal arts education offered by SLU-Madrid.

Procedures

To apply to serve as a guardian or to request a guardian for an international student who is under 18 years old, please contact studentlife-madrid@slu.edu.

Once a student and guardian have been paired, SLU-Madrid will schedule at least one virtual meeting for the student, the student's family, the guardian and the guardian's family to meet prior to accepting the guardianship.

Once the parties accept, the parents of the student under 18 will prepare the legal and notarized paperwork as required by their home countries to name the legal guardian in Spain. They will contact the guardian, who will have to complete the appropriate paperwork to accept the role.

Once the student arrives in Spain, the guardian will represent or accompany the student in administrative and judicial proceedings. When there are no complications, the guardian's commitments are typically limited to accompanying the student to apply for his/her TIE (Tarjeta de Identificación de Extranjero) Residency Card, to get his/her fingerprints taken for the TIE, and ultimately, to pick up the card.

We hope, however, the relationship extends beyond these procedural concerns. The SLU-Madrid Family Partnership Program is designed to foster a connection between the new student and the guardian in Madrid. Guardians are encouraged to take steps to strengthen the connection by:

• Inviting the student to their home for a weekend meal.
• Letting the student know that they are available to answer questions about Spain.
• Communicating with the student's parents, offering them additional perspectives on the student's adaptation to life in a university residence and at SLU-Madrid.

About Legal Guardians

Can I Be a Legal Guardian?

• A person who is a legal resident in Spain can act according to all of their civil rights and who is not under 18 years old or declared incapacitated is eligible to be a legal guardian. The person must not be profit-seeking and their main goal must be the protection of the student who is under 18 or is incapacitated. 

Benefits for the Student's Legal Guardian

• To support the education of an international student.
• To connect his/her own family to another culture by cultivating a relationship with the student.

Process to Become a Legal Guardian

• Sign up for the SLU-Madrid Family Partnership Program.
• SLU-Madrid will schedule an initial virtual meeting so that you and your family can meet the student and the student's family before all parties accept guardianship.
• Once all the parties accept, the student's parents will proceed with all the legal and notarized paperwork as required by their home country to name you as their child's legal guardian. They will contact you as you have to sign those documents accepting your new role.

Responsibilities of the Legal Guardian

• Be capable and willing to be an international university student's legal guardian until he/she turns 18.
• Sign up for the program.
• Meet with the student and the family.
• Provide data and collaborate with the family on all the legal and notarized paperwork for guardianship.
• When there are no complications, the guardian's commitments are typically limited to accompanying the student in the process of getting his/her TIE: applying for the card, getting fingerprints taken, and picking up the card.
• Act as the student's legal guardian if needed.

Families of Students Under 18 Years Old

Whenever possible, the student's family is encouraged to look for a legal guardian in Spain whom they already know and trust, such as a relative or friend. Through this Family Partnership Program, SLU-Madrid extends the opportunity of serving as a legal guardian to alumni and to the families of current SLU-Madrid students.

SLU-Madrid does not guarantee that there will be people willing to act as legal guardians for a student under 18 years of age if their family has no contacts in Spain. Any legal guardianship entails responsibilities, and they must be volunteers. Read the previous section to understand the legal implications for legal guardians.

Benefits for the International University Student who is Under 18 Years Old

• To learn about Spain, its culture, and the Spanish way of life before turning 18.
• To be able to study at SLU-Madrid.
• To have an additional adult contact in Madrid who they can trust and who cares for their well-being.

Responsibilities of the Student's Family

• To prepare the necessary paperwork in their home country according to law, and that will be valid in Spain.

SLU-Madrid will only act as a liaison between the two parties; it cannot guarantee that students who are under 18 years of age will be attending SLU-Madrid, nor that there will be families willing to act as legal guardians. SLU-Madrid will not interfere in the paperwork that needs to be done for legal guardianship as it is an agreement between two parties. Both families will need to seek legal advice on that matter.

If you have any questions regarding these processes or any other issue regarding your legal status in Spain, please contact Carlos Villar at carlos.villar@slu.edu.