For a Spanish student visa you must show, for each month, 100% of the IPREM for the student (600 euros as of October 2026), plus 75% for the first family member who accompanies them and 50% for each of the others. A letter of admission and a paid enrolment are not enough: the regulation also requires you to show what you will live on, and the IPREM is a public indicator set by the budget laws that can change.
What the regulation requires
The Immigration Regulation, approved by Royal Decree 1155/2024, requires for the long-stay student visa that the foreign national have sufficient financial means to cover living costs and the cost of the return journey to their country, without having to resort to the social assistance system, together with those of any family members where applicable (article 35, letter h). This is separate from having been admitted and having paid the enrolment fees (article 53.1): meeting the latter does not dispense with proving the funds.
How much: the IPREM, month by month
The regulation sets the reference amounts as percentages of the monthly IPREM:
- The student: 100%, unless it is duly proved that accommodation has been paid in advance for the whole length of the stay (article 35.h).1.º). For that case, the guidance of the Consulate General of Spain in Mexico says the amount is reduced, without quantifying the reduction, so we give no figure.
- The first dependent family member: 75%.
- Each additional family member: 50%.
As of October 2026, the Spanish Public Employment Service publishes a monthly IPREM of 600 euros, the figure set in the ninetieth additional provision of Law 31/2022 on the 2023 State Budget and unchanged since. On that basis, the reference amounts are 600 euros a month for the student, 450 for the first family member and 300 for each one after that. These are figures we calculate from the percentages in the regulation: if the IPREM is updated they change, so check the value in force on the date of your application. According to the consular guidance, the IPREM value must be shown for each month of the stay.
The regulation accepts funds from several sources: grants, aid and scholarships, a valid employment contract or a firm job offer where the authorisation allows work, and, in student exchange programmes, a declaration of financial responsibility by the school. One important limit: amounts used, or to be used, to cover the cost of the studies are not counted.
How it is proved at the consulate
The regulation does not list the documents; each consular office does so in its guidance. According to that of the Consulate General of Spain in Mexico, consulted on 26 October 2026, the means may be your own, a family member's or come from a scholarship, and their sufficiency, stability and regularity are assessed:
- Own means. The applicant's last three bank statements, stamped by the bank and showing movements and transactions.
- Family means. Civil registry certificates with a Hague apostille proving the family relationship, an apostilled notarial declaration by the family member undertaking to fund the studies and the stay, a copy of their identification and their last three bank statements.
- Scholarship. A current official letter, stamped and signed, from the awarding body, stating the amount granted. If that amount covers what is required, the rest of the financial documentation is not needed.
The guidance adds that bank documents must show solvency consistently, over time and with coherent support for the origin of the funds. The guidance of other consulates may differ: check the one for the office that covers you.
How long the funds must cover
The visa must be applied for at least two months before the studies begin, unless there are justified reasons (article 36.1). Article 55.2 regulates the validity of the authorisation: as a general rule it starts one month before the studies begin and runs fifteen days beyond their end. That article does not mention funds expressly, although it requires the conditions of the authorisation to be maintained throughout its validity. It is the guidance of the Consulate General of Spain in Mexico that requires the supporting documentation, including the financial means, to cover in general that whole period: one month before classes start, the length of the course (where it is under a year, according to the guidance) and fifteen days afterwards. The same guidance allows you to waive the month before and the fifteen days after where the stay does not exceed 180 days.
Renewal: proving it again
An extension may be requested during the two months before the visa or authorisation expires, and for that you must prove again, among other requirements, the financial means under article 35, letter h) (article 55.3). Organic Law 4/2000 (article 33.3) confirms it: an extension requires that the holder continue to meet the conditions of the initial authorisation. The funds are not proved just once.
What cannot be promised
Reaching the reference amount does not guarantee approval: the stay authorisation is refused when the requirements are not met, when false or altered documents are submitted, or when the institution is not recognised (article 54.8). The consistency of the documents and the origin of the funds also matter.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a paid enrolment is enough. The financial requirement is independent.
- Counting what pays for the studies as living costs. The regulation excludes those amounts.
- Showing a single month. In general, the funds must cover the whole period the consular guidance requires.
- Forgetting that you prove it again when extending. Every extension requires showing the means again.
Sources
- Royal Decree 1155/2024 of 19 November, Regulation implementing Organic Law 4/2000, articles 35, 36, 53, 54 and 55 (consolidated text of the Official State Gazette, consulted on 26 October 2026)
- Organic Law 4/2000 of 11 January, article 33 (consolidated text of the Official State Gazette, consulted on 26 October 2026)
- Law 31/2022 of 23 December on the State Budget for 2023, ninetieth additional provision (Official State Gazette, consulted on 26 October 2026)
- Spanish Public Employment Service, annual amounts: monthly IPREM of 600 euros (consulted on 26 October 2026)
- National visas, student visa guidance of the Consulate General of Spain in Mexico (consulted on 26 October 2026)